1. Leslie Thompson Baxter was an American musician, composer and conductor.
12 Facts About Les Baxter
1. 2.
Les Baxter recorded Yma Sumac's first album: "Voice of the Xtabay", which can be considered one of the first recordings of exotica.
3.
Les Baxter 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.
4.
Les Baxter worked in radio as musical director of The Halls of Ivy and the Bob Hope and Abbott and Costello shows.
5.
Les Baxter worked on movie scores for B-movie studio American International Pictures where he composed scores for Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe films and other horror and beach party films including House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Raven, Muscle Beach Party and Beach Blanket Bingo.
6.
Les Baxter composed a new score for the theatrical release of the 1970 horror film Cry of the Banshee after AIP rejected Wilfred Josephs's original one.
7.
Howard W Koch recalled that Baxter composed, orchestrated and recorded the entire score of The Yellow Tomahawk in a total of three hours for $5,000.
8.
Les Baxter died in Newport Beach, California at the age of 73.
9.
Les Baxter was buried at Pacific View Memorial Park, in Corona del Mar, California.
10.
Bernhart states that Riddle told him that Les Baxter did not write the material on his exotica albums.
11.
Les Baxter said that he would give his compositions to orchestrators to arrange in order to cope with his hectic schedule.
12.
Les Baxter has a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6314 Hollywood Blvd.