Rock 'n' Roll Symphony

Raymond Scott is one of the music world’s most obscure heroes. He is the inventor of the “Clarivox” and Audivox” and as such the founding father of electronic music. He was the mentor to Bob Moog, and his music has been heard but not recognised by almost everyone on the planet, Raymond Scott’s work “Powerhouse” being the music used by Warner Brothers on the Looney Tunes cartoons. Other outlets for his talents have been “The Simpsons” and Ren & Stimpy” to name a few. His work is also used regularly in advertising, a current example being the music on the EGG card TV adverts, and for Tic Tac adverts. A graduate of The Julliard school of music, he has held very senior positions at numerous major entertainment companies including CBS, Motown and NBC. He has also written music for many feature films, including working with Alfred Hitchcock (“The Trouble With Harry”) and Harold Robbins (“Never Love A Stranger”). This album was recorded whilst Scott was head of A & R at Everest Records which was owned by Harry Belock. It was produced to increase sales of Belock’s recording equipment by demonstrating the advantages of recording in stereo. To quote Scott at the time ” in 1958 the thought of combining the new rock ‘n’ roll beat with a “spacious orchestral sound…..on some of America’s greatest popular music” was unheard of. On the original sleeve, Scott commented, “The result, I feel, is rock ‘n’ roll for the entire family, mood music that will span generations”. The album is essentially 12 of the most popular tunes of the day played by a full Orchestra conducted by Raymond Scott and recorded in firstly Mono and then Stereo. This is a long-overdue tribute to a man of enormous talent and foresight.