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Gaylord Carter

org, 1905-2000 DE
Composer of Pop, Soundtrack and Jazz
A.k.a. Gaylord B. Carter

American organist and the composer of many film scores that were added to silent movies released on video tape or disks (born Aug. 3, 1905, Germany - died Nov. 20, 2000, California, USA). Although Gaylord Carter was born in Germany, his family soon immigrated to Wichita, Kansas, where his father opened a music conservatory and received a position as a church organist. Gaylord was a precocious musician, playing at age ten at the Congregational Church in Wichita. At 14, Gaylord began playing organ for children's matinees at a Wichita theater. The Carter family moved to Los Angeles in 1922 and Gaylord completed high school at Lincoln High School there. He soon took a job as an piano accompanist in a local film theater, beginning a life-long professional career. While working at the Seville Theatre in Inglewood, California, Gaylord was noticed by Harold Lloyd who was in attendance to gauge audience reactions to one of his films. Lloyd, impressed with the young Carter, personally recommended Gaylord for his first important appointment as a theatre accompanist. Gaylord was hired in 1926, at age 21, as theatre organist at Sid Grauman's Million-Dollar Theatre in Los Angeles. Carter played at several of the top movie palaces in Los Angeles during the end of the silent era. He also played at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle. Gaylord Carter continued working as a theatre organist into the 1930s but with the diminishing responsibilities an musician had to accept with the arrival of sound films, he began to investigate other possibilities. He dovetailed his performances at theaters with increasing work on radio, eventually playing seven years on The Amos 'n' Andy Show. Gaylord continued in radio work, playing for such shows as The Whistler and Suspense, until his transition to another new medium, television. In the 1960s Gaylord Carter helped facilitate the rising interest in silent era films by marketing himself as an accompanist under the business name Flicker Fingers Productions. Carter continued to be in demand for live performances of silent films and was hired by The Mary Pickford Company in the 1970s to record organ scores for theatrical rereleases of several of Mary Pickford's best films. He recorded several scores for Blackhawk Films as well. Carter was inducted into the American Theatre Organ Society's Hall of Fame in 1975. Into the 1980s Gaylord Carter recorded many more organ scores for films released on home video, performances that can still be enjoyed today. Roosevelt, Ford, and Reagan enjoyed performances by Carter at the White House during their terms of office. It should be noted that he is the organist for Disney's Haunted Mansion. In 1995, Gaylord Carter's 90th birthday was celebrated with a gala event at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, California. His autobiography, The Million Dollar Life of Gaylord Carter, was published in a revised edition in 1995. Gaylord Carter passed away in late 2000 after 95 years of a full and wonderful life. He is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California, near his parents and several other silent era film stars.

     
Genres
  • Pop
  • Soundtrack
  • Jazz
  • Folk
  • World
Popular Tracks   
Otherworldly Concerto on Disney Halloween by Disney
Raintree County on Film Themes For Organ by Gaylord Carter
Jeannine, I Dream Of Lilac Time on The Mighty Wurlitzer - Music For Movie-Palace Organs by Gaylord Carter & Ann Leaf
The Phantom Of The Opera on The Mighty Wurlitzer - Music For Movie-Palace Organs by Gaylord Carter & Ann Leaf
How Green Was My Valley on Film Themes For Organ by Gaylord Carter
Opening Titles & Themes: Gone with the Wind (from "Gone with the Wind") on Film Themes For Organ by Gaylord Carter
Charmaine on The Mighty Wurlitzer - Music For Movie-Palace Organs by Gaylord Carter & Ann Leaf
My Romance on The Mighty Wurlitzer - Music For Movie-Palace Organs by Gaylord Carter & Ann Leaf
Great Day on The Mighty Wurlitzer - Music For Movie-Palace Organs by Gaylord Carter & Ann Leaf
The Uninvited on Film Themes For Organ by Gaylord Carter

Track list and 30sec audio provided by

Discography



Title Artist Year Type
Golden MemoriesGaylord Carter1986Album
Carter Plays Million Dollar EchoesGaylord Carter1981Album
Sounds from the Silent ScreenGaylord Carter1978Album
"Flicker Fingers" Music For SilentsGaylord Carter1977Album
The Mighty Wurlitzer: Music For Movie-Palace OrgansAnn Leaf & Gaylord Carter1977Album
Classic Film Themes For OrganGaylord Carter1975Album
Fifty Years of ChasingGaylord Carter1972Album
Music from The Golden Age of Silent Movies played by Gaylord Carter at the Mighty Wurlitzer Theater OrganGaylord Carter1962Album
The Golden Age Of Silent MoviesGaylord Carter1962Album
For The Bride And GroomGaylord Carter1959Album
Here Comes The Bride: Music For Your WeddingGaylord Carter, Conrad Thibault1950Album
Gaylord Carter At The OrganGaylord Carter1947Album
Organ Boogie / Peanut VenderGaylord CarterAlbum
Lili Marlene / Glow WormGaylord CarterAlbum
Sparkling Organ MoodsBob Ralston, Gaylord Carter, Marjorie Meinert, Leonard Leigh, Larry FerrariAlbum
Gaylord Carter And Sounds Of The SilentsGaylord CarterAlbum
Gaylord & LeeGaylord Carter, Lee ErwinAlbum
Hawaiian War Chant / Tea For TwoGaylord CarterAlbum
Donkey Serenade / Quiereme MuchoGaylord CarterAlbum
Tico Tico / All The Things You AreGaylord CarterAlbum
Boston Two Step / Black Hawk WaltzGaylord CarterAlbum
Lili MarleneGaylord CarterSingle
Because / AlwaysGaylord CarterAlbum
Flight Of The Doodle Bug / StardustGaylord CarterAlbum
Diane / StarsGaylord CarterAlbum
Ting-A-LingGaylord CarterSingle
Begin The Beguine / I'll See You In My DreamsGaylord CarterAlbum
Tiger Rag / Smoke Gets In Your EyesGaylord CarterAlbum
Minute Waltz / When Day Is DoneGaylord CarterAlbum
External Links
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Acknowledgements
To all the music fans that are contributing on Discogs, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Thanks to Franz Flückiger for providing Storygram used to visualize band membership.
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