MUSICAL DECADES - 1950s - Instrumentals

When we think of the 1950s, we think of Rock 'n' Roll. However, instrumental music was big on the pop chart back then as well. In fact, not only did it co-exist with Rock 'n' Roll but it also competed with it. Today, I'd like to take you back to the 1950s for a sampling of this type of music.

Berthold Heinrich Kämpfert, (October 16, 1923 – June 21,1980), better known as Bert Kaempfert, was a German orchestra leader and songwriter. He made easy listening and jazz-oriented records and wrote the music for a number of well-known songs, including "Strangers in the Night" and "Moon Over Naples".

Kaempfert's own first hit was released by Decca Records in America in 1959. With its haunting solo trumpet, muted brass, and lush strings, the single topped the American pop charts and turned Bert Kaempfert and Orchestra into international stars. Over the next few years, he revived such pop tunes as "Tenderly", "Red Roses for a Blue Lady", "Three O'Clock in the Morning", and "Bye Bye Blues", as well as composing pieces of his own, including "Spanish Eyes (Moon Over Naples)", "Danke Schoen", and "Wooden Heart", which were recorded by, respectively, Al Martino, Wayne Newton, and Elvis Presley.

Mitchell William "Mitch" Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American oboist, conductor, recording producer and recording industry executive. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor, and A&R (artist and repertoire) man. Miller was one of the most influential people in American popular music during the 1950s and early 1960s, both as the head of A&R at Columbia Records and as a best-selling recording artist with an NBC television series, Sing Along with Mitch. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester in the early 1930s, Miller began his musical career as an accomplished player of the oboe and English horn, making numerous highly regarded classical and popular recordings, but he is best remembered as a choral conductor on television and as a recordings executive.

Miller's medley of the two marches from the movie, The Bridge on the River Kwai, "The River Kwai March" and "Colonel Bogey March", lasted 29 weeks on the Billboard pop charts in 1958, longer than any other record within that year.

Morris "Moe" Koffman, (December 28, 1928 – March 28, 2001) was a Canadian jazz saxophonist and flautist, as well as composer and arranger. During a career spanning from the 1950s to the 2000s, Koffman was one of Canada's most prolific musicians, working variously in clubs and sessions. With his 1957 record Hot and Cool Saxophone on the New York-based Jubilee label, Koffman became one of the first Canadian jazz musicians to record a full-length album.

Koffman was inspired by Rahsaan Roland Kirk to play multiple instruments at once; and had a modified set of straps to hold a tenor and an alto saxophone so that he could put forward incredible chords and improvise at the same time. One of the more famous session musicians in Toronto, he appeared in countless commercials, background music, and film and TV soundtracks. Most work on bass flute in Canadian soundtracks from 1950 to 1990 in Toronto sessions was done by Koffman on this rare instrument. Koffman was also an exponent of circular breathing techniques for his large volumes of sound, and joined fellow Canadian Maynard Ferguson and new age multi-instrumentalist musician Ron Allen in this talent.

Koffman recorded “Swinging Shepherd Blues” in 1957 which helped establish his reputation as a flautist and ranked him alongside Herbie Mann and Yusef Lateef and later Jeremy Steig as great influential jazz flute players. "Swinging Shepherd Blues" was also a hit in the United States, reaching #23 on the Billboard pop chart.

Anton Karas (July 7, 1906 – January 10, 1985) was a Viennese zither player and composer. As a child, Karas desired to become a band leader, which due to the family's financial situation was impossible. However, he was allowed to learn to play an instrument, as were his two brothers and two sisters. He later reported that his first zither was one he found in his grandmother's attic, at the age of 12.

Director Carol Reed was preparing to shoot the movie, The Third Man in Vienna when he heard Karas playing the zither. Desperately searching for a theme tune, Reed asked a stunned Karas if he would compose the music for the film. Karas protested, saying he had never actually written music. As Karas later told the story, the director insisted and invited Karas to England. The Austrian became homesick and asked to be allowed to return. Reed told him he could—as soon as he had written the music. Under this pressure Karas wrote his “Harry Lime Theme.”

Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American Hall of Fame pianist who was one of the architects of the Nashville sound. He was known for his "slip note" piano style, in which an out-of-key note slides into the correct note.

Cramer taught himself to play the piano. After finishing high school, he returned to Shreveport, where he worked as a pianist for the radio show, Louisiana Hayride. In 1953, he cut his first single, "Dancin' Diane", backed with "Little Brown Jug". In 1955 he played dates with an emerging talent, Elvis Presley. It was Cramer's piano playing on Presley's first single, "Heartbreak Hotel".

Cramer became well known following the release of "Last Date", a 45-rpm single. The instrumental piece exhibited a relatively new concept in piano playing known as the "slip note" style. The record went to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 pop music chart, sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. The song was kept out of the number 1 position by Elvis Presley's "Are You Lonesome Tonight".

Here's a clip with an introduction by Johnny Cash.

Duane Eddy (born April 26, 1938) is an American guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s he had a string of hit records produced by Lee Hazlewood which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel Rouser", "Peter Gunn", and "Because They're Young". He had sold 12 million records by 1963.

"Rebel 'Rouser" featured overdubbed saxophone by Los Angeles session musician Gil Bernal, and yells and hand claps by doo-wop group The Rivingtons. The tune became Eddy's breakthrough hit, reaching number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It sold over one million copies, earning Eddy his first gold disc.

This ends Musical Decades for this week. Thanks for listening and I hope to see you here next time.

(The information used in this post is from Wikipedia.) 

Dominique "Nik" Petersen is an aficionado of "oldies" music and the author of The Dr. Hook Trivia Quiz Book. Read about it and her other books at the website: 

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