I got to think about this entire "instrumentals" thing, and found that a lot of my favorite instrumentals (and maybe yours, too) are the light orchestral pieces mostly played by "pops" orchestras (e.g. The Boston Pops), school orchestras and the like. One of the most important composers of these pieces is Leroy Anderson, who wrote classic pieces like "The Syncopated Clock", "Blue Tango" (which was a hit for him in 1952), "Sleigh Ride", and "The Typewriter". Here are five of his lesser-known works.
- The Boston Pops, "Fiddle-Faddle": Arthur Fiedler guided The Boston Pops through a number of Anderson’s compositions over the years. Anderson publishd this on January 1, 1947, and the Pops debuted it on the radio a few months later. Theirs is the first recording of it.
- "Jazz Pizzicato/Jazz Legato": Anderson wrote "Jazz Pizzicato" in 1938, and at less than two minutes it was too short for a three-minute single. So Anderson wrote "Jazz Legato" to go along with it.
- "Plink, Plank, Plunk!": This was used for years as the theme music for the game show I’ve Got A Secret. Written in 1951.
- "The Waltzing Cat": Written in 1950 and demonstrates Anderson’s ability to use creative instrumental effects.
- "Trumpeter’s Lullaby": From 1949.
Leroy Anderson, your Five For Friday, September 10, 2021.
This was fun, John. Reminded me of my concert band days.
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I’ve been looking for different sources of instrumental music, and I landed on him as a possible source. I have a few more ideas I’ll be rolling out in the next few weeks. Stay tuned…
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Looking forward to it.
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Great tunes, John! All very unique!
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Glad you like them!
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Sleigh Ride (not my favorite piece, but it’s ubiquitous).
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He wrote so many that I had a hard time limiting it to just five. I’ve linked several other of his songs (including “Sleigh Ride”) in the text.
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Great tunes.
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He’s one of those guys that has written so many great songs and few people know who he is.
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you are right about that! FYI I did add you to my 5 On Friday linky tool
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Thanks!
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