Monty Kelly was the natural choice of orchestrator and conductor to tackle the gargantuan task of writing the scores for this first album in the Pipe Organ Plus series.
To quote Monty — "Every problem I have encountered in years of arranging for films and recordings presented itself in this project. However, the end result is the most satisfying of my career."
Monty's background in music started as a trumpet player going through the playing musicians' best grammar school—night clubs, ballrooms, theatres and staff band radio work. He left C.B.S. in San Francisco to join the Paul Whiteman band as 1st trumpet and arranger. After a stint in the Army Ordinance Band with the late Skinny Ennis, he joined the Bob Hope Show as assistant musical director and arranged for all the top guest personalities—Bing Crosby, Jimmy Durante, Tony Martin and scores of others. In the early 1950's Monty moved to New York as a free lance arranger and worked at N.B.C. His first hit recording with label credits was Al Martino's "Here In My Heart." He then followed up with his own hit instrumentals "Tropicana" and "Three O'Clock In The Morning." The album sales of the Monty Kelly Orchestra established him as one of the finest "pops" orchestrators and conductors in the world.
Eydie Gorme, Bob Manning and Anita Bryant owe no small measure of their success to Monty. His orchestration genius was responsible for a 3-million long-play record sale of "Soul of Spain" with "101" Strings.
Monty made a complete study of the theatre organ (an orchestra within itself) and after exhaustive research of all the audio technical problems of marrying orchestra and pipe organ, has written what could be considered one of the most breath-taking instrumental albums ever recorded.
Monty has been commissioned to write the scores to six more Pipe Organ Plus albums to be recorded in the U.S., England, Germany and France in 1965.
Robert Hunter, a native of Los Angeles, attended the University of Southern California, and studied with John Crown, Mario Castellnuovo-Tedesco and Claudio Arrau. While primarily a pianist, he has many times selected the pipe organ to augment his varied career.
Bob was for several years assistant organist at St. James Episcopal Church in Los Angeles, and also scored numerous silent films with pipe organ for the Hollywood Film Classic Exchange.
He made his formal debut as a pianist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in November, 1948. He joined the Robert Shaw Chorale as pianist and organist, and later became an RCA Victor recording artist, making numerous albums released under his name. The career of this brilliant artist was interrupted by two years' service in the United States Armed Forces.
Following his return to civilian life, he joined the Freddy Martin Orchestra. Bob recorded the "Pagan Poem" by Loeffler in 1957, with Leopold Stokowski on the Capitol label. He became arranger, conductor, and pianist in 1958, for Carol Channing through the fall of 1962, then he joined George Bums, in the same capacity.
During these same years, he has played both publicly and privately for Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, President and Mrs. Truman, President and Mrs. Eisenhower, President and Mrs. Kennedy, President and Mrs. Johnson and Lord and Lady Ormsby-Gore, the British Ambassador. Presently living in Los Angeles, Bob will soon be giving his second formal concert for the American Theatre Organ Enthusiasts in the Southern California area.
Robert Hunter has received enthusiastic support from Mr. Richard Simonton, whose beautiful Wurlitzer pipe organ was used to record this album, and who is, in the main, responsible for the restoration and preservation of pipe organs throughout the United States.
