Percy Faith was a Canadian-American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of instrumental ballads and Christmas standards. He is often credited with popularizing the "easy listening" or "mood music" format. He became a staple of American popular music in the 1950s and continued well into the 1960s. Though his professional orchestra-leading career began at the height of the Swing Era, he refined and rethought orchestration techniques, including use of large string sections, to soften and fill out the brass-dominated popular music of the 1940s.
"It's April Again" is a popular song that first appeared in the 1952 film Moulin Rouge. It became a No. 1 hit in the UK Singles Chart when recorded by Mantovani. The music for the film was written by Georges Auric; the original French lyrics were by Jacques Larue, with the English words by William Engvick. The Auric-Engvick song was published in 1953.
"My Heart Cries for You" is a popular song, adapted by Carl Sigman and Percy Faith from an 18th-century French melody. The song has been recorded by many singers, the most successful of which was recorded by Guy Mitchell which reached No. 2 on the Billboard chart in 1951.
"Deep Purple" was the biggest hit written by pianist Peter DeRose, who broadcast, 1923 to 1939, with May Singhi as "The Sweethearts of the Air" on the NBC radio network. "Deep Purple" was published in 1933 as a piano composition. The following year, Paul Whiteman had it scored for his suave "big band" orchestra that was "making a lady out of jazz" in Whiteman's phrase. "Deep Purple" became so popular in sheet music sales that Mitchell Parish added lyrics in 1938.
Alexander Emil Caiola was an American guitarist, composer and arranger, who spanned a variety of music genres including jazz, country, rock, and pop. He recorded over fifty albums and worked with some of the biggest names in music during the 20th century, including Elvis Presley, Ray Conniff, Ferrante & Teicher, Frank Sinatra, Percy Faith, Buddy Holly, Mitch Miller, and Tony Bennett.
"Theme from A Summer Place" is a song with lyrics by Mack Discant and music by Max Steiner, written for the 1959 film A Summer Place, which starred Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue. It was recorded for the film as an instrumental by Hugo Winterhalter. Originally known as the "Molly and Johnny Theme", this lush extended cue, as orchestrated by Murray Cutter, is not the main title theme of the film, but an oft-heard secondary love theme for the characters played by Dee and Donahue. The theme has become a canonical representation of the easy listening genre, and is considered by some to be the definitive easy listening track of all time.
"I Will Follow Him" is a popular song that was first recorded in 1961 by Franck Pourcel, as an instrumental titled "Chariot". The song achieved its widest success when it was recorded by American singer Little Peggy March with English lyrics in 1963. The music was written by Franck Pourcel and Paul Mauriat. It was adapted by Arthur Altman. The completely new English lyrics were written by Norman Gimbel.
Billboard Top Pop Hits is a series of compilation albums released by Rhino Records in 1994 and 1995, each featuring ten recordings from the easy listening charts from a specific year in the 1960s. Ten albums in the series were released, one each for the years from 1960 to 1969.
"Popsicles and Icicles" is a song written by David Gates and performed by The Murmaids. The single was arranged by Nestor La Bonte and produced by Kim Fowley.
In the Arms of Love is the nineteenth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams and was released on December 19, 1966, by Columbia Records and was the last of twelve consecutive Williams studio LPs produced by Robert Mersey.
Romantically is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on November 18, 1963, by Columbia Records and was also the final original studio album recorded by Mathis for the label prior to his moving to Mercury Records. Mathis had recorded exclusively for Columbia from 1956 to 1963. After a brief stint with Mercury, he returned to Columbia in 1967. His first Mercury project, Sounds of Christmas, was actually released six weeks before this one, on October 4.
"Take Time to Know Her" is a song written by Steve Davis and performed by Percy Sledge. It reached #5 on the Canadian pop chart, #6 on the U.S. R&B chart, and #11 on the U.S. pop chart in 1968. It was featured on his 1968 album Take Time to Know Her.
Passport to Romance is a 1956 album of orchestral pop instrumentals by Percy Faith & His Orchestra. It was released in 1956 by Columbia Records. The album contains 12 songs built around a theme of travel in Europe.
Percy Faith Plays Music from the Broadway Production My Fair Lady is a 1956 album by Percy Faith & His Orchestra. It was released in 1956 by Columbia Records. It features Faith and his orchestra playing music from Lerner and Lowe's My Fair Lady.
Percy Faith Plays George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess is a 1959 album by Percy Faith. It was released in 1959 by Columbia Records. The album features Faith and his orchestra playing music from George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess.
Jealousy is a 1960 album by Percy Faith and His Orchestra. It was released in 1960 by Columbia Records. It debuted on Billboard magazine's pop album chart on November 28, 1960, peaked at the No. 7 spot, and remained on the chart for eight weeks.
Music from Lerner & Loewe's Camelot is a 1960 album by Percy Faith and His Orchestra. It was released in December 1960 by Columbia Records. It debuted on Billboard magazine's pop album chart on January 9, 1961, peaked at the No. 6 spot, and remained on the chart for ten weeks.
Bouquet of Love is a 1962 album by Percy Faith and His Orchestra. It was released in 1962 by Columbia Records. It debuted on Billboard magazine's pop album chart on April 14, 1962, peaked at the No. 26 spot, and remained on the chart for five weeks.
Song Hits from Theatreland is an album by Mantovani and His Orchestra. It was released in 1955 by Decca. It debuted on Billboard magazine's pop album chart on July 9, 1955, peaked at the No. 8 spot, and remained on the chart for eight weeks. It was an RIAA certified gold album .< AllMusic later gave the album a rating of three stars.
Broadway in Rhythm is an album by Ray Conniff and His Orchestra and Chorus. It was released in 1961 on the Columbia label.
