Alec Templeton

about

Alec Templeton (July 4, 1909/1910, Cardiff, Wales - March 28, 1963, Greenwich, Connecticut) was a Welsh composer, pianist and satirist. Blind from birth, he studied at London's Royal Academy. Radio In 1936, he moved from Wales to the United States as a member of Jack Hylton's Jazz Band, where he played with a number of orchestras and gave his first radio performances on The Rudy Vallée Show, The Chase and Sanborn Hour, Kraft Music Hall and The Magic Key. Signing a recording contract with RCA Victor in 1939, he made a string of amusing sides including "Man with New Radio," "Mendelssohn Mows 'em Down," and a pseudo-operatic rendering of "And the Angels Sing" (written by the Italian composer Ziggy Elmano). A set of three 78rpm records called "Musical Portraits" was issued by RCA Victor as catalog number P-19; it continued in the catalog until the late 40s, and included "Mozart Matriculates." He also did six sides for Columbia in August of 1940, including an instrumental entitled "Redwoods at Bohemian Grove" (he had been accepted into that organization). In 1942 he did eight sides for Decca, six of them released as a three-record set with catalog number A-314. His radio program, Alec Templeton Time, sponsored by Alka-Seltzer, was first broadcast from 1939 to 1941, returning in 1943 and 1946–47. It was sometimes known as The Alec Templeton Show. Guests included Kay Lorene and Pearl Bailey. He memorized the scripts for his shows by having them read to him 20 times. From 3 June

top songs

albums

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Templeton: Pocket Size Sonata No. 1: I. Improvisation

The Magic Piano

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In Rhythm (Gershwin, Templeton, Copland, Reich, Bernstein, Villa-Lobos, Piazzolla & Milhaud)

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Clarinet Goes to Town

Bach Goes to Town

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Sunday Morning Classical Breakfast

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A flutist's Favorites with the Incomparable Flutist Julius Baker

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Romanza

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Jaren Hinckley: Jazz-Influenced Classical Works for Clarinet

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Hørsholm Percussion & Marimba Ensemble

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The Art Of Leon Goossens

Smart Alec

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