Composer, Pianist. Blind from birth, but blessed with perfect pitch, he began playing the piano at age 2 and was composing by age 4. Educated in London at the Royal Academy of Music and at the Royal College of Music, he composed serious works for the piano, orchestra, string quartet and voice. By the early 1930s he was appearing with various symphony orchestras and touring Europe cinemas as a featured artist. In 1935, Jack Hylton, British bandleader, brought Templeton to the United States when Hylton was to broadcast a series of radio programs for the Standard Oil Company. He soon established himself as an incomparable artist and was a regular on the Bing Crosby and Ed Sullivan Shows. In 1937, he signed a contact with Columbia for composing scores and his own radio show, "Alec Templeton Time," which ran from 1939 to 1941, 1943, 1946 and 1947. Through the 1950s he concertized with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra playing both jazz and classical works until he was over come by illness. A collection of Alec Templeton's jazz satires entitled, "Bach Goes to Town" was released by Topaz records in 1995.
Composer, Pianist. Blind from birth, but blessed with perfect pitch, he began playing the piano at age 2 and was composing by age 4. Educated in London at the Royal Academy of Music and at the Royal College of Music, he composed serious works for the piano, orchestra, string quartet and voice. By the early 1930s he was appearing with various symphony orchestras and touring Europe cinemas as a featured artist. In 1935, Jack Hylton, British bandleader, brought Templeton to the United States when Hylton was to broadcast a series of radio programs for the Standard Oil Company. He soon established himself as an incomparable artist and was a regular on the Bing Crosby and Ed Sullivan Shows. In 1937, he signed a contact with Columbia for composing scores and his own radio show, "Alec Templeton Time," which ran from 1939 to 1941, 1943, 1946 and 1947. Through the 1950s he concertized with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra playing both jazz and classical works until he was over come by illness. A collection of Alec Templeton's jazz satires entitled, "Bach Goes to Town" was released by Topaz records in 1995.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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