Released 1951 (1951) Genre Easy listening Label Capitol | Recorded May 17, 1951 Length 3:19 | |
Format 10-inch and 12-inch LPs | ||
"Quiet Village" is an orchestral pop instrumental that was written and originally performed by Les Baxter in 1951. In the liner notes to his album, Ritual of the Savage (Le sacre du sauvage), Baxter described the themes he was conveying in the work:
[t]he jungle grows more dense as the river boat slowly makes its way into the deep interior. A snake slithers into the water, flushing a brilliantly plumaged bird who soars into the clearing above a quiet village. Here is a musical portrait of a tropical village deserted in the mid-day heat.
Cover versions
In 1957, Martin Denny released a cover of the song featuring exotic instruments and sounds that made it to number four on the pop singles chart on June 1, 1959 and number eleven on the R&B chart. Denny also recorded a stereo version of the song in 1959, a bossa nova version in 1964, and a version performed on a Moog synthesizer in 1969.
In 1977, The Ritchie Family recorded a disco version and added vocals. The single was included on their African Queens album. Along with the album's title track and "Summer Dance", "Quiet Village" hit number one for three weeks on the disco/dance chart in 1977. However, unlike the Martin Denny version, The Ritchie Family recording did not chart on the pop singles chart. It did peak at #68 on the R&B singles chart.
In 1993, influential noise artist Boyd Rice and writer/publisher Adam Parfrey released a comedic version of the song entitled "Quiet Village Idiot" under the moniker "The Tards".