Written In The Stars - Rod McKuen

 

Written In The Stars

Written In The Stars

The Zodiac Suite

Composed by Rod McKuen

Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs

Coral Records CRL 57339

1960

From the back cover: 

Rod McKuen – The Composer

Until recently, Rod McKuen has been best known as a movie and television actor, but in the past few years his talents as a composer-author seem to have taken over.

His songs now number in the hundreds and have been recorded and featured by the nations top recording artist. He also has many film and television scores to is credit and is the author of several books.

Rod seem equally at home writing such diversified material as "The Mummy" for Bob McFadden, double entente songs for Lesa Lanchester anymore serious music such as a ballet based on the legend of the "Ancient Mariner" he is working on at this writing. 

Rod now resides in New York City where he compose and conducts thematic for Albert McCleery's highly lauded television series, "The CBS Worksop." He commutes to the Coast for his other film and television work.

For Decca, he recorded the album Alone After Dark, and he is represented as half of the team of McFadden and For on Brunswick's Songs Our Mummy Taught Us.

Dick Jacobs – The Conductor

Since 1953, when Dick Jacobs joined Coral Records as an artist, conductor and arranger, he has been a consistent hit maker on his own and backing up such record acts as the McGuire Sisters, Jackie Wilson, Teresa Brewer and the Ames Brothers. But his musical activities have not been confined to making records alone, for he is consistently in demand as an arranger-conductor in night clubs and on television and is all know throughout the music business as a composer in his own right.

His wide musical experiences and background make him keenly aware of the trends and pulse of American's musical tastes. Whether he is arranging for a small vocal group, big band or full string orchestra, his writing laws has that fullness and variety of sound so necessary to support the act he's backing.

As an artist, Dick has been high on the "Hit Parade" (a program, incidentally, he arranged and conducted for, for a number of years) with his recordings of Petticoats Of Portugal and theMain Title of the film, Man With A Golden Arm.

Dick's other Coral albums include The Man With The Golden Baton and The Broadway Song Book. Albums where he is represented as arranger-conductor include virtually a third of Coral's entire catalogue of top selling artists.

Also from the back cover: Man has always believed that the stars have much to do with controlling his life, his love, his destiny. Out of this belief has come the universal language of Astrology.

The interest in Astrology has grown to such a point that hundreds of men and women make their living as Astrologers, thousands of book and magazine articles have been written on the constellations. Astrology guides are sold on every newsstand and no newspaper is complete without is daily horoscope column. In fact, Carroll Righter, the dean of all present day astrologers, has a world syndicated column with an unbelievable audience of one hundred million every day.

I have had more than a passing interest in Astrology for a long time – but then, who can resist scanning the newspaper every day to find out why the star have planned for him. My interesting was further kindled on getting Carroll Righter, when I came to Hollywood a few years ago. Righter is a remarkable man, one look and he can tell if you're an angry Leo or a sad-eyed Aquarius. I still don't know how he does it, but he knows thousands of people by their sing-names alone. Another friend, Bob Diedorff, has been preparing a complete horoscope for me as a birthday present for sometime now, and more than once I've found his predictions hit the nail on the head. It is to these men this album is dedicated.

I have long wanted to compose music typifying the twelve signs of the zodiac and I finally got around to the project this past spring in New York. My work, however, was interrupted when CBS sent me to Europe on a writing assignment. It was there in Paris and in Rome that I was finally able to complete the suite, later in the summer.

I have tied to keep the music 'romantic' in nature, yet descriptive of the zodiac sign the melodies represent. Each selection has a sub-title ("Moon Children" is more romantic than "Cancer") and is meant to further romanticize the suite. Still, if the rhythm of "Pisces" grins to mind Bella Dark begin sacrificed to the Cinemascope god and "Aquarius" with its lazy tempo manages to evoke a slow summer afternoon, I will have achieved what I really set out to do... for I hope this music for the imagination and if I'm lucky, once in awhile as it turns on your rocked machine it will change from background to foreground music.

Several of these themes have already become "pop" songs, since I have a passion for setting words to music. Scorpio has a lyric called Come Back Home To Roma and Leo has become Wait Till The Music Is Done. My own personal favorite in the album in the Aquarius theme and I hope it's indicative of music I'll be writing in the future.

Once the suite was complete, there was the business of finding an interpreter. I have worked with Dick Jacobs on and off for more than a year now an my appreciation of his talent goes far beyond the usual compatibility of an Aries and a Taurus (he's Aries – I'm a Taurus _ very compatible, you know). I regard him as one of the most versatile young arranger-conductors int eh field of popular music, especially when it come to scoring for strings. I am constantly amazed at the many colors he can get out of a single arrangement.

His arrangements here called for a large sting chip, reed and brass instruments, rhythm section, solo voice and piano. The voce belongs to Ann Phillips, (a recording artist in her own right) and we are fortunate in securing the services of the many-faceted Gloria Regency as piano soloist.

Whatever your concern for the zodiac, personal, academic, romantic or skeptic, I hope the music here has something special to say to you. – Rod McKuen - October, 1960

Aries - Until Spring

Taurus - Island Meeting

Gemini - Summer Song

Cancer - Moon Children

Leo - The Jazz Palace

Virgo - Blue Lady

Libra - Say Goodbye

Sagittarius - The Gathering Of The Centaurs

Capricorn - Three Thirty A.M.

Aquarius - The Forum

Pisces - Beneath The Reef