Les Baxter

Birth Name:

Les Baxter

Birth Place:

Mexia, Texas, United States

Profession

Soundtrack, Music department, Actor

Received formal music education at the Detroit Conservatory and at Pepperdine College
Joined Mel Torme's vocal group, the Mel-Tones, in 1945 and sang with the Artie Shaw band
Signed with Capitol Records in 1950 and produced popular instrumental singles like "April in Portugal," "Unchained Melody," and "The Poor People of Paris․"
Quote: "I want to be innovative․ Perhaps I was the most innovative person in our business, I don't know․"
Quote: "(On why he accepted such a wide variety of work): "Once I made the mistake of turning down․․․the ballet 'Fancy Free'․․․I recommended Leonard Bernstein․ It was the first great success of his career, and since then I've never turned down anything!""
Best known as a musician and composer who is celebrated as one of the creators of exotica music
Wrote scores for more than 100 films, including 1960's "The House of Usher" and 1961's "The Master of the World․"
Composed a series of shows for the theme park SeaWorld in the 1980s
His score for the 1971 horror film "Frogs" consisted entirely of synthesized frog sounds; when asked who he collaborated with on the score, he replied "The frogs․"

Fast Facts