Drasnin deserves a solid spot in the history of exotica for his 1959 album, Voodoo (also released with a different cover as Percussion Exotique), which exemplifies the genre as well as the best of Martin Denny or Les Baxter. Following its release, in fact, he was hired to arrange Denny's Latin Village album. Music Reviews: Exotica Classica by Martin Denny released in 1968 via Liberty. It seems like your Internet Explorer is out of date. We recommend to update your browser or try another one.
10:03AM Enoch Light “Blue Tango” from Persuasive Percussion (Vinyl, Album, Private, 1959) on Command Records
10:06AM The Chorus and Percussion of Keith Textor “Lonesome Road” from Sounds Terrific! (Vinyl, 2010) on SINETONE AMR
10:09AM Bob Thompson “Mmm, Nice! (feat. The Bob Thompson Orchestra & Chorus)” from Mmm Nice! (Vinyl, 2010) on Classic Music International
10:12AM Jeff Beck “Love is Blue” from 45 (Vinyl)
10:15AM Russ Garcia “Into Space” from Fantastica - Music from Outer Space (Vinyl, 1958) on EMI Catalog (USA)
10:18AM Warren Barker “The Moon Was Yellow” from The Music of Desire (Vinyl)
10:21AM Les Baxter “Quiet Village” from The Ritual of the Savage / The Passions (Vinyl, 1954) on Rev-Ola (UK)
10:24AM Henry Mancini and His Orchestra “Flamingo” from The Versatile Henry Mancini (Vinyl)
10:27AM HENRY MANCINI “MR. LUCKY” from Henry Mancini: All Time Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 (1988) on RCA Records Label (http://www.xlrecordings.com, i, USA)
10:30AM 101 Strings “Roller Coaster” from 101 Strings and Dynamic Percussion (Vinyl)
10:33AM Enoch Light “BOND STREET” from Spaced Out (2009) on Project 3
10:36AM Esquivel “Mini Skirt” from Esquivel! 1968 (1968) on RitmoDisc S.A.
10:39AM Percussion and Guitars “Jazz Pizzicato” from Music for a Bachelor Pad
10:45AM George Shearing “Mambo Inn” from Latin Verve Sounds (1954) on Verve Records
10:48AM The Three Suns “Delicado” from The Very Best Of (2009) on Master Classics Records
10:49AM Frank Hunter “Jungle Fantasy” from White Goddess (Vinyl, Album, Private)
10:52AM Chaino “Jungle Chase” from Jungle Chase (Vinyl, Single)
10:54AM Francis Lai “A Man and a Woman” from A Man and a Woman
10:57AM The Mystic Moods Orchestra “If You Go Away” from Stormy Weekend (Vinyl, 1972) on HDS
10:59AM Otto Cesana & His Orchestra “ECSTASY” from Ectsasy (Vinyl, 2011) on SINETONE AMR
11:02AM Pete Drake “FOREVER” from Forever (Vinyl, Album, Private)
11:05AM Ray Martin “Indian Summer” from Dynamica (Vinyl)
11:08AM Bas Shiva “Lust” from Easy Rhythms (Vinyl)
11:11AM Esquivel “JUNGLE DRUMS” from Latinesque (Vinyl)
11:14AM 101 Strings “There's No Answer for You” from Fly Me To The Moon (Vinyl, 2009) on RKO Orchestral
11:17AM Arthur Lyman “Blue Sands” from Bwana A (2009) on Hallmark
11:20AM Martin Denny “LOVE DANCE” from Exotica...The Exciting Sounds of Martin Denny (2008) on Hallmark
11:23AM Yma Sumac “Ataypura” from The Quechua Princess (2009) on Bela Records
11:26AM Jackie Gleason and His Concert Orchestra “Melancholy Serenade” from Jackie Gleason and His Concert Orchestra (Vinyl)
11:29AM Jackie Gleason “HOW ABOUT YOU” from Oooh (Vinyl)
11:32AM Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra “TEMPTATION” from Quiet Music (Vinyl)
11:35AM Joe Bushkin “Listen To The Quiet” from Two Sleepy People (Vinyl)
11:38AM Ethel Azama “You Smell So Good” from Cool Heat (Vinyl, Album, World) on Liberty (US)
11:41AM April Stevens “Teach Me Tiger” from Teach Me Tiger! (2008) on Harkit Records
11:44AM Julie London “Two Sleepy People” from Your Number Please? (Vinyl, Album, Private)
11:47AM Diana Dors “The Gentleman Is A Dope” from Swingin' Dors (Special Edition) (2010) on Marathon Media International Ltd.
11:50AM Robert Drasnin “Enchantment” from Voodoo! (CD, 1996) on Bacchus Archives
11:53AM Michael Magne “COPACABANA” from Tropical Fantasy (Vinyl)
11:56AM Nelson Riddle “Route 66 Theme” from The Best of Nelson Riddle (Comp, Private, 1962) on Capitol (US)
| Born | April 10, 1911 New York City, New York, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Died | March 2, 2005 (aged 93) Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. |
| Genres | Exotica |
| Occupation(s) | Arranger, bandleader, composer, pianist |
| Instruments | Piano Marimba Vibes Bongos Congas Timbales |
| Labels | Liberty Records |
Martin Denny (April 10, 1911 ‒ March 2, 2005) was an American piano-player and composer best known as the 'father of exotica.'[1] In a long career that saw him performing well into the 1980s, he toured the world popularizing his brand of lounge music which included exotic percussion, imaginative rearrangements of popular songs, and original songs that celebrated Tiki culture.
- 3Discography
Biography[edit]
Denny was born in New York City and raised in Los Angeles. He studied classical piano[2] and at a young age toured South America for four and a half years in the 1930s with the Don Dean Orchestra.[3] This tour began Denny's fascination with Latin rhythms. Denny collected a large number of ethnic instruments from all over the world, which he used to spice up his stage performances.[4]
After serving in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II, Denny returned to Los Angeles, in 1945 where he studied piano and composition under Dr. Wesley La Violette[5] and orchestration under Arthur Lange at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music. He later studied at the University of Southern California.[4]
In January 1954, Don the Beachcomber brought Denny to Honolulu, for a two-week engagement. He stayed to form his own combo in 1955, performing under contract at the Shell Bar in the Hawaiian Village on Oahu and soon signing to Liberty Records.[6] The original combo consisted of Augie Colon on percussion and birdcalls, Arthur Lyman on vibes, John Kramer on string bass, and Denny on piano.[7] Lyman soon left to form his own group and future Herb Alpert sideman and Baja Marimba Band founder Julius Wechter replaced him. Harvey Ragsdale later replaced Kramer.[4]
'We traveled a lot on the Mainland, but we came back every 12 weeks because the guys had their families here [in Hawaii],' recalled Denny. In 1955, the musician met his future wife, June, and married her the following year. His daughter, Christina was born a few years later. 'I loved the lifestyle and my career was built here,' said Denny.[4]
Denny described the music his combo played as 'window dressing, a background'.[8] He built a collection of strange and exotic instruments with the help of several airline friends. They would bring Denny back these instruments and he would build arrangements around them. His music was a combination of ethnic styles: South Pacific, the Orient and Latin rhythms.[9]
During an engagement at the Shell Bar, Denny discovered what would become his trademark and the birth of 'exotica'. The bar had a very exotic setting: a little pool of water right outside the bandstand, rocks and palm trees growing around, very quiet and relaxed. As the group played at night, Denny became aware of bullfrogs croaking. The croaking blended with the music and when the band stopped, so did the frogs.[10] He thought it was a coincidence at first, but when he tried the tune again later, the same thing happened. This time, his bandmates began doing all sorts of tropical bird calls as a gag. The band thought it nothing more than a joke. The next day, someone approached Denny and asked if he would do the arrangement with the birds and frogs. He agreed. At rehearsal, he had the band do 'Quiet Village'[11] with each doing a bird call spaced apart. Denny did the frog part on a grooved cylinder and the whole thing became incorporated into the arrangement of 'Quiet Village'. It sold more than one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[12]
The album jacket was an influential factor guiding the fantasy of Denny's music. Denny's first dozen albums featured model Sandy Warner on the cover.[3]
Art designers always changed her looks to fit the mood of the package. For instance, we called one album with an African sound Afro-desia and Sandy dyed her hair blond for the photo session; she's seen against a background of colorful African masks. When we did Hypnotique, which is surrealistic, she had dark hair. For Primitiva, she was photographed standing waist-deep in water.
The Exotica album was recorded in December 1956 and released in 1957. In 1958, Dick Clark hosted Denny on American Bandstand. 'Quiet Village' reached #2 on Billboard's charts in 1959 with the Exotica album[11] reaching #1. He rode the charts of Cashbox and Variety also. Denny had as many as three or four albums on the charts simultaneously during his career. He had national hits with 'A Taste of Honey', 'The Enchanted Sea', and 'Ebb Tide'.[citation needed]
Martin Denny Exotica Stereo
Denny died in Honolulu on March 2, 2005, aged 93.[13] Following a private memorial service, his ashes were scattered at sea.
Legacy[edit]
His combo spawned two successful offshoots: Julius Wechter (of Tijuana Brass and Baja Marimba Band fame) and exotica vibist Arthur Lyman.
Denny's Firecracker is well known in Japan as the number which inspired Haruomi Hosono to establish Yellow Magic Orchestra.[14][15]
Former Psychic TV member Fred Gianelli released an album in 1991 entitled Fred;[16] the second track on that album is entitled 'Mr. Denny'. The song is an instrumental tribute to Martin Denny and features excerpts of an interview with him. The interview appears to have been recorded sometime in 1990 or '91, because he mentions the release of Exotica 90, which was released in 1990.
Martin Denny's recordings are prominently featured in the 1999 film Breakfast of Champions, based on the Kurt Vonnegut novel. This is primarily because the car dealership featured in the film is having a Hawaiian-based promotion.
Denny's music is a recurring theme in the Sandman Slim series by Richard Kadrey, where his music is always playing on the jukebox in the Bamboo House of Dolls, 'LA's only punk tiki bar' and the favorite bar of main character James Stark aka Sandman Slim.
Discography[edit]
Studio albums[edit]
- Exotica, Liberty LRP-3034 (mono) (1957)
- Exotica, Liberty LST-7034 (stereo) (1958) - re-recorded for stereo with Julius Wechter replacing Arthur Lyman
- Exotica Vol.2, Liberty LRP-3077/LST-7006 (1958)
- Forbidden Island, Liberty LRP-3081/LST-7001 (1958)
- Primitiva, Liberty LRP-3087/LST-7023 (1958)
- Hypnotique, Liberty LRP-3102/LST-7102 (1959)
- Afro-Desia, Liberty LRP-3111/LST-7111 (1959)
- Exotica Volume III, Liberty LRP-3116/LST-7116 (1959)
- Quiet Village: The Exotic Sounds of Martin Denny, Liberty LRP-3122/LST-7122 (1959)
- The Enchanted Sea, Liberty LRP-3141/LST-7141 (1960)
- Exotic Sounds from the Silver Screen, Liberty LRP-3158/LST-7158 (1960)
- Exotic Sounds Visit Broadway, Liberty LRP-3163/LST-7163 (1960)
- Exotic Percussion, Liberty LRP-3168/LST-7168 (1961)
- Romantica, Liberty LRP-3207/LST-7207 (1961)
- Martin Denny in Person, Liberty LRP-3224/LST-7224 (1962)
- A Taste of Honey, Liberty LRP-3237/LST-7237 (1962)
- Another Taste of Honey, Liberty LRP-3277/LST-7277 (1963)
- The Versatile Martin Denny, Liberty LRP-3307/LST-7307 (1963)
- A Taste of Hits, Liberty LRP-3328/LST-7328 (1964)
- Latin Village, Liberty LRP-3378/LST-7378 (1964)
- Hawaii Tattoo, Liberty LRP-3394/LST-7394 (1964)
- Spanish Village, Liberty LRP-3409/LST-7409 (1965)
- 20 Golden Hawaiian Hits, Liberty LRP-3415/LST-7415 (1965)
- Martin Denny!, Liberty LRP-3438/LST-7438 (1966)
- Hawaii Goes A Go-Go, Liberty LRP-3445/LST-7445 (1966)
- Exotica Today, Liberty LRP-3465/LST-7465 (1966)
- Golden Greats, Liberty LRP-3467/LST-7467 (1966)
- Hawaii, Liberty LRP-3488/LST-7488 (1966)
- Paradise Moods, Liberty/Sunset SUM-1102/SUS-5102 (1966)
- Exotica Classica, Liberty LRP-3513/LST-7513 (1967)
- A Taste of India, Liberty LRP-3550/LST-7550 (1968)
- Exotic Love, Liberty LRP-3585/LST-7585 (1968)
- Exotic Moog, Liberty LRP-3621/LST-7621 (1969)
- Sayonara, Liberty/Sunset SUM-5169/SUS-5169 (1970)
- Exotic Night, Liberty/Sunset SUM-5199/SUS-5199 (1970)
- From Maui with Love, First American FA-7743 (1980)
- The Enchanted Isle, Liberty LN-10195 (1982)
- Exotica '90, Toshiba EMI/Insideout TOCP-6160 (1990)
Compilations & Reissues[edit]
- The Best of Martin Denny, Liberty LX-5502 (1961) (compilation)
- The Very Best of Martin Denny, United Artists UA-LA383-E (1975) (compilation)
- The Exotic Sounds: The Very Best of Martin Denny, EMI Manhattan (Japan) CP32-5657 (1989) (compilation)
- Paradise, Pair PCD-2-1267 (1990) (compilation)
- Exotica!: The Best of Martin Denny, Rhino R2-70774 (1990) (compilation)
- The Exotic Sounds of Martin Denny, Capitol (1990) (compilation)
- Enchanted Islands, CEMA Special Products S21-56638 (1993) (compilation)
- Quiet Village: The Exotic Sounds of Martin Denny, Curb D2-77685 (1994) (compilation)
- Exotic Moog (Martin Denny) / Moog Rock (Les Baxter), Electronic Vanguard EV-906-2 (1995) (bootleg reissue)
- Afro-Desia, Scamp 9702 (1995) (reissue)
- Bachelor in Paradise: The Best of Martin Denny, Pair (1996) (compilation)
- Exotica/Exotica Vol. II, Scamp 9712 (1996) (reissue)
- Forbidden Island/Primitiva, Scamp 9713 (1996) (reissue)
- Hypnotique/Exotica III, Scamp 9714 (1997) (reissue)
- Quiet Village/Enchanted Sea, Scamp 9715 (1997) (reissue)
- Baked Alaska, Collector's Choice Music CCM-393-2 (2003) (live in 1964)
- The Exotic Sounds of Martin Denny, Rev-Ola (2004) (compilation)
- Exotica, Rev-Ola (2005) (reissue)
- Exotica Vol. 2, Rev-Ola (2005) (reissue)
- Hypnotique, Rev-Ola (2005) (reissue)
- Primitiva, Rev-Ola (2005) (reissue)
- Forbidden Island, Rev-Ola (2006) (reissue)
- Quiet Village, Rev-Ola (2006) (reissue)
- Exotica III, Rev-Ola (2006) (reissue)
- Afro-Desia, Rev-Ola (2006) (reissue)
- Latin Village, Toshiba EMI (Japan) (2006) (reissue)
- The Best of Martin Denny's Exotica, Capitol (2006) (compilation)
- Hypnotique, Vivid Sound (Japan) (2007) (reissue)
- Hypnotique, Hallmark (2015) (reissue, non-Sandy Warner cover)
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2001). All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide To Popular Music, 4th Edition. Backbeat Books. ISBN978-0-87930-627-4.
- ^Lee III, William F. (2006). American Big Bands. Hal Leonard. ISBN978-0-634-08054-8.
- ^ abHayward, Philip (1999). Widening the Horizon: Exoticism in Post-War Popular Music. John Libbey Publishing. p. 174. ISBN978-1-86462-047-4.
- ^ abcdGriffith, Lesa (2003-10-01). 'Passing the Tiki Torch: Local collective Don Tiki bows to big kahuna Martin Denny'. Honolulu Weekly. Archived from the original on 2003-10-12. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
- ^'Studies with LaViolette'. DownBeat. DownBeat (1958 Vol 25).
- ^Rosen, Craig (1996). The Billboard Book of Number One Albums: The Inside Story Behind Pop Music's Blockbuster Records. Billboard Books. p. 1955. ISBN978-0-8230-7586-7.
- ^Lanza, Joseph (2004). Elevator Music: A Surreal History of Muzak, Easy-Listening, and Other Moodsong. University of Michigan Press. p. 122. ISBN978-0-472-08942-0.
- ^Exotica! The Best of Martin Denny (CD). Rhino Records. R2 70774.
- ^Harada, Wayne (March 4, 2005). 'Martin Denny — The Sound of Exotica'. Honolulu Advertiser.
- ^Wadey, Paul (March 7, 2005). 'Father of Exotica'. The Independent-UK.
- ^ ab'Martin Denny-Quiet Village on Hawaii Calls'. YouTube. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
- ^Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London, UK: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 112. ISBN0-214-20512-6.
- ^'Memorial, Martin Denny'. Find A Grave. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
- ^Lewis, John (3 July 2008). 'John Lewis meets the trio that is Yellow Magic Orchestra'. Theguardian.com. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- ^'The Essential... Yellow Magic Orchestra'. Factmag.com. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- ^'Fred Giannelli - Fred'. Discogs. Retrieved 27 October 2017.