Richard Hayman And His Orchestra

A trip back to his home in Boston led to Richard Hayman joining the then-popular Vaughn Monroe Orchestra as musical director for Monroe’s recordings and television and radio show, a very successful collaboration that lasted five years (1945-1950).

During this time, Hayman also began to direct the musical activities of various recording artists. The sparkling background musical arrangements for these recordings resulted in the Mercury Record Corporation signing him to an exclusive recording contract. The successful recordings that followed soon placed the young maestro in the musical major leagues. He took what was considered to be just an ordinary theme for the motion picture Ruby Gentry, and, through his specially stylised arrangements, utilising a harmonica as the solo instrument with a large, quasi-symphonic orchestra, it zoomed to the top of the hit parade all over the world.

Ruby broke every success record in the books, and brought about a renewed interest in the harmonica, an interest that has continued throughout the years with everything from rock groups to full symphony orchestras. Ruby recently was featured on the soundtrack of Barbara Streisand’s film The Mirror Has Two Faces in a new version recorded by Hayman, arranged and conducted by Marvin Hamlisch.

He worked a variety of jobs, including assistant arranger on Meet Me in St. Louis, and soloist with Horace Heidt before he won a contract under his own name with Mercury in 1950. Mercury Records then appointed him as its Artists and Repertoire Chief in New York, and musical director for the recording activities of their many artists (including Vic Damone and Patti Page), a post he held until 1965. Hayman's Mercury productions were dramatic and passionate, and often featured his harmonica work.