The Good Quote
Open menu
Quotes
Authors
Topics
More
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
Home
Authors
Les Baxter
American
Musician
About the author
In a sense, a hit belongs to the person who made it popular, but if a tune is good enough to attain tremendous success, then it certainly deserves more than one version, one treatment, one approach.
Les Baxter,
American
Musician
#Success
#Popular
#Sense
#Treatment
You know, they wanted to do a Broadway album and every show was kind of a bomb. There was no music at all.
Les Baxter,
American
Musician
#Music
When I want 30 musicians in the orchestra, I get 30.
Les Baxter,
American
Musician
#Want
#Musicians
Well, that's the secret of commerciality, a simple style and you stick with it.
Les Baxter,
American
Musician
#Style
Under my contract with Capitol, I have complete freedom to do just about anything I want in my own way.
Les Baxter,
American
Musician
#Want
#Freedom
Any good music must be an innovation.
Les Baxter,
American
Musician
#Music
#Innovation
Regardless of who originally made it popular, any hit song becomes a challenge to the ingenuity and imagination of other musicians and performers.
Les Baxter,
American
Musician
#Popular
#Imagination
#Challenge
#Song
#Musicians
I've never believed in cheapening music by going according to what some people think is public taste.
Les Baxter,
American
Musician
#People
#Public
#Music
#Taste
I've been down there 6 times and there's nothing like Brazilian percussion.
Les Baxter,
American
Musician
#Nothing
I write emotional music.
Les Baxter,
American
Musician
#Music
I was working all the time I was in college. I was working so much that I could hardly do my college work.
Les Baxter,
American
Musician
#Time
#Work
#College
I love doing concert music.
Les Baxter,
American
Musician
#Love
#Music
I don't try to make 15 musicians sound like two each.
Les Baxter,
American
Musician
#Musicians
#Sound
I don't think the record company is aware of it. Because they just bury my albums and don't release them.
Les Baxter,
American
Musician
#Company
I don't know what the problem with Capitol is. Some one's got to wake 'em up. Prod 'em a little bit.
Les Baxter,
American
Musician
I did the Broadway album unfortunately in a year when there were no hits.
Les Baxter,
American
Musician
I aim my arrangements at what will fit and colorfully frame the song in the best way possible.
Les Baxter,
American
Musician
#Will
#Song
I'm not an intellectual composer.
Les Baxter,
American
Musician
That was when the Spanish came in and conquered the Aztecs. I thought that was a clever thing.
Les Baxter,
American
Musician
#Thought