Herman Clebanoff

Herman Clebanoff has been described as a passionate musician. His son, Jerry, stated, “He was a driven person. He didn’t play to making a living. He played because he was passionate about it” [5](Chicago Times). In 1939, Clebanoff joined the Illinois Works Progress Administration, or WPA, Symphony. Clebanoff took this opportunity to play to a wide and varied group of audiences. Although he took a leave of absence in 1943 to work for the New Orleans Orchestra, Clebanoff returned to Chicago in 1945, where he produced a string orchestra of his own: The Clebanoff Strings. Many pieces were created in collaboration with this orchestra. In 1958 he issued his first LP with Mercury “Moods in Music” featuring musette and his “echoing” violin to great success. He then recorded several marvelous film themes LPs with songs such as: Secret Love (featured in “Calamity Jane”), “Song from “Raintree County”, “Wild Is the Wind”, “A Certain Smile”, and “The High and The Mighty.” Clebanoff’s music inspired a global following due to his unique style and superb musicianship. Clebanoff also worked with other a musicians including fellow Chicagoan Caesar Giovannini, a superb pianist, and Wayne Robinson as arrangers. Clebanoff is known for his love of creating and producing new music as well. By the mid-1960s Clebanoff’s music had shifted from strict film and classic pop music to more modern popular music (pop) with limited success. He left Mercury and recorded only one album for Decca… the superb “Once Upon a Summertime.”