If anyone had predicted that harpist Robert Maxwell (1921-2012) would have a Top 10 hit at the height of the British invasion most people probably would have snickered, or at least raised their eyebrows. But that's precisely what happened with Maxwell's Decca recording of Shangri-La. The tune, which the harpist composed, became an exotica standard, along with another of his compositions, Ebb Tide.
Both Shangri-La and Ebb Tide had made their debuts on Maxwell's 1956 Mercury LP, The Harp in Hi-Fi. As you can see from the LP cover his billing at the time was somewhat more informal.
At any rate Shangri-La did not become popular until some 18 years later after Jackie Gleason began using it regularly on his show.
As well as the hit single there was also a Shangri-La LP that sold very well. The album was also released under the title Bewitched. I believe the latter title came first but I'm not absolutely sure of that. In any case both had exactly the same cover art. Here's Bewitched from that album.
Bewitched
There is a limited number of Robert Maxwell recordings available for download, including Shangri-La and Ebb Tide, but since he recorded those tunes tunes several times over his career it's debatable what version(s) you'd be getting. Both have also been available on CD compilations over the years.
It's also worth noting that a Maxwell recording of Shangri-La appeared in recent years on the soundtrack of the hit TV series Mad Men.
Here's Shangri-La, the Decca hit version I believe.
As a final note -- if you own records by Mickey Mozart (Little Dipper), the Nairobi Trio (Song of the Nairobi Trio) or the Fortune Tellers, those are all pseudonyms for Robert Maxwell.
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