John Schroeder

Arranger/conductor/producer John Schroeder wrote a number one U.K. hit for British singer Helen Shapiro ("Walkin' Back to Happiness") in the early '60s, made the first licensing deal for Motown product on British shores, and formed Sounds Orchestral, which had a Top Ten hit on both sides of the Atlantic in 1965 with "Cast Your Fate to the Wind." To space age pop fans, however, he became known as one of the chief exponents of what the British called "easy": mostly instrumental recordings that welded easy listening pop arrangements to soul, rock, and psychedelic source material....