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.
My Buddy
Les Baxter and His Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Some of its leaves bring a sigh,
There it was written, my buddy,
That we must part, you and I.
[Chorus]
Nights are long since you went away,
I think about you all through the day,
Miss your voice, the touch of your hand,
Just long to know that you understand,
My buddy, my buddy, your buddy misses you
Buddies through all the gay days,
Buddies when something went wrong;
I wait alone through the gray days,
Missing your smile and your song.
[Chorus]
The lyrics of Les Baxter and His Orchestra's song My Buddy convey the deep emotional pain of being separated from a true friend. The opening lines compare life to a book, full of ups and downs, joys and sorrows, and in this story, the sighs are brought about by the departure of the singer's dear friend. The lyrics lament the inevitability of separation and the profound sense of loneliness that follows.
The chorus repeats the sentiment, emphasizing the void left by the friend's absence. The singer longs for the touch of the friend's hand and misses the sound of their voice. The lyrics describe the deep bond between the two, using the word "buddy" repeatedly to denote the closeness and sincerity of their friendship. The singer speaks directly to the friend, expressing their longing to have them back and to rekindle the joy they shared.
Line by Line Meaning
Life is a book that we study,
Our lives are like books that we study and learn from every day.
Some of its leaves bring a sigh,
Sometimes our lives bring us sadness and we sigh at those moments.
There it was written, my buddy,
In the book of life, it was written that we would be friends.
That we must part, you and I.
But unfortunately, the book also said we would have to say goodbye.
Nights are long since you went away,
The nights seem long and lonely since you left.
I think about you all through the day,
I can't stop thinking about you throughout the day.
My buddy, my buddy, no buddy quite so true.
You were my truest and most loyal friend, and no one can quite compare.
Miss your voice, the touch of your hand,
I miss hearing your voice and feeling the warmth of your touch.
Just long to know that you understand,
I just want you to know that I hope you understand how much I miss you.
My buddy, my buddy, your buddy misses you
My friend, I miss you so much and I hope you know how much I still consider you my buddy.
Buddies through all the gay days,
We were friends through all the happy times.
Buddies when something went wrong;
And we were still there for each other when things went wrong.
I wait alone through the gray days,
Now that you're gone, I find myself waiting alone through the dull and sad days.
Missing your smile and your song.
I miss the sound of your laughter and the joy in your voice.
Lyrics © DONALDSON PUBLISHING CO, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Gus Kahn, Walter Donaldson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@eddiesantiago4434
Masterpiece !
@luisbaynham583
Músicas de otros tiempos cuando eran maravillosas.
Musucs from other times when they were wonderful.
@cristinaletechipia7030
l Me gustan mucho los coros de Les Baxter, le dan u toque fascinante a las melodías.
@ildeuraimundodasilva8230
Orquestra de Les Baxter é fantastica . Thinking of you , lindíssima ...! Movimenta emoções belíssimas . Obrigado pelo vídeo .
@usmale4915
Very beautiful! Thank you!
@howieh2649
beautiful oldie , thanks
@alessandrocatena9354
Puro incanto...Greetings from Italy
@urmomisurdad5422
Love it!
@mauricioduron3193
Maravilloso. Un Lp que significó mucho para mí como el primer Lp de Les Baxter que conocí (historia larga). Con todo, no estoy seguro de por qué la canción "Mine" del original, y que realmente se reproduce, aparece aquí como "Lost in Meditation" ("B2").
Wonderful. An Lp that meant a great deal to me as the first Les Baxter set that I came to know (long story). Still, not sure why the song 'Mine' from the original - and which actualy plays - is listed here as 'Lost in Meditation' ('B2').
@EBrindley77
Does anybody know the names of the singers in the Les Baxter Chorus? It’s driving me crazy that I don’t know their names. Those Les Baxter singers are a national treasure and nobody knows their names.