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.
Sophisticated Lady
Les Baxter and His Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And in this heart of yours burned a flame
A flame that flickered one day and died away
Then, with disillusion deep in your eyes
You learned that fools in love soon grow wise
The years have changed you, somehow
I see you now
Diamonds shining, dancing, dining with some man in a restaurant
Is that all you really want?
No, sophisticated lady
I know, you miss the love you lost long ago
And when nobody is nigh you cry
The lyrics to Les Baxter and His Orchestra's song "Sophisticated Lady" describe a woman who has become disillusioned with love and romance. The song suggests that the woman's early experiences with romance were passionate and intense, but that over time the flame of those feelings burned out. As a result, the woman has become jaded and cynical, living a life of luxury and material comfort but lacking emotional depth.
Despite her outward appearance of sophistication and elegance, the song suggests that the woman is not truly happy. She smokes and drinks, never thinking about the future, and spends her time with wealthy men in fancy restaurants. However, despite her surface-level contentment, the woman is haunted by the memory of the love she lost and often cries when she is alone.
Overall, the song is a commentary on the emptiness of material wealth and superficial beauty, and the importance of genuine emotional connections in life.
Line by Line Meaning
They say into your early life romance came
It is said that you experienced love at a young age
And in this heart of yours burned a flame
You had a passionate love in your heart
A flame that flickered one day and died away
But that love eventually faded away
Then, with disillusion deep in your eyes
And disillusionment set in, visible in your eyes
You learned that fools in love soon grow wise
You learned that those who are foolish in love eventually become wise
The years have changed you, somehow
Through the years, you have changed in some way
I see you now
And now, I see you
Smoking, drinking, never thinking of tomorrow, nonchalant
You now live recklessly, without concern for the future
Diamonds shining, dancing, dining with some man in a restaurant
You indulge in fine things, going out with men to dine and dance
Is that all you really want?
But is this truly what you desire?
No, sophisticated lady
No, elegant lady
I know, you miss the love you lost long ago
I know that you long for the lost love from your past
And when nobody is nigh you cry
And when you are alone, you shed tears
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Edward Kennedy Ellington, Irving Mills, Mitchell Parish
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind