Percy Faith

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Percy Faith (born April 7, 1908 in Toronto , Ontario , † February 9, 1976 in Encino , California ) was an American (naturalized 1945) orchestra conductor of Canadian origin.

history

Faith was educated at the Toronto Conservatory , where she studied with Louis Waizman and Frank Welsman . After severely injuring his hands in a fire, he could no longer play the piano and turned to arranging and conducting. From 1931 he conducted his own orchestra and then became the main arranger and conductor for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation , for which he conducted numerous live concerts on the radio from 1938 to 1940. In 1940 Faith moved to the USA.

In 1951 he and Tony Bennett released the then unsuccessful single Blue Velvet , which over the years developed into a real classic and an often-covered hit. Faith was a proponent of easy listening and had three # 1 hits: Delicado , 1952; Theme from Moulin Rouge , 1953; and Theme from “A Summer Place” , 1959.

Faith also wrote film scores, including a. about the films Nachtclub-Affären ( Love Me or Leave Me , 1955), Tammy Tell Me True (1961, also used in the television series Tammy, the houseboat girl ), How to tame Eva ( I'd Rather Be Rich , 1964) , Goddesses of Love ( The Love Goddesses , 1964), The Third Day ( The Third Day , 1965) and ... because nobody is without guilt ( The Oscar , 1966). Faith wrote the theme music for the television series The People at Shiloh Ranch ( The Virginian ).

Faith was buried in Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City , California.

Awards

  • 1956 - Oscar nomination in the category Best Music for a music film for "Nightclub Affair" ( Love Me or Leave Me , 1955)
  • 1970 - Grammy for Best Contemporary Vocal Performance by a Choir for Love Theme from 'Romeo and Juliet'

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ On these two titles compare Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Records 1940-1955 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, 1973, p. 21
  2. ^ Bronson, Fred: The Billboard Book of Number One Hits . 3rd revised and expanded edition. New York City, New York: Billboard Publications, 1992, p. 66

literature

  • Frank Laufenberg: Rock- und Poplexikon Vol. 1 , Econ Taschenbuch Verlag, Düsseldorf 1998, p. 498, ISBN 3-612-26206-8 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Faith, Percy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American orchestra conductor
DATE OF BIRTH April 7, 1908
PLACE OF BIRTH Toronto
DATE OF DEATH February 9, 1976
Place of death Encino , California