Martin Denny (April 10, 1911 – March 2, 2005) was an American pianist, composer, and arranger. Known as the "father of

exotica Exotica is a musical genre that was popular during the 1950s to mid-1960s with Americans who came of age during World War II. The term was coined by Simon "Si" Waronker, Liberty Records co-founder and board chairman, named after the 1957 Mart ...

," he was a multi-instrumentalist and could play a number of

percussion instrument A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

s. In a long career that saw him performing up to 3 weeks prior to his death, he toured the world popularizing his brand of

lounge music Lounge music is a type of easy listening music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It may be meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place, usually with a tranquil theme, such as a jungle, an island paradise or outer space. The ra ...

which included exotic percussion, imaginative rearrangements of popular songs, and original songs that celebrated Tiki culture.

Biography

Denny was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and raised in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He studied classical piano and toured

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

for four and a half years in the 1930s with the Don Dean Orchestra. This tour began Denny's fascination with Latin rhythms. Denny collected a large number of ethnic instruments from all over the world, which he used to spice up his stage performances. After serving in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

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 ...

, Denny returned to

in 1945 where he studied piano and composition under Dr. Wesley La Violette and orchestration under Arthur Lange at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music. He later studied at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. In January 1954, Don the Beachcomber brought Denny to

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, for a two-week engagement. He stayed to form his own combo in 1955, performing under contract at the Shell Bar in the Hawaiian Village on Oahu and soon signing to Liberty Records. The original combo consisted of Augie Colon on percussion and birdcalls,

Arthur Lyman Arthur Hunt Lyman (February 2, 1932 – February 24, 2002) was a Hawaiian jazz vibraphone and marimba player. His group popularized a style of faux-Polynesian music during the 1950s and 1960s which later became known as exotica. His albums ...

on vibes, John Kramer on string bass, and Denny on piano. Lyman soon left to form his own group and future

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter, pianist, singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, conductor, painter, sculptor and theatre producer, who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (sometimes called "Herb Alpe ...

sideman and Baja Marimba Band founder

Julius Wechter Julius Wechter (May 10, 1935 – February 1, 1999) was an American musician and composer who played the marimba and vibraphone. He also played various percussion instruments. He composed the song " Spanish Flea" for Herb Alpert and was leader of t ...

replaced him. Harvey Ragsdale later replaced Kramer. "We traveled a lot on the Mainland, but we came back every 12 weeks because the guys had their families here n Hawaii" recalled Denny. In 1955, the musician met his future wife, June, and married her the following year. His daughter, Christina was born a few years later. "I loved the lifestyle and my career was built here," said Denny. Denny described the music his combo played as "window dressing, a background". He built a collection of strange and exotic instruments with the help of several airline friends. They would bring Denny back these instruments and he would build arrangements around them. His music was a combination of ethnic styles: South Pacific, the Orient and Latin rhythms. During an engagement at the Shell Bar, Denny discovered what would become his trademark and the birth of "exotica". The bar had a very exotic setting: a little pool of water right outside the bandstand, rocks and palm trees growing around, very quiet and relaxed. As the group played at night, Denny became aware of bullfrogs croaking. The croaking blended with the music and when the band stopped, so did the frogs. He thought it was a coincidence at first, but when he tried the tune again later, the same thing happened. This time, his bandmates began doing all sorts of tropical bird calls as a gag. The band thought it nothing more than a joke. The next day, someone approached Denny and asked if he would do the arrangement with the birds and frogs. He agreed. At rehearsal, he had the band do " Quiet Village" with each doing a bird call spaced apart. Denny did the frog part on a grooved cylinder and the whole thing became incorporated into the arrangement of "Quiet Village". It sold more than one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. The album jacket was an influential factor guiding the fantasy of Denny's music. Denny's first dozen albums featured model Sandy Warner on the cover. The ''

Exotica Exotica is a musical genre that was popular during the 1950s to mid-1960s with Americans who came of age during World War II. The term was coined by Simon "Si" Waronker, Liberty Records co-founder and board chairman, named after the 1957 Mart ...

'' album was recorded in December 1956 and released in 1957. In 1958,

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...

hosted Denny on

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

. "Quiet Village" reached #2 on Billboard's charts in 1959 with the ''Exotica'' album reaching #1. He rode the charts of Cashbox and Variety also. Denny had as many as three or four albums on the charts simultaneously during his career. He had national hits with " A Taste of Honey", "The Enchanted Sea", and "

Ebb Tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravity, gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide ...

". Denny died in Honolulu on March 2, 2005, aged 93. Following a private memorial service, his ashes were scattered at sea.

Legacy

His combo spawned two successful offshoots:

(of Tijuana Brass and Baja Marimba Band fame) and exotica vibist

. Denny's "Firecracker" is well known in Japan as the number which inspired Haruomi Hosono to establish Yellow Magic Orchestra; a "subversive" version of the song, according to Hosono, appears on the band's eponymous debut album and was released as a single to promote it, charting at No. 60 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 18 on the ''Billboard'' R&B Singles charts. The song was later adapted into

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

's " I'm Real". Former

Psychic TV Psychic TV (aka PTV or Psychick TV or several other aliases) were an English experimental music, experimental video art and music collective, formed by performance artist Genesis P-Orridge and Scottish musician Alex Fergusson (musician), Alex ...

member Fred Giannelli released an album in 1991 entitled ''Fred''; the second track on that album is "Mr. Denny", an instrumental tribute to Martin Denny that features excerpts of an interview with him. Denny's recordings are prominently featured in the 1999 film '' Breakfast of Champions'', based on the

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut ( ; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his Satire, satirical and darkly humorous novels. His published work includes fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfict ...

novel. This is primarily because the car dealership featured in the film is having a Hawaiian-based promotion. Denny's music is a recurring theme in the Sandman Slim series of fantasy novels by Richard Kadrey, where his music is always playing on the jukebox in the Bamboo House of Dolls, "LA's only punk tiki bar".

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'',

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

LRP-3034 (mono) (1957) * ''

'', Liberty LST-7034 (stereo) (1958) - re-recorded for stereo with

replacing

* '' Exotica Vol.2'', Liberty LRP-3077/LST-7006 (1958) * '' Forbidden Island'', Liberty LRP-3081/LST-7001 (1958) * ''

Primitiva ''Primitiva'' (LRP-3087/LST-7023) was the fourth album by Martin Denny. Released in August 1958, it was recorded at Liberty Studios in Hollywood and released on Liberty Records. In October 1958, it reached No. 27 on the national Cashbox chart. ...

'', Liberty LRP-3087/LST-7023 (1958) * ''

Hypnotique ''Hypnotique'' is the fifth album by Martin Denny. Released on Liberty Records in 1959, it was recorded in 1958 at the Kamehameha Schools auditorium and at the Liberty Studios in Hollywood. Track listing Side A 1. "Jungle Madness" (Martin Den ...

'', Liberty LRP-3102/LST-7102 (1959) * ''Afro-Desia'', Liberty LRP-3111/LST-7111 (1959) * ''Exotica Volume III'', Liberty LRP-3116/LST-7116 (1959) * '' Quiet Village: The Exotic Sounds of Martin Denny'', Liberty LRP-3122/LST-7122 (1959) * ''The Enchanted Sea'', Liberty LRP-3141/LST-7141 (1960) * ''Exotic Sounds from the Silver Screen'', Liberty LRP-3158/LST-7158 (1960) * ''Exotic Sounds Visit Broadway'', Liberty LRP-3163/LST-7163 (1960) * ''Exotic Percussion'', Liberty LRP-3168/LST-7168 (1961) * ''Romantica'', Liberty LRP-3207/LST-7207 (1961) * ''Martin Denny in Person'', Liberty LRP-3224/LST-7224 (1962) * ''A Taste of Honey'', Liberty LRP-3237/LST-7237 (1962) * ''Exotica Suite'' with Si Zentner, Liberty LSS-14020 (1962) * ''Maryland Club's Golden Moments'', MC-2 (1962) * ''Another Taste of Honey'', Liberty LRP-3277/LST-7277 (1963) * ''The Versatile Martin Denny'', Liberty LRP-3307/LST-7307 (1963) * ''A Taste of Hits'', Liberty LRP-3328/LST-7328 (1964) * ''Latin Village'', Liberty LRP-3378/LST-7378 (1964) * ''Hawaii Tattoo'', Liberty LRP-3394/LST-7394 (1964) * ''Spanish Village'', Liberty LRP-3409/LST-7409 (1965) * ''20 Golden Hawaiian Hits'', Liberty LRP-3415/LST-7415 (1965) * ''Martin Denny!'', Liberty LRP-3438/LST-7438 (1966) * ''Hawaii Goes A Go-Go'', Liberty LRP-3445/LST-7445 (1966) * ''Exotica Today'', Liberty LRP-3465/LST-7465 (1966) * ''Golden Greats'', Liberty LRP-3467/LST-7467 (1966) * ''Hawaii'', Liberty LRP-3488/LST-7488 (1966) * ''Paradise Moods'', Liberty/

Sunset Sunset (or sundown) is the disappearance of the Sun at the end of the Sun path, below the horizon of the Earth (or any other astronomical object in the Solar System) due to its Earth's rotation, rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth, it ...

SUM-1102/SUS-5102 (1966) * ''Exotica Classica'', Liberty LRP-3513/LST-7513 (1967) * ''A Taste of India'', Liberty LRP-3550/LST-7550 (1968) * ''Exotic Love'', Liberty LRP-3585/LST-7585 (1968) * ''Exotic Moog'', Liberty LRP-3621/LST-7621 (1969) * ''Sayonara'', Liberty/Sunset SUM-5169/SUS-5169 (1970) * ''Exotic Night'', Liberty/Sunset SUM-5199/SUS-5199 (1970) * ''From Maui with Love'', First American FA-7743 (1980) * ''The Enchanted Isle'', Liberty LN-10195 (1982) * ''Exotica '90'', Toshiba EMI/Insideout TOCP-6160 (1990)

Compilations and reissues

* ''The Best of Martin Denny'', Liberty LX-5502 (1961) (compilation) * ''The Very Best of Martin Denny'',

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

UA-LA383-E (1975) (compilation) * ''Enchanted Islands'', CEMA Special Products S21-56638 (1984) (cassette compilation) * ''The Exotic Sounds: The Very Best of Martin Denny'', EMI Manhattan (Japan) CP32-5657 (1989) (compilation) * ''Paradise'', Pair PCD-2-1267 (1990) (compilation) * ''Exotica!: The Best of Martin Denny'', Rhino R2-70774 (1990) (compilation) * ''The Exotic Sounds of Martin Denny'', Capitol (1990) (compilation) * ''Quiet Village: The Exotic Sounds of Martin Denny'',

Curb A curb (American English) or kerb (British English) is the edge where a raised sidewalk/pavement or road median/central reservation meets a street/other roadway. History Although curbs have been used throughout modern history, and indeed ...

D2-77685 (1994) (compilation) * ''Exotic Moog'' (Martin Denny) / ''Moog Rock'' (Les Baxter), Electronic Vanguard EV-906-2 (1995) (bootleg reissue) * ''Afro-Desia'', Scamp 9702 (1995) (reissue) * ''Bachelor in Paradise: The Best of Martin Denny'', Pair (1996) (compilation) * ''Exotica/Exotica Vol. II'', Scamp 9712 (1996) (reissue) * ''Forbidden Island/Primitiva'', Scamp 9713 (1996) (reissue) * ''Hypnotique/Exotica III'', Scamp 9714 (1997) (reissue) * ''Quiet Village/Enchanted Sea'', Scamp 9715 (1997) (reissue) * ''Baked Alaska'', Collector's Choice Music CCM-393-2 (2003) (live in 1964) * ''The Exotic Sounds of Martin Denny'', Rev-Ola (2004) (compilation) * ''Exotica'', Rev-Ola (2005) (reissue) * ''Exotica Vol. 2'', Rev-Ola (2005) (reissue) * ''Hypnotique'', Rev-Ola (2005) (reissue) * ''Primitiva'', Rev-Ola (2005) (reissue) * ''Forbidden Island'', Rev-Ola (2006) (reissue) * ''Quiet Village'', Rev-Ola (2006) (reissue) * ''Exotica III'', Rev-Ola (2006) (reissue) * ''Afro-Desia'', Rev-Ola (2006) (reissue) * ''Latin Village'', Toshiba EMI (Japan) (2006) (reissue) * ''The Best of Martin Denny's Exotica'', Capitol (2006) (compilation) * ''Hypnotique'', Vivid Sound (Japan) (2007) (reissue) * ''Hypnotique'', Hallmark (2015) (reissue, non-Sandy Warner cover)

References

External links

The Temple of Martin Denny

Martin Denny Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (2003) {{DEFAULTSORT:Denny, Martin 1911 births 2005 deaths Exotica USC Thornton School of Music alumni United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II American male pianists American percussionists Liberty Records artists Musicians from Hawaii Musicians from Los Angeles Tiki culture United States Army Air Forces soldiers 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians