Baxter studied piano at the Detroit Conservatory before moving to Los Angeles for further studies at Pepperdine College. Abandoning a concert career as a pianist, he turned to popular music as a singer. At the age of 23 he joined Mel Tormé's Mel-Tones, singing on Artie Shaw records such as "What Is This Thing Called Love?".
Baxter then turned to arranging and conducting for Capitol Records in 1950, and was credited with the early Nat King Cole hits, "Mona Lisa" and "Too Young", but both were actually orchestrated by Nelson Riddle.[1] (In later releases of the recordings the credit was corrected to Riddle.[citation needed]) Not a uncommon practice these days: Baxter himself had arranged Nat King Cole's "Nature Boy" in 1947 for a recording conducted by Frank De Vol. In 1953 he scored his first film, the sailing travelogue Tanga Tika. With his own orchestra, he released a number of hits including "Ruby" (1953), "Unchained Melody" (1955) and "The Poor People Of Paris" (1956). The latter recording sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.[2]He also achieved success with concept albums of his own orchestral suites: Le Sacre Du Sauvage, Festival Of The Gnomes, Ports Of Pleasure, and Brazil Now, the first three for Capitol and the fourth on Gene Norman's Crescendo label. The list of musicians on these recordings includes Plas Johnson and Clare Fischer.
Baxter also wrote the "Whistle" theme from the TV show Lassie.
Baxter did not restrict his activities to recording. As he once told Soundtrack! magazine, "I never turn anything down".
In the 1960s, he formed the Balladeers, a besuited and conservative folk group that at one time featured a young David Crosby.[citation needed] He operated in radio as musical director of The Halls of Ivy and the Bob Hope and Abbott and Costello shows.
Like his counterparts Henry Mancini, Lalo Schifrin and James Horner, Baxter later worked for the film industries from 1960s to 70s. He worked on movie soundtracks for American International Pictures where he composed and conducted scores for Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe films and other horror stories and teenage musicals, including The Pit and the Pendulum, Panic in Year Zero!, Beach Party, The Comedy of Terrors,The Dunwich Horror, and Frogs. Howard W. Koch recalled that Baxter composed, orchestrated, and recorded the entire score of The Yellow Tomahawk (1954) in a total of three hours for $5,000.[3]
With less soundtrack work in the 1980s, he scored music for theme parks and SeaWorlds. In the 1990s, Baxter was widely celebrated, alongside Martin Denny and the Arthur Lyman Group, as one of the progenitors of what had become known as the "exotica" movement. In his 1996 appreciation for Wired magazine, writer David Toop remembered Baxter thus:
"Baxter offered package tours in sound, selling tickets to sedentary tourists who wanted to stroll around some taboo emotions before lunch, view a pagan ceremony, go wild in the sun or conjure a demon, all without leaving home hi-fi comforts in the white suburbs".
Baxter has a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6314 Hollywood Blvd.
Blue Monday
Les Baxter and His Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's gone and started rainin', I'm as lonesome as a man can be
'Cause every time it rains, I realise what you mean to me
If you read my letters baby, you sure musta read my mind
If you read my letters baby, you sure musta read my mind
Then you wouldn't have left me to sit alone and pine!
The lyrics to "Blue Monday" by Les Baxter and His Orchestra convey a sense of loneliness and longing brought upon by a rainy day. The singer expresses their feelings of isolation and highlights the impact of rain on their perception of their relationship. The rain becomes a metaphorical representation of the emotional state, intensifying the feelings of loneliness and reminding them of the significance of their lost love.
The first verse sets the tone of desolation as the singer declares their lonesomeness due to the rain. The rain acts as a trigger, emphasizing their emotional emptiness and underscoring the absence of their loved one. Every time it rains, the singer becomes acutely aware of the depth of their emotions and how much their former partner meant to them.
In the second verse, the singer suggests that if their ex had read the letters they sent, they would have understood their state of mind. The letters serve as a means of communication, expressing their innermost thoughts and feelings. By reading these letters, the ex-lover would have grasped the singer's profound longing, and perhaps they would not have chosen to leave them behind to suffer in loneliness and heartache.
Overall, the lyrics of "Blue Monday" depict a tale of unrequited love and the impact of rain as a reminder of the deep emotions and longing for a lost relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
It's gone and started rainin', I'm as lonesome as a man can be
The rain has begun to fall, and it has left me feeling incredibly lonely.
'Cause every time it rains, I realise what you mean to me
Whenever it rains, I come to the realization of how much you truly mean to me.
If you read my letters baby, you sure musta read my mind
If you have read the letters I've written, my love, then you would have known my deepest thoughts and desires.
Then you wouldn't have left me to sit alone and pine!
As a result, you wouldn't have deserted me, leaving me to suffer in solitude and longing for your presence.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Bob Crowder, Billy Eckstine, Earl Hines
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind