Hot Butter were an American

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

band fronted by the keyboard player and studio musician Stan Free. The other band members were John Abbott (arranger, guitar), brothers Bill (producer, engineer, percussion) and Steve Jerome (producer, electric piano), Danny Jordan (producer) and Dave Mullaney (arranger, ondioline); also joined in studio by Tony Spinosa (percussion). They were best known for their 1972 version of the

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer ( ) is a modular synthesizer invented by the American engineer Robert Moog in 1964. Moog's company, R. A. Moog Co., produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014. It was the first commercial synthesizer ...

instrumental song "

Popcorn Popcorn (also called popped corn, popcorns, or pop-corn) is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated. The term also refers to the snack food produced by the expansion. It is one of the oldest snacks, with evidence of p ...

", originally recorded by its composer, Gershon Kingsley, in 1969. The track became an international hit, selling a million copies in France, 250,000 in the United Kingdom, and over two million worldwide.

History

The group released two albums, ''Hot Butter'' (Musicor MS-3242; 1972) and ''More Hot Butter'' (Musicor MS-3254; 1973), primarily of covers, on LP issued by Hallmark Records. (The 1974 Australian ''Moog Hits'' consisted of nine tracks from ''More Hot Butter'', plus two new tracks, Roger Whittaker's "Russian Whistler" and "Mexican Whistler".) The two albums were compiled on CD as ''Popcorn'' on the Castle Music

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

in 2000, omitting "Pipeline" and "Kappa Maki" from ''More Hot Butter'' and the two new tracks from ''Moog Hits''. Tracks written by members of the band were "At the Movies" (the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of "Popcorn") and "Tristana", by all the band members except Free, and "Space Walk", by Jan Fairchild (Mullaney) and his father Dave Mullaney. "The Silent Screen (Hot Butter)" is credited to all the members except for Free, but it's actually an

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

of the main theme of the first movement of

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's Symphony No. 40. Among the other artists covered by the band were Stephen Schwartz, Jerry Lordan and

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time. He has written and ...

, Joe Meek and

The Tornados The Tornados were an English instrumental rock group of the 1960s that acted as backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions and also for singer Billy Fury. They enjoyed several chart hits in their own right, including ...

, Neal Hefti,

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French singer-songwriter, actor, composer, and director. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provocative rel ...

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, politician and fraudster. After escaping the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, ...

, Piero Umiliani, Jean-Joseph Mouret, Billy Joe & the Checkmates, Joe Buffalo's Band, Teo Macero,

Leroy Anderson Leroy Anderson ( ; June 29, 1908 – May 18, 1975) was an American composer of short, Light music, light concert pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler. John Williams descri ...

, Chuck Rio, and

Norman Petty Norman Petty (May 25, 1927 – August 15, 1984) was an American musician, record producer, publisher, and radio station owner. He is considered to be one of the founding fathers of early rock & roll. With Vi Ann Petty—his wife and vocalist—he ...

and The String-A-Longs. Mullaney and Abbott did most of the arranging. The Jeromes, Jordan, and Richard E. Talmadge produced the albums with MTL Productions for Musicor. In addition to "Popcorn", another well-known track is

August Msarurgwa August Machona Musarurwa (usually identified as "August Msarurgwa" on record labels) was a Zimbabwean musician, best known for having composed the 1950s hit tune "Skokiaan" (also known as "Skokiyana", "Skokian"). Biography Early life and stu ...

's "

Skokiaan "Skokiaan" is a Popular music, popular Melody, tune originally written by Zimbabwean musician August Msarurgwa, August Musarurwa in the "Tsaba-tsaba" big band-style that succeeded Marabi. "Skokiaan" ("Chikokiyana" in Shona language, Shona)

", which was included on RE/Search's

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

''Incredibly Strange Music''. Follow-up singles included The Shadows' "

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

", Chuck Rio's ( Danny Flores) "

Tequila Tequila (; ) is a liquor, distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, Jalisco, Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands (''Los Altos (Jal ...

", Billy Joe and the Checkmates' "Percolator", Joe Buffalo's Band's "Slag Solution", and Gene Farrow with G.F. Band's "You Should Be Dancing".

Members

Stan Free

Stan Free (born Stanley Friedland) (April 12, 1922 – August 17, 1995) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musician (pianist), composer, conductor and arranger. Free was born in the

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

borough of New York City in 1922, and received a classical musical education, studying with Alexander Siloti and also at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

. While still in his teens, he organized a combo (Stanley Friedland's Royal New Yorkers) that played in the Catskills. He also served as a staff sergeant in the Seventh Cavalry in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, seeing combat in the Pacific. Upon his return, he became active in many musical endeavors, including serving as musical director for one of the first live television variety talk shows, "Cafe De Paris" with Sylvie St. Clair, on WABD, the old DuMont channel in New York (1949). The Stan Free Trio played in many New York jazz clubs of the day, including The Composer, The Embers, The Living Room and Hickory House to name a few. He was the featured performer for several summers at Herb McCarthy's Bowden Square in Southampton, Long Island. He recorded several albums (now out of print) under his own name: ''Free For All: The Stan Free Trio'', ''Piano A La Percussion'' and ''Stan Free Five: Would You Believe? Jazz Alive''. Free's best-known recording was the Moog hit "

" (1972), with the album named ''Hot Butter''. In addition to Free, five studio musicians contributed to the album. Free also toured and recorded with the First Moog Quartet (1970–72), organized by Gershon Kingsley. Additionally he arranged music and conducted for many performers, notably the jazz vocalist

Chris Connor Mary Jean Loutsenhizer, known professionally as Chris Connor (November 8, 1927 – August 29, 2009), was an American jazz singer. Biography Chris Connor was born Mary Loutsenhizer in Kansas City, Missouri, to Clyde Loutsenhizer and Mabel Sh ...

(Chris Craft), and the comedian Jack Carter. He was also a studio musician for many of the rock and pop groups of the 1960s, including The Four Seasons,

The Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...

and

The Association The Association is an American sunshine pop band from Los Angeles, California. During the late 1960s, the band had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard charts, ''Billboard'' charts (including "Windy (The Association song), Windy" ...

. In 1979, Free played percussion on the Broadway Show '' The Most Happy Fella''. He was married with children and grandchildren, and died in New York.

Discography

Albums

''Hot Butter''

*Musicor MS-3242 (U.S.); Pye International NSPL.28169 (UK), 1972 Side one # "

" ( Gershon Kingsley) (2:30) # " Day by Day" ( Stephen Schwartz) (3:44) # "

" ( Jerry Lordan) (2:50) # "At the Movies" (Abbott, Mullaney, Jerome, Jerome, Jordan) (2:31) # "Tristana" (Abbott, Mullaney, Jerome, Jerome, Jordan) (3:29) # " Song Sung Blue" (

) (3:54) Side two # "

Telstar Telstar refers to a series of communications satellites. The first two, Telstar 1 and Telstar 2, were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 launched atop of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962, successfully relayed the first televisi ...

" ( Joe Meek) (2:34) # "Tomatoes" ( Neal Hefti) (2:27) # "

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn written in 1772 and published in 1779 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is possibly the most sung and most recorded hymn in the world, and especially popular in the Unit ...

" (Trad. Arr. Abbott, Mullaney) (2:37) # "

Love at First Sight Love at first sight is a personal experience and a common theme in creative works: a person or character feels an instant, extreme, and ultimately long-lasting romantic attraction for a stranger upon first seeing that stranger. It has been desc ...

" ( S. Gainsbourg) (2:38) # "Song of the Narobi Trio" ( R. Maxwell) (2:13) # " Hot Butter (The Silent Screen)" (Abbott, Mullaney, Jerome, Jerome, Jordan) (2:04)

''More Hot Butter''

*Musicor MS-3254; 1973 Side one # "Percolator" # "Slag Solution" # "Sounds" # "

Wheels A wheel is a rotating component (typically circular in shape) that is intended to turn on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axl ...

" # "Skokiaan" # "

Pipeline A pipeline is a system of Pipe (fluid conveyance), pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries ...

" Side two # "Space Walk" # "The Masterpiece" # "Tequila" (Instrumental) # "Syncopated Clock" # " Kappa Maki" # "Mah-Na, Mah-Na"

''Popcorn with Hot Butter''

Side one # "Popcorn" (Instrumental) # "Day by Day" # "Apache" # "At the Movies" # "Tomatoes" Side two # "Pipeline" # "Hot Butter" # "Telstar" # "Tristana" # "Song of the Nairobi Trio" # "Amazing Grace"

''Moog Hits''

*Musicor Records, L34984, 1974 (Australia) Side one # "Slag Solution" # "Sounds - Simple" # "Wheels" # "Skokiaan" # "Russian Whistler" Side two # "Space Walk" # "The Masterpiece" # "Tequila" # "Syncopated Clock" # "Mah-Na, Mah-Na" # "Mexican Whistler"

''Popcorn'' (CD)

*Castle Music ESMCD907 (UK), 2000 # "

" ( Gershon Kingsley) # " Day by Day" ( Stephen Schwartz) # "

" ( Lordan) # "At the Movies" (Abbott, Mullaney, Jerome, Jerome, Jordan) # "Tristana" (Abbott, Mullaney, Jerome, Jerome, Jordan) # "Song Sung Blue" (

Diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

) # "

" ( Meek) # "Tomatoes" ( Hefti) # "

" (Trad. Arr. Abbott, Mullaney) # "

" ( Gainsbourg) # "Song of the Narobi Trio" (

Maxwell Maxwell may refer to: People * Maxwell (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** James Clerk Maxwell, mathematician and physicist * Justice Maxwell (disambiguation) * Maxwell baronets, in the Baronetage of N ...

). # " Hot Butter (The Silent Screen)" (Abbott, Mullaney, Jerome, Jerome, Jordan) # " Mah-Na-Mah-Na" ( Umiliani) # "

Masterpiece A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

" ( Mouret, Parnes) # "Percolator" ( Bideu,

Freeman Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to: Places United States * Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Freeman, South Dako ...

) # "

" ( Kusarurgwa) # "Slag Solution" (Morgan, Ranzzano) # "Sounds" ( Macero) # "Space Walk" (Mullaney, Mullaney) # " Syncopated Clock" ( Anderson,

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

) # "

" ( Rio) # "

" ( Petty)

Singles

* 1972: "

" ( Gershon Kingsley) :30/ "At the Movies" (John Abbott, Dave Mullaney, Bill Jerome, Steve Jerome, Danny Jordan) :31* 1972: "

" ( Jerry Lordan) :47/ "Hot Butter" (

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

: Sinfonie Nr. 40) (Abbott, Mullaney, B. Jerome, S. Jerome, Jordan) :08* 1972: "

" ( Chuck Rio) :47/ "Tomatoes" ( Neil Hefti) :21* 1973: "Percolator" ( Lew Bedell, Ernie Freeman) :58/ "Tristana" (Abbott, Mullaney, B. Jerome, S. Jerome, Jordan) :29(#46 CAN AC) * 1973: "Slag Solution" (Tony Ranzzano, Babel Son) :30/ "Kappa Maki" (Abbott, Mullaney, B. Jerome, S. Jerome, Jordan) :38* 1975: "Getting Off" (D. Mullaney, J. Mullaney) :53/ "Getting On" (D. Mullaney, J. Mullaney) :29* 1977: " You Should Be Dancing" (Gene Farrow, Chris Warren) :13/ "You Should Be Dancing" (Track Without Lead Vocal) (Farrow, Warren) :42

References

External links

* Allmusic.com biography* * {{Authority control American instrumental musical groups American synth-pop groups