101 Strings

101 Strings Orchestra was the brand for a highly successful easy listening symphonic music organization, with a discography exceeding 150 albums over 24 years, beginning in 1957. 101 Strings had a trademark sound, focusing on melody with a laid-back ambiance most often featuring strings. Its LPs were individualized by the slogan "The Sound of Magnificence", a puffy cloud logo and a sepia-toned photo of the orchestra. The 101 Strings orchestra included 124 string instruments and was initially conducted by Wilhelm Stephan. The orchestra's famous official photograph was taken in the Musikhalle Hamburg. Record label mogul David L. Miller came to prominence by releasing the first Bill Haley & His Comets’ records in 1952–1953 on his own Essex label (followed by Trans-World, then Somerset Records). In this capacity, Miller played a role in the creation of rock and roll. Following the rise of easy listening (practitioners of which included Mantovani and Jackie Gleason Presents), Miller subcontracted the Orchester des Nordwestdeutschen Rundfunks Hamburg (the Northwest German Radio Orchestra of Hamburg) conducted by Wilhelm Stephan to play in-house arrangements of popular standards. The first three 101 Strings albums were released in November 1957, and twelve more titles were released in 1958 (many of which featured recycled material from earlier albums attributed to the New World Orchestra, Rio Carnival Orchestra, and other light music orchestras). These records were pressed by Miller's own plants and released through his own distribution channels (such as grocery stores). His core staff arrangers were Monty Kelly, Joseph Francis Kuhn, and Robert Lowden. All three proved adept at writing original compositions that were stylistically consistent both with contemporary hit songs and each other. Miller placed these on 101 Strings albums to provide additional publishing revenues. Kelly's earliest successes were Latin and Spanish travelogues (such as the "Soul of Spain" series), although he became 101 Strings' "Now Sound" specialist following the British Invasion. Kuhn concentrated on radio-friendly numbers in the "Pops"'s orchestral manner ("Blues Pizzicato", etc.) which provided Somerset its initial catalog of originals. Lowden composed lounge ballads (such as "Blue Twilight"). The orchestra's body of early 1960s work, including recordings under the names of the Cinema Sound Stage Orchestra and the Zero Zero Seven Band, was recycled via re-release throughout the next twenty years. In 1964, Miller sold the franchise to Al Sherman, a successful record label distributor, who renamed the label Alshire (based in Los Angeles) and moved recording to London. Sherman retained Miller as a partner to oversee production and A&R. The Alshire era is characterized by large-scale expansion of product, attempts to branch out to younger markets and beginning in 1969, eventual stagnation (although late efforts by Les Baxter and Nelson Riddle were released under the 101 Strings name in 1970's). Output decreased from 1974 on. A tribute to John Lennon (composed of earlier Beatles tribute material – 101 Strings play Hits written by The Beatles) in January 1981 marked the final 101 Strings effort. Many 101 Strings albums are simply orchestrated versions of pop hits and show tunes, although the early Somerset material contains many examples of the exotica and lounge genres. East of Suez (1959), In a Hawaiian Paradise (1960), and Songs of the Seasons in Japan (1964) are three such albums. 101 Strings Play the Blues (1958) and Back Beat Symphony were early experiments in symphonic-pop hybridization, while Fly Me to the Moon (1961) contains five noir-ish originals. Alshire releases include ‘Now Sound’ albums such as The Sounds and Songs of the Jet Set (1965), Sounds of Today (1967), and Astro-Sounds from Beyond the Year 2000 (1969), the last of which has been frequently sampled by electronic music artists of the 1990s and 2000s decades. The current owner is Countdown Media, a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management. In the 24 years of its existence, 101 Strings sold more than 50,000,000 records worldwide. The orchestra had five hit albums in the UK, including one number one. Gypsy Campfires (1958) #9 The Soul of Spain (1958) #17 Ferde Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite (1958) #10 Down Drury Lane to Memory Lane (1960) #1 Morning Noon and Night (1983) #32 Original releases during the group's existence from 1957 to 1981. Subsequent releases under the 101 Strings name consist of rereleases, compilations, and material licensed from other performers and are not included. 101 Strings in a Symphony for Lovers (1957) 101 Strings Play the World's Great Standards (1957) A Night in the Tropics (1957) 101 Strings Play the Blues (1958) Gypsy Campfires (1958) The Emotion of 101 Strings at Gypsy Campfires (1958) Award Winning Scores from the Silver Screen (1958) Ferde Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite (1958) The Glory of Christmas (1958) 101 Strings Play the Sugar & Spice of Rudolph Friml (1958) 101 Strings Play Hit American Waltzes (1958) 101 Strings Play Hits from Pal Joey (1958) (back cover adds and The Red Mill) A Night in Vienna (1958) A Night Serenade in the Quiet Hours (1958) Opera Without Words (1958) A Bridal Bouquet The World's Most Beautiful Wedding Songs (1958) Concerto Under the Stars (1958) (rereleased as Concertos for Lovers) Soul of Music U.S.A. (1958) The Soul of Spain (1958) The Soul of Spain, Volume 2 (1958) Russian Fireworks (1959) East of Suez (1959) Porgy and Bess (1959) The Rivieras : 101 Strings on a Mediterranean Cruise (1959) 101 Years of Familiar Songs America Loves (1960) 25 Years of Show Hits (1960) 101 Strings in a Hawaiian Paradise (1960) Down Drury Lane to Memory Lane (1960) I Love Paris (1960) Rhapsody (1960) Soul of the Blues (1960) Richard Rodgers Lorenz Hart (1960) (disc label reads "Roger - Hart) (rereleased in 1972 as "Rogers and Hart", orchestra not credited; rereleased in 1973 minus "I Could Write a Book" as "Million Seller Broadway Hits") Back Beat Symphony (1961) Exodus and Other Great Movie Themes (1961) Fly Me to the Moon (1961) (cover reads Songs When We're Alone... Fly Me to the Moon) Smash Hits from The Music Man (1961) The Stephen Foster Songbook (1961) A World of Romance (1961) (reel-to-reel tape with selections from six previous albums) Italian Hits (1961) Camelot (1962) Inspiration and Meditation (1962) (disc label reads "Songs of Inspiration and Meditation") The Soul of Mexico (1962) With Love from London (1962) Million Seller Hit Songs of the 60's (1963) 101 Key Mortier Dance Organ, St. Albans Organ Museum (1964) Invitation to Dreams (1964) I Left My Heart in 101 Strings (1964) (Japanese release) I Left My Heart in San Francisco (1964) The Magic of Strings After Dark (1964) (disc label reads Strings After Dark) Million Seller Hit Songs of the 30's (1964) Million-Seller Hit Songs of the 40's (1964) Million-Seller Hit Songs of the 50's (1964?) (rereleased minus 2 tracks in 1976 as 50's Style) Songs of the Seasons in Japan (1964) Victor Young Leroy Anderson (1964) The Sounds and Songs of the Jet Set (1965) Paul Griffin Swings with 101 Strings (1965) My Fair Lady (1965) Fire and Romance of South America (1965) Cole Porter (1965) Concertos U.S.A. (1966) The Wonderful World of Walt Disney (1966) 101 Strings Plus Guitars Galore (1966) The Best Loved Songs of Irving Berlin (1966) Fiesta Español (1966) John Philip Sousa George M. Cohan (1966) Million Seller Hits of 1966 (1966) Richard Rodgers Oscar Hammerstein (1966) Sigmund Romberg Rudolf Friml (1966) The Soul of Erin (1966) Victor Herbert (1966) The Tijuana Sound (1967) Million Seller Hits from the Golden Age of the Bands (1967) 101 Strings Play Million Seller Hits – Volume 1 (1967) 101 Strings Play Million Seller Hits – Volume 2 (1967) 101 Strings Play Million Seller Hits – Volume 3 (1967) 101 Strings Plays Hit Songs for Girls (1967) Songs from George M. Cohan That Is (1967) (back cover reads 101 Strings Play Hit Songs from