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.
Wake The Town And Tell The People
Les Baxter and His Orchestra Lyrics
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Johnny Mathis
Music by Jerry Livingston and Words by Sammy Gallop
This version did not chart but
In 1955 Les Baxter with his Orchestra and Chorus with vocals by the Notables hit # 5 with it.
And Mindy Carson's competing version attained # 13
Sing it to the moon above
Wake the town and tell the people
Tell them that we're so in love (tell them that we're so in love)
Let's begin the celebration
Let's declare a holiday
Send the wedding invitation
To the neighbors right away
When you are close to me
And my heart is dancing with delight
I want the world to see
Heaven in my arms tonight
Shout it from the highest steeple
Ring the bells the whole night through
Wake the town and tell the people
Tell them I'm in love with you
I want the world to see
Heaven in my arms tonight
Shout it from the highest steeple
Ring the bells the whole night through
Wake the town and tell the people
Tell them I'm in love with you
I want the world to see
Heaven in my arms tonight
Shout it from the highest steeple
Ring the bells the whole night through
Wake the town and tell the people
Tell them I'm in love with you
(Wake the town and tell the people)
The lyrics to Les Baxter & His Orchestra’s song Wake the Town, and Tell the People are about expressing love out loud and for the world to see. The song invites the listener to join in celebrating love and declaring a holiday. The song suggests announcing the love for the entire town to hear through ringing bells from the highest steeple. The chorus underscores that the love is so overwhelming it needs to be shouted from the rooftops, so everyone can see the singer’s arms tonight with their lover.
The lyrics use hyperbole to emphasize the intense feelings the singer has for their lover. They want to declare a holiday and send wedding invitations to their neighbors. This is to show their love is so great it deserves to be treated like a national holiday. The lyric "Heaven in my arms tonight" suggests that the singer believes their love is that special, likening it to heaven. The song's message is about the importance of expressing affection and sharing it with the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Wake the town and tell the people
Spread the news of our love to everyone
Sing it to the moon above
Sing our declaration of love to the heavens
Tell them that we're so in love (tell them that we're so in love)
Make sure everyone knows that we are deeply in love
Let's begin the celebration
Let's start the festivities
Let's declare a holiday
Let's make this a special occasion
Send the wedding invitation
Invite our neighbors to our wedding
To the neighbors right away
Let's invite our neighbors as soon as possible
When you are close to me
When we are together
And my heart is dancing with delight
When I am filled with joy and happiness
I want the world to see
I want everyone to witness
Heaven in my arms tonight
The love and happiness I am experiencing with you
Shout it from the highest steeple
Announce our love from the tallest building
Ring the bells the whole night through
Make a lot of noise and celebrate all night
Tell them I'm in love with you
Declare my love for you to everyone
(Wake the town and tell the people)
(Spreading the news of our love)
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JERRY LIVINGSTON, SAMMY GALLOP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind