Percy Faith

STATS Rank: 16,479 Views: 1,312

Born: April 7, 1908 | Died: February 9, 1976 Primary Instrument: Composer/conductor/leader

One of the founding fathers of easy listening, but not always the purveyor of pablum he's made out to be. Faith was a child prodigy on the piano, but his hopes for a career as a concert pianist ended when he injured his hands in a fire when he was 18. He switched to arranging and conducting, working in hotel and theater orchestras in Toronto and eventually landing his own radio show on CBC in 1938.

In 1940, Faith moved to Chicago and became a naturalized citizen a few years later. He moved to New York City and worked in radio for a while until he joined the A&R staff of Decca. By 1950, he was working for Mitch Miller at Columbia, who found Faith's rich but not overbearing string work perfect for the sound he was trying to cultivate. Faith began recording instrumentals under his own name in 1951 and soon had a #1 hit with his adaptation of a popular Brazilian song, “Delicado.” Faith had three #1 hits: “Delicado” in 1952; “Theme from 'Moulin Rouge'” in 1953, and “Theme from 'A Summer Place'” in 1960.

Between 1951 and 1976, Faith recorded something like 85 albums for Columbia. Faith's strings and Ray Conniff's choral band gave Columbia a one-two punch that dominated easy listening sales for nearly three decades and now fills the shelves of thrift stores around the country. Conniff and Faith also served as the foundation for the Columbia Record Club, the mail-order outlet that was middle America's primary source of albums. Like Conniff, Faith's worst sin may have been that of being too good a craftsman. He worked strings, woodwinds, and brass together so seamlessly that the result often achieves a surface of schmaltz that belies the fine work underneath. And with that many albums, there is a certain amount of crap to be expected.

When Faith appreciated his material, though, he put out his best effort--his albums of Mexican and Cuban music (”Viva!,” “Malaguena”) are good examples. There is nothing demure about these recordings: Faith puts splashy trumpets and powerful trombones right up front, and fills every corner of the room with sounds. Whether you like exotica or easy listening or not, these are excellent records.

Faith also wrote several film scores, including the Oscar-nominated “Love Me or Leave Me,” “Tammy Tell Me True,” and “The Oscar.” He was a popular arranger with Columbia's stable of singers, and backed most of them more than once: Tony Bennett, Doris Day, and Johnny Mathis all considered him among their favorite accompanists.

Last Updated: December 27, 2010

Albums Continental Music (1953)
Delicado (1953)
Kismet (1954)
Music from Hollywood (1954)
Music of Christmas (1954)
Music Until Midnight (1954)
Percy Faith Plays Romantic Music (1954)
Amour, Amor, Amore (1955)
Girl Meets Boy (1955)
Music for Her (1955)
Wish Upon a Star (1955)
It's So Peaceful in the Country (with Mitch Miller) (1956)
The Most Happy Fella (1956)
My Fair Lady (1956)
Passport to Romance (1956)
Swing Low in Hi-Fi (1956)
Adventure in the Sun (1957)
The CBS Album of George Gershwin (1957)
Li'l Abner (1957)
Viva: The Music of Mexico (1957)
The Columbia Album of Victor Herbert (1958)
Hallelujah! (1958)
South Pacific (1958)
Touchdown! (1958)
Bouquet (1959)
Malagueña: Music of Cuba (1959)
A Night with Sigmund Romberg (1959)
Porgy and Bess (1959)
Bon Voyage!: Continental Souveniers (1960)
Jealousy (1960)
A Night with Jerome Kern (1960)
The Sound of Music (1960)
Camelot (1961)
Carefree (1961)
Mucho Gusto! More Music of Mexico (1961)
Subways Are for Sleeping (1961)
Tara's Theme from Gone With The Wind (1961)
This Fling Called Love (with Eileen Farrell) (1961)
Bouquet of Love (1962)
Exotic Strings (1962)
Hollywood's Great Themes (1962)
The Music of Brazil! (1962)
American Serenade (1963)
A Look at Monaco (1963)
Shangri-La! (1963)
Themes for Young Lovers (1963)
Great Folk Themes (1964)
The Love Goddesses (1964)
More Themes for Young Lovers (1964)
Broadway Bouquet (1965)
Do I Hear a Waltz? (1965)
Latin Themes for Young Lovers (1965)
Bim! Bam!! Boom!!! (1966)
Christmas Is... (1966)
The Oscar (1966)
Themes for the "In" Crowd (1966)
Born Free and Other Great Movie Themes (1967)
Today's Themes for Young Lovers (1967)
Angel of the Morning (1968)
For Those in Love (1968)
Love Theme from "Romeo and Juliet" (1969)
Those Were the Days (1969)
Windmills of Your Mind (1969)
The Beatles Album (1970)
Held Over! Today's Great Movie Themes (1970)
Leaving on a Jet Plane (1970)
Black Magic Woman (1971)
I Think I Love You (1971)
Jesus Christ Superstar (1971)
Day By Day (1972)
Joy (1972)
Clair (1973)
Corazon (1973)
My Love (1973)
Chinatown Featuring the Entertainer (1974)
Clair (1974)
Country Bouquet (1974)
The Great Concert (1974)
New Thing (1974)
Disco Party (1975)
Summer Place '76 (1976) Singles
I Cross My Fingers {Vocal: Russ Emery} US # 20, 1950
All My Love { US # 7, 1950 }
Christmas In Killarney {Vocals: Shillelagh Singers} US # 28 - December 1950
On Top Of Old Smokey {Vocals: Burl Ives} US # 10, 1951
When The Saints Go Marching In / { US # 29 - September 1951 }
I Want To Be Near You { US # 30 - September 1951 }
Delicado { US # 1, 1952 }
Swedish Rhapsody (Midssummer Vigil)/ { US # 21, 1953 }
Moulin Rouge Theme { US # 1, 1953 }
Return To Paradise { US # 19 - June 1953 }
Many Times { US # 30 - December 1953 }
Dream, Dream, Dream { US # 25 - May 1954 }
The Bandit { US # 25 - October 1954 }
Valley Valparaiso { US # 53, 1956 }
We All Need Love { US # 67, 1956 }
With A Little Bit Of Luck { US # 82, 1956 }
Till { US # 63, 1957 }
Theme From A Summer Place { US # 1, 1960 }
Theme For Young Lovers { US # 35, 1960 }
Sons And Lovers { US # 111 - September 1963 }
Theme From "The Dark At The Top Of The Stairs" { US # 101 - November 1960 }
The Sound Of Surf { US # 111 - September 1963 }
Yellow Days { AC # 13, 1967 }
Can't Take My Eyes Off You { AC # 24, 1967 }
For Those In Love (1968)
Zorba { AC # 36, 1969 }
Theme From A Summer Place (Choral Version) US # 111 - July 1969 - AC # 26, 1969
The April Fools (1969)
Airport Love Theme (1970)
Everything's All Right { AC # 31 - February 1971 }
Theme From Summer Of '42 (1971)
Bach's Lunch (1972)
Crunchy Granola Suite { AC # 16, 1973 ]
Hill Where The Lord Hides { AC # 44, 1974 }
Theme From "Chinatown" { AC # 35, 1974 }
Summer Place '76 { AC # 13, 1976 }

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