George Wright

Imitated by many, equaled by none, George Wright was indeed a legendary figure, whose profound and far-reaching influence on current perceptions of what constitutes good theatre organ music cannot be overstated. He redefined the standards by which performances in this genre are judged, creating a new quality scale on which he immediately assumed (and, in the minds of most, retained) the top position.

When his HiFi label albums first hit the shops in the 1950s, people who bought them fell broadly into two categories: those who already loved the sound of the theatre organ, remembering it fondly from the so-called "golden days," and a large proportion who had no idea what a Mighty Wurlitzer was.

Reactions from both groups were the same: they were stunned by the confidence, the vitality, the passion and sheer excitement of the playing, and thrilled by the sound. They had never heard anything like it before, and they wanted more. Several of those albums sold more than a million copies. Overnight, Americans began to take a renewed interest in the fine old instruments which were lying in faded movie palaces across the country. The renaissance of the theatre organ had begun.

New York Paramount, 1950

George Wright was an innovator who never lost the ability, common to all great artists, to reinvent himself and to present a familiar tune in a new and interesting light. The Wright style was highly personal and immediately recognizable. To some extent, his ballads recalled the sugary-recorded confections of his idol, Jesse Crawford, but his up-tempo numbers were ripped off with a sassy, swingy, cock-sure bravura that reminds this listener of the Nelson Riddle orchestra on Frank Sinatra's Capitol label albums. It was an intoxicating combination.

Another mixture he got just right was the critical one between pathos and comedy. No organist could wrest more feeling from a ballad. Listening again to his classic recordings of songs by Richard Rodgers and George Gershwin, there are times when the very soul of the organ seems to be singing. On the other hand, George's sense of fun -- the ability to share a musical joke at his own or the organ's expense -- added a wonderful feeling of never being quite sure what was going to happen next. To paraphrase one of his album titles: It was All Wright.

Someone once said that "George Wright could make good music on a kazoo -- a theory which, fortunately, does not appear to have been put to the test! His career was blessed with some exceptionally fine instruments, from the early days at the New York Paramount and San Francisco Fox theatres, to the definitive recording organs he created at the Don Leslie studio in Pasadena and later at his home in North Hollywood. He knew exactly what he wanted to hear and possessed many of the technical skills required to achieve these singular effects. Nobody, but nobody, could make tibia pipes sound the way he could. What did he do to them? We may never know, but we're glad that he worked out the secret!

His innovative ideas on tremulant settings and the regulation of pipe ranks, individually and in relation to each other, have become an industry benchmark, plainly audible in all the best instruments of today. Likewise his theories on theatre organ unification, which have not advanced materially since he drew up the stop list of the Pasadena studio organ in the early 1960s. These tonal developments were woven into some of the most colorful and sympathetic registrations ever employed on the theatre pipe organ, many of which are now part of the instrument's standard vocabulary.

The magic of George Wright will live on through old LPs, archive recordings, and Terry Cutshall's splendid Banda CD series, which includes welcome re- issues of earlier material. The fate of the "Hollywood Philharmonic Organ" is unknown, and one can only hope that it will be preserved intact, in a location where its manifold qualities and unique features can be enjoyed by a wide audience. Organists and organ technicians will continue to find the George Wright Sound a source of inspiration for their own artistic efforts.

Some may claim not to have been influenced by him, but few have escaped wholly untouched, and even they cannot dismiss him. At this early stage, it is hard to imagine anyone else pushing back the boundaries of the art form as far, or in as many directions, as he did ... but we shall see.

It is right that organists like the writer, who owe their interest in the theatre pipe organ largely to the pulse of excitement they felt upon hearing the music of George Wright for the first time, should take every opportunity to reflect on his legacy with affection and gratitude.