AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Artist:Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Song:Hooked on Classics

Albim:Hooked on Classics

London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1946 by Thomas Beecham. Though they typically record classical music, they have occasionally made detours into popular music. More symphony orchestras do this than you might think. I guess record companies are trying to boost record sales. For the most part, that kind of strategy usually fails. The most notable exception to this was when the 1981 single Hooked on Classics was a top ten pop hit. This was a classical music medley with a disco backbeat. Though classical music purists hated this, the record did revive interest in classical music. The guy behind this was Australian producer Don Reedman. He moved to England in 1969 and worked as a song plugger for ATV Music. Then he went to work for K-Tel Records. Of course K-Tel is not a typical label so Reedman had to think outside the box. With his recording engineer partner Jeff Jarratt, Reedman produced the 1978 album Classic Rock with the London Symphony Orchestra. After Reedman heard the 1981 single Stars on 45 by the Dutch band Stars on 45, he decided to do the same thing with classical music. Stars on 45 was a Beatles medley set to a disco beat and it topped the charts. So he hired the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to perform the music. Then he brought in Electric Light Orchestra keyboardist Louis Clark to arrange and conduct and Hooked on Classics was born. The big surprise was when Hooked on Classics topped the British Singles chart and reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. It helped that K-Tel produced a video that was played on MTV. The Hooked on Classics album is available as a digital download. K-Tel attempted to follow up this hit. But this is the kind of thing that is the prototype for a fluke one hit wonder. So Hooked on Classics never charted again. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is still performing and recording. And Don Reedman still works with them. Here's the video for Hooked on Classics by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.