Subject: Re: (exotica) Johnny Richards' Aqui Se Habla Espanol (Spanish Spoken Here)
> I know next to nothing about this guy Johnny Richards. Anyone with more
> info on Richards, please tell.
Johnny Richards was a composer/arranger/bandleader who did
everything from write movie scores to lead a dance band in the
dying days of the Big Band Era. If you like "Aqui Se Habla
Espanol", another one you might enjoy is "The Rites of Diablo"--
in my book, a certifiable exotica classic (featuring Johnny's band
and the Dave Lambert Singers--Dave later became one-third of
Lambert, Hendricks and Ross). This was done for Roulette in the
'50s and seems to be fairly hard to come by.
Richards also did arrangements for Boyd Raeburn, who led one of
the most progressive of the big bands in the late '40s, and Stan
Kenton, for whom he wrote the wonderful "Cuban Fire" (another
must-have!).
Very little of Johnny Richards' stuff seems to have made it onto
CD. There's one CD featuring some live recordings from the late
'50s but little else. Kenton's "Cuban Fire" is still available on CD, I
think.
Darrell Brogdon
dbrogdon@ukans.edu
The Retro Cocktail Hour
KANU FM 91.5
Broadcasting Hall
The University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS 66045
Visit The Retro Cocktail Hour at:
http://kanu.ukans.edu/retro.html
Listen to The Retro Cocktail Hour at:
http://kanu.ukans.edu/retro/retrolisten.htm
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Date: Wed, 25 Aug 1999 09:12:44 -0400
From: "m.ace" <ecam@voicenet.com>
Subject: (exotica) On the Trail of Mark Twain with Peter Ustinov
Of possible interest...
"On the Trail of Mark Twain with Peter Ustinov" -- a new multi-parter on PBS. A travelogue through Hawaii, New Zealand, India, South Africa, etc. retracing the route of Mark Twain's book, "Following The Equator".
