Artist:George Winston
Song:Thanksgiving
Album:December
Back in the 1950s, there was a significant market for easy listening instrumental music aimed at an older audience. These are people who listened to Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey in the 40s. When swing faded, they needed something to listen to. They weren't going to listen to bebop or Rock 'n' Roll. Probably the main easy listening instrumental artist of the 50s was Percy Faith. He was a house arranger for Mitch Miller at Columbia Records. All the major labels released this kind of music. And it was a consistent seller until the market for it dried up in the late 60s. That's when guitarist William Ackerman saw a need in the marketplace and started Windham Hill Records. Windham Hill's best selling artist was pianist George Winston. His albums from the 80s like December are still consistent sellers today. It's much different from Percy Faith but it's aimed at a similar audience. Winston was born Feb. 11, 1949 in Hart, MI. but he grew up in Miles City, MT. His big musical influence was Vince Guaraldi's music for the 1965 TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas. He was influenced by jazz legends Fats Waller and Earl Hines to play solo piano. Winston first recorded in 1972 for guitarist John Fahey's Takoma label. Guitarist William Ackerman started Windham Hill Records in 1975 to record his own solo acoustic guitar. He invited some of his like minded friends to record. The big difference between Takoma and Windham Hill is Windham hill had major label distribution through A&M Records. And that's when Winston sent a demo to Ackerman. Winston would soon become Windham Hill's best selling artist. The 1980 album Autumn and the 1982 album Winter into Spring were both certified Platinum. And the 1982 album December has been certified 3XPlatinum. December is technically a Christmas album. But Winston said it's a tribute to the winter season influenced by his upbringing in Montana. It's all solo piano and Winston wrote most of the songs including Thanksgiving. This album is available on CD. So now the music business had to find a label for this music. At first Billboard called it "soft jazz" but ultimately called it New Age because it was ambient and much different from the easy listening music of the past. Winston and Windham Hill had continued success in the 80s. Winston was nominated for a Grammy for his 1984 album The Velveteen Rabbit narrated by Meryl Streep. He also composed the music for the 1988 miniseries This Is America, Charlie Brown. And he recorded a Vince Guaraldi tribute album. After PolyGram purchased A&M in 1989, Ackerman sold Windham Hill to BMG in 1992. They closed Windham Hill in 2007. After that, Winston recorded for RCA and Sony Classical until his death from cancer on June 4, 2023 at age 74. Here's George Winston performing Thanksgiving.