Les Baxter(1922-1996)
- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Born March 14, 1922, at Mexia, Texas. He learned to play the piano at
five years of age and studied at the Detroit Conservatory and at
Pepperdine College in Los Angeles, California (his uncle was the
college's first president). He began his career as a concert pianist
but later joined Mel Tormé's "Meltones" in
1945. Baxter conducted a number of radio shows including "The Bob Hope
Show". His recording of "The Poor People of Paris" in March 1956 was a
#1 hit and sold more single copies than any other recording during that
decade (the song got that title by mistake. Originally titled "The
Ballad of Poor John" when it was popularized in France, a Capitol
Records representative cabled the title to the US; the cable used the
word "gens", meaning "people", instead of "jean"). Another major hit
was "April in Portugal", which was based on a song by
Raúl Ferrão. It was originally entitled
"Coimbra" (after a city in Portugal) and later introduced in the US as
the whispering serenade. But Jimmy Kennedy wrote a new set of lyrics in
1952 for it and it became a huge hit for Baxter\, who also wrote the
scores for over 120 motion pictures.
He died of heart and kidney problems on January 15, 1996.
He died of heart and kidney problems on January 15, 1996.
