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.
Saturday Night On Saturn
Les Baxter and His Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Cause that's the night that my sweetie and I
Used to dance cheek to cheek
I don't mind Sunday night at all
'Cause that's the night friends come to call
And Monday to Friday go fast
And another week is past
I sing the song that I sang for the memories I usually seek
Until I hear you at the door
Until you're in my arms once more
Saturday night is the loneliest night in the week
Mmmm Saturday night is the loneliest night in the week
I sing the song that I sang for the memories I usually seek
Until I hear you at the door
Until you're in my arms once more
Saturday night is the loneliest night in the week
Until I hear you at the door
Until you're in my arms once more
Saturday night is the loneliest night in the week
The lyrics to Les Baxter And His Orchestra's song Saturday Night On Saturn are about the loneliness that one feels on a Saturday night without their lover. The singer reminisces about the times they used to dance cheek to cheek with their sweetie and how Saturday night is now the loneliest night of the week for them. They go on to mention how they don't mind the other nights of the week as much because they have friends over on Sundays, and Monday through Friday go by quickly. The singer continues expressing their longing for their lover by saying that they sing a song in memory of them until they hear a knock on the door and are finally reunited, making Saturday night the happiest night of the week once again.
The lyrics evoke a sense of nostalgia and sorrow for the longing of one's lover. The author is able to express their emotion and feeling through song with the use of simple and meaningful lyrics. Saturday Night on Saturn is much more than just a catchy tune - it's a testament to the power of love and how it can make even the loneliest of nights the most perfect night.
Line by Line Meaning
Saturday night is the loneliest night in the week
Saturday night is a night of isolation and solitude for me, because it reminds me of the past when I used to spend it with my beloved
'Cause that's the night that my sweetie and I Used to dance cheek to cheek
That is the night when my partner and I would get close and spend time dancing together in a loving manner
I don't mind Sunday night at all
Contrary to Saturday night, Sunday night doesn't bother me as much because I have the company of friends to look forward to
'Cause that's the night friends come to call
On Sunday night, my friends come over to visit me, and I am grateful for their presence and companionship
And Monday to Friday go fast
The days from Monday to Friday pass quickly, as I am engaged in otherwise busy activities or work
And another week is past
Before I know it, the week has come to a close and there might have been progress or achievements made, but the memories of my partner's absence on Saturday night still lingers
I sing the song that I sang for the memories I usually seek
To relive the moments of love and happiness I had shared previously, I sing the songs that are meaningful to me that remind me of those memories
Until I hear you at the door
My hopes of spending this Saturday night with my partner are ignited as I hear them at my door
Until you're in my arms once more
My hopes are fulfilled as I embrace my partner, and the loneliness I usually feel on this night fades away
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
drnigelchanning
Love this song man! Thanks for uploading the entire album!
Viktor Rucký
ACME!
Terry Bono
scoodolee wah wah wah catch u cats on the flip side