Don Ralke

Donald Edward Ralke, known professionally as Don Ralke, was born on July 13, 1920, in Battle Creek, Michigan. He was an American music arranger, composer, and record producer who worked extensively within the Hollywood studio system for four decades. Don Ralke received his bachelor's and master's degrees in music from the University of Southern California. He began his career collaborating on Jazz Heat and Bongo Beat, and was hired by Warner Bros. to work on albums such as "Gershwin With Bongos" and "The Savage And The Sensuous Bongos". He worked with Warren Barker on the music for 77 Sunset Strip and provided musical support when Edd "Kookie" Byrnes became a teen idol, recording his hit "Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)". Don Ralke also collaborated with Connie Stevens on her song "Sixteen Reasons" and backed Sam Cooke on several 1959-1960 songs. In the late 1960s, he formed his own record company and worked with sound engineer Brad Miller to create the Mystic Moods Orchestra. Don Ralke's work included orchestrating Bob and Dick Sherman’s Grammy-nominated musical film "Snoopy Come Home" in 1972. He died on January 26, 2000, in Santa Rosa, California.

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