Don Ralke born 13 July 1920

Don Ralke (full name: Donald Edward Ralke) (July 13, 1920 – January 26, 2000) was an American music arranger, composer, and record producer, working for four decades in the Hollywood studio system in films, television, and pop recordings. Described by Gold Star Recording Studio co-owner Stan Ross as "the most well-known unknown in the business," he was a fixture of the Hollywood recording studio for over four decades, overseeing a sprawling body of work extending from pop hits to golden-throat celebrity records to his own cult classic exotica LPs. 

He was born in Battle Creek, Michigan to Carl Henry Ralke and Maude Margaret Mueller. Ralke received his bachelor's and master's degrees in music from the University of Southern California, graduating with honors. He also studied with famed composer and Hollywood emigre, Arnold Schoenberg. 

Ralke spent the bulk of his early recording career as a staffer with the budget label Crown, which specialized in knock-offs of current chart trends. His contributions to the company's output are nevertheless coveted by collectors, boasting a uniform quality and oddball charm in direct opposition to Crown's signature cut-rate approach. 

Ralke spent the bulk of his early recording career as a staffer with the budget label Crown, which specialized in knock-offs of current chart trends. His contributions to the company's output are nevertheless coveted by collectors, boasting a uniform quality and oddball charm in direct opposition to Crown's signature cut-rate approach. Following the well-received Jazz Heat, recorded in collaboration with reedist Buddy Collette, Ralke issued Bongo Madness, the first in a series of percussion-themed efforts that eventually brought him to the attention of Warner Bros., which signed him for two 1960 releases: But You've Never Heard Gershwin with Bongos and the jungle exotica landmark The Savage and the Sensuous. 

                                   

On the bongos, Ralke collaborated with versatile flute and reed instrumentalist Buddy Collette on Jazz Heat, Bongo Beat. Warner Bros. hired him for Gershwin with Bongoes and The Savage and The Sensuous, which is widely regarded as one of the best jungle exotica albums of that era. During his Warner tenure, Ralke also teamed with composer Warren Barker on the jazz-inspired score for the television series 77 Sunset Strip, later the subject of a best-selling soundtrack LP, and also produced and arranged series co-star Edd "Kookie" Byrnes' novelty pop hit "Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb." 

Ralke performed similar duties for Hawaiian Eye star Connie Stevens when she recorded "Sixteen Reasons". He worked on hundreds of pop recordings and five other gold records, and formed his own production company in the late 1960s. His orchestra backed Sam Cooke on several 1959-1960 songs. Ralke also recorded two hits by Ty Wagner: "I'm a No Count" as well as "Slander". In the late 1960s, he formed his own record company. He collaborated with sound engineer Brad Miller on the hugely successful strings-with-environmental sounds creation, the Mystic Moods Orchestra.

 Ralke is notorious for his involvement in a series of other so-called "golden throat" records performed by television and film stars seeking to cross over to pop music success; his credits include Lorne Greene's On the Ponderosa, William Shatner's camp classic The Transformed Man, and, most infamously, The Many Moods of Murry Wilson, headlined by the abusive father/manager of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. Ralke also helmed a number of pop smashes, highlighted by Jewel Akens' "The Birds and the Bees," and during the late '60s teamed with engineer Brad Miller for a series of easy listening LPs credited to the Mystic Moods Orchestra. 

In 1972, Ralke produced and orchestrated Bob and Dick Sherman's Grammy nominated musical film Snoopy Come Home. In the 1970s, he returned to television, working for producer Garry Marshall on the series Happy Days and its spin-off, Laverne and Shirley. He wrapped his Hollywood career by scoring the 1987 exploitation comedy Takin' It All Off. Ralke was once described by Stan Ross, co-founder of Gold Star recording studio, as "the most well-known unknown in the business." 

Ralke died on January 26, 2000, in Santa Rosa, California. 

(Edited from Wikipedia, All Music)