AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Arthur Lyman

Artist:Arthur Lyman

Song:Yellow Bird

Album:The Exotic Sounds of Arthur Lyman

Arthur Lyman was a vibraphonist in Martin Denny's band when he went solo and recorded similar Exotica music. Lyman scored a top five hit with the 1961 single Yellow Bird. A couple of his other songs charted so he was not a one hit wonder. Lyman was an Easy Listening staple for years. He was born Feb. 2, 1932 in Kauai, Hawaii. He was the youngest of eight children. After Lyman's father was blinded in a riveting accident, the family moved to the Honolulu suburb of Makiki. His dad locked him in his room with Benny Goodman records with orders to "learn what good music is". Lyman learned all of Lionel Hampton's solos on a toy marimba. He made his radio debut at eight years of age, toured USO shows with his dad and brother and started playing clubs at age 14. After graduating from high school, Lyman worked as a hotel desk clerk. And that's where he met pianist Martin Denny, known today as The Father of Exotica. After hearing Lyman play, Denny offered him a spot in his band playing at the club Don the Beachcomber. Lyman was making good money with a successful band. After Denny signed with Liberty Records and had success with hits like Quiet Village, Lyman went solo and signed with Hi-Fi Records. Lyman's music was similar to Denny's but of course it featured the vibraphone. Lyman had immediate success when the 1959 single Taboo reached #55 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the album reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 200. Then his 1961 single Yellow Bird reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Yellow Bird was a 19th Century Haitian song that was turned into the calypso instrumental Yellow Bird by Norman Luboff, leader of The Norman Luboff Chorale. Marilyn and Alan Bergman wrote lyrics and The Mills Brothers charted with their 1959 recording of Yellow Bird. This twofer CD has Yellow Bird and Taboo and Yellow Bird appears on several various artist comps. Like many Easy Listening artists of the era, Lyman continued to release instrumental albums until 1968. Lyman continued to appear in Hawaiian hotels. For years Lyman and Denny didn't speak until they reunited for a 1990 album. Arthur Lyman died of cancer on Feb. 24, 2002 at age 70. Here's a video of Yellow Bird by Arthur Lyman.