Percy Faith
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Percy Faith | |
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orchestrator, composer | |
Website | www |
Percy Faith (April 7, 1908 – February 9, 1976) was a Canadian–American
Biography
Faith was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Beginning with stations CKNC and CKCL, Faith was a staple of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's live-music broadcasting from 1933 to 1940, when he resettled in Chicago, Illinois.[1] In the early 1940s, Faith was orchestra leader for the Carnation Contented program on NBC.[5] From 1948 to 1949 he also served as the orchestra leader on the CBS radio network program The Coca-Cola Hour (also called The Pause That Refreshes). The orchestral accordionist John Serry Sr. collaborated with Faith in these broadcasts.[6] He also led the orchestra on The Woolworth Hour on CBS radio (1955–1957).[7]
In 1945, he became a
His most famous and remembered recordings are "
Although Faith initially mined the worlds of Broadway, Hollywood and Latin music for many of his top-selling 1950s recordings, he enjoyed popularity starting in 1962 with his orchestral versions of popular rock and pop hits of the day. His Themes for Young Lovers album was a top seller during this era and introduced the Faith sound to a younger generation of listeners. With the success of Columbia record-mate Ray Conniff's chorus and orchestra during this same time, Faith began using a chorus (usually all female in most of his recordings, but used a mixed chorus on his albums Leaving on a Jet Plane and I Think I Love You, which were released in 1970 and 1971 respectively) in several popular albums from the mid-1960s on. Faith's first single with a female chorus, "Yellow Days," was a substantial hit in the MOR (Middle of the Road) easy listening radio format of the mid-1960s. Faith continued to enjoy airplay and consistent album sales throughout the early 1970s, and received a second Grammy award in 1969 for his album Love Theme from 'Romeo and Juliet'.
Although best known for his recording career, Faith also occasionally scored motion pictures, and received an Academy Award nomination for his adaptation of the song score for the Doris Day musical feature, Love Me or Leave Me.[1] His other film scores included romantic comedies and dramatic features such as Tammy Tell Me True (1961), I'd Rather Be Rich (1964), The Third Day (1965) and The Oscar (1966).[1] Faith also composed the theme for the NBC series The Virginian.
With the advent of harder rock sounds in the 1970s, Faith's elegant arrangements fell out of favour with the listening and record-buying public, although he continued to release albums as diverse and contemporary as
Faith had two children, Marilyn and Peter, with his wife Mary (née Palange), whom he married in 1928. She died in Los Angeles in 1997.
Discography
Albums
Percy Faith placed 21 albums on the
- Continental Music (1951)
- Delicado (1952)
- Carnival Rhythms (1952)
- Music from "Kismet" (1953)
- Music from Hollywood (1954)
- Music of Christmas (1954)
- Music Until Midnight (1954)
- Percy Faith Plays Romantic Music (1954)
- Amour, Amor, Amore (1955)
- Girl Meets Boy (with Jerry Vale, Peggy King, and Felicia Sanders) (1955)
- Music for Her (1955)
- Wish Upon a Star (with Peggy King) (1955)
- It's So Peaceful in the Country (with Mitch Miller) (1956)
- The Most Happy Fella (1956)
- My Fair Lady (1956)
- Passport to Romance (1956)
- Swing Low in Hi-Fi (1956)
- Adventure in the Sun (1957)
- The Columbia Album of George Gershwin (1957)
- Li'l Abner (1957)
- Viva: The Music of Mexico (1957)
- The CBS Album of Victor Herbert (2 record set, 1958)
- Hallelujah! (1958)
- South Pacific (1958)
- Touchdown! (1958)
- North and South of the Border (1958)
- Bouquet (1959)
- Malagueña: Music of Cuba (1959)
- A Night with Sigmund Romberg (1959)
- Porgy and Bess (1959)
- Music of Christmas (re-recorded in stereo, 1959)
- Bon Voyage!: Continental Souvenirs (1960)
- Jealousy (1960)
- A Night with Jerome Kern (1960)
- The Sound of Music (1960)
- Camelot (1961)
- Carefree (1961)
- Mucho Gusto! More Music of Mexico (1961)
- Subways Are for Sleeping (1961)
- Tara's Theme from Gone With The Wind (1961)
- This Fling Called Love (with Eileen Farrell) (1961)
- Bouquet of Love (1962)
- Exotic Strings (1962)
- Hollywood's Great Themes (1962)
- The Music of Brazil! (1962)
- American Serenade (1963)
- A Look at Monaco (1963)
- Shangri-La! (1963) #80 Hot 200
- Themes for Young Lovers (1963) #32 Hot 200
- Great Folk Themes (1964) #103 Hot 200
- The Love Goddesses (1964)
- More Themes for Young Lovers (1964) #110 Hot 200
- Broadway Bouquet (1965) #101 Hot 200
- Do I Hear a Waltz? (1965)
- Latin Themes for Young Lovers (1965)
- Bim! Bam!! Boom!!! (1966)
- Christmas Is... (1966)
- The Oscar (1966)
- Themes for the "In" Crowd (1966)
- Born Free and Other Great Movie Themes (1967) #152 Hot 200
- Today's Themes for Young Lovers (1967) #111 Hot 200
- Angel of the Morning (1968) #95 Hot 200
- For Those in Love (1968) #121 Hot 200
- I Concentrate On You (1968)
- Love Theme from "Romeo and Juliet" (1969) #134 Hot 200
- Those Were the Days (1969) #88 Hot 200
- Windmills of Your Mind (1969) #194 Hot 200
- The Beatles Album (1970) #179 Hot 200
- Held Over! Today's Great Movie Themes (1970) #196 Hot 200
- Leaving on a Jet Plane (1970) #88 Hot 200
- Younger Than Springtime (1970)Harmony Records
- Sounds of music (1970)Harmony
- Koga Melodies (1970)Sony, Japan
- Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head (1971)Australia
- Black Magic Woman (1971) #184 Hot 200
- I Think I Love You (1971) #198 Hot 200
- Jesus Christ Superstar (1971) #186 Hot 200
- A Summer Place (1971)Harmony
- Day By Day (1972) #197 Hot 200
- Joy (1972) #176 Hot 200
- Everynight at the movies (1972)Harmony
- Ryoichi Hattori Melodies (1972)Sony, Japan
- Clair (1973)
- Corazon (1973)
- My Love (1973)
- The Entertainer (1974) (withdrawn/reissued)
- Chinatown Featuring the Entertainer (1974)
- Clair (1974)
- Country Bouquet (1974)
- Remembering the hits of the '60s (1974)
- Live in Japan, On May 19. 1974 at Tokyo Kosei Nenkin Kaikan (1974)Sony, Japan.
- The Great Concert (1974)2LP set Same concert as above and full concert. Sony, Japan
- New Thing (1974)
- Disco Party (1975)
- Viva!/Mucho Gusto! (1975)
- Summer Place '76 (1976)
Compilations
- Greatest Hits (1960)
- Forever Young (2-LP, 1968)
- A Time for Love (2-LP, 1971)
- All-Time Greatest Hits (1972) #200 Hot 200
- All about Percy Faith (1975) 2LP set Sony, Japan
- 16 Most Requested Songs (1989)
- Definitive collection (2014) 2CD set Real Gone Music
Singles
Faith produced the following singles:[8][9]
- I Cross My Fingers {Vocal: Russ Emery} US #20, 1950
- All My Love (US #7, 1950)
- Christmas in Killarney {Vocals: Shillelagh Singers} US #28 – December 1950
- On Top of Old Smokey {Vocals: Burl Ives} US #10, 1951
- When the Saints Go Marching In / (US #29 – September 1951)
- I Want to Be Near You (US #30 – September 1951)
- Delicado (US #1, 1952)
- Swedish Rhapsody (Midsummer Vigil) / (US #21, 1953)
- Moulin Rouge Theme{Vocals: Felicia Sanders} US #1, 1953
- Return to Paradise (US #19 – June 1953)
- Many Times (US #30 – December 1953)
- Dream, Dream, Dream (US #25 – May 1954)
- The Bandit (US #25 – October 1954)
- Valley Valparaiso (US #53, 1956)
- We All Need Love (US #67, 1956)
- With a Little Bit of Luck (US #82, 1956)
- Till (US #63, 1957)
- Theme from A Summer Place (US #1, 1960)
- Theme for Young Lovers (US #35, 1960)
- Theme from "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs" (US #101 – November 1960)
- Sons and Lovers (US #111 – September 1963)
- The Sound of Surf (US #111 – September 1963)
- Yellow Days (AC #13, 1967)
- Can't Take My Eyes Off You (AC #24, 1967)
- For Those in Love (1968)
- Zorba (AC #36, 1969)
- Theme from A Summer Place (instrumental) US #111 – July 1969 – AC #26, 1969
- The April Fools (1969)
- Airport Love Theme (1970)
- Everything's All Right (AC #31 – February 1971)
- Theme from Summer of '42 (1971)
- Bach's Lunch (1972)
- Crunchy Granola Suite (AC #16, 1973)
- Hill Where the Lord Hides (AC #44, 1974)
- Theme from "Chinatown" (AC #35, 1974)
- Summer Place '76 (AC #13, 1976)
References
- ^ ISBN 1-85227-937-0.
- ^ Taylor, Derek. The Golden Age of Easy Listening (2024), pp. 53-58
- ^ "Percy Faith album: Percy Faith Program". www.percyfaith.info. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
- ^ "Great Neck Online | Some Famous Great Neckers". www.westegg.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
- ^ "Say Hello to ...". Radio and Television Mirror. Vol. 15, no. 4. February 1941. p. 39.
- ISBN 978-0-7864-3391-9
- ISBN 978-0-19-984045-8. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
- ISBN 9780898201697.
- ISBN 9780898200836.
External links
- All About Percy Faith, discography and reference
- Percy Faith Pages
- Alan Bunting, "Percy Faith Discography"
- Percy Faith discography, general information (Music City)
- Brief biography
- Percy Faith at IMDb