Editing Hot Butter

{{short description|American instrumental pop band}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2008}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->
| name                = Hot Butter
| image               = 
| caption             = 
| image_size          = 
| alias               = 
| origin              = [[New York City]], U.S.
| genre               = [[Electronic music|Electronic]], [[music|Pop]], [[synth-pop]]
| years_active        = 1971–1978
| label               = [[Musicor Records|Musicor]]<br />Dynamo
| associated_acts     = 
| website             = 
| current_members     = 
| past_members        = Stan Free<br />John Abbott<br />Bill Jerome<br />Steve Jerome<br />Danny Jordan<br />Dave Mullaney
}}

'''Hot Butter''' were an American [[instrumental]] band fronted by the [[Keyboard instrument|keyboard]] player and studio musician '''Stan Free'''. The other band members were John Abbott (arranger, guitar), brothers Bill (producer, engineer, percussion) and Steve Jerome (producer, electric piano), Danny Jordan (producer) and Dave Mullaney (arranger, [[ondioline]]); also joined in studio by Tony Spinosa (percussion).<ref>https://www.discogs.com/release/1820078-Hot-Butter-Popcorn</ref> They were best known for their 1972 [[cover version|version]] of the [[Moog synthesizer]] instrumental song "[[Popcorn (instrumental)|Popcorn]]", originally recorded by its composer, [[Gershon Kingsley]], in 1969.<ref name="PinchTrocco">{{cite book |last1=Pinch |first1=Trevor |last2=Trocco |first2=Frank |title=Analog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog Synthesizer |date=2002 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Boston, Massachusetts, USA |isbn=0-674-00889-8 |page=200}}</ref><ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">{{cite book
| first = Joseph
| last = Murrells
| year = 1978
| title = The Book of Golden Discs
| edition = 2nd
| publisher = Barrie and Jenkins Ltd
| location = London
| page = [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/314 314]
| ISBN = 0-214-20512-6
| url-access = registration
| url = https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/314
}}</ref> The track became an international [[hit record|hit]], selling a million copies in France, 250,000 in the United Kingdom, and over two million worldwide.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs"/>

== History ==
The group released two albums, ''Hot Butter'' (Musicor MS-3242; 1972) and ''More Hot Butter'' (Musicor MS-3254; 1973), primarily of [[Cover version|covers]], on [[Gramophone record|LP]] issued by [[Hallmark Records]]. (The 1974 Australian ''Moog Hits'' consisted of nine tracks from ''More Hot Butter'', plus two new tracks, [[Roger Whittaker]]'s "Russian Whistler" and  "Mexican Whistler".) The two albums were compiled on CD as ''Popcorn'' on the [[Castle Music]] [[record label|label]] in 2000, omitting "Pipeline" and "Kappa Maki" from ''More Hot Butter'' and the two new tracks from ''Moog Hits''.

Tracks written by members of the band were "At the Movies" (the [[A-side and B-side|B-side]] of "Popcorn") and "Tristana", by all the band members except Free, and "Space Walk", by Jan Fairchild (Mullaney) and his father Dave Mullaney. "The Silent Screen (Hot Butter)" is credited to all the members except for Free, but it's actually an [[arrangement]] of the main theme of the first movement of [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]]'s [[Symphony No. 40 (Mozart)|Symphony No. 40]]. Among the other artists covered by the band were [[Stephen Schwartz (composer)|Stephen Schwartz]], [[Jerry Lordan]] and [[The Shadows]], [[Neil Diamond]], [[Joe Meek]] and [[The Tornados]], [[Neal Hefti]], [[Serge Gainsbourg]], [[Robert Maxwell (songwriter)|Robert Maxwell]], [[Piero Umiliani]], [[Jean-Joseph Mouret]], [[Billy Joe & the Checkmates]], Joe Buffalo's Band, [[Teo Macero]], [[Leroy Anderson]], [[Danny Flores|Chuck Rio]], and [[Norman Petty]] and [[The String-A-Longs]]. Mullaney and Abbott did most of the arranging. The Jeromes, Jordan, and Richard E. Talmadge [[record producer|produced]] the albums with MTL Productions for [[Musicor Records|Musicor]].

In addition to "Popcorn", another well-known track is [[August Msarurgwa]]'s "[[Skokiaan]]", which was included on [[RE/Search]]'s [[compilation album]] ''Incredibly Strange Music''. Follow-up singles included The Shadows' "[[Apache (instrumental)|Apache]]", Chuck Rio's ([[Danny Flores]]) "[[Tequila (The Champs song)|Tequila]]", Billy Joe and the Checkmates' "Percolator", Joe Buffalo's Band's "Slag Solution", and Gene Farrow with G.F. Band's "You Should Be Dancing".<!--not the Bee Gees song-->

==Members==
===Stan Free===
{{Infobox musical artist
| name             = Stan Free
| birth_name       = Stanley Friedland
| birth_place      = [[Brooklyn, New York]], U.S.
| birth_date       = April 12, 1922
| death_date       = August 17, 1995 (aged 73)
| death_place      = New York, U.S.
| genre            = [[Jazz]]
}}

'''Stan Free''' (born '''Stanley Friedland''') (April 12, 1922 – August 17, 1995) was an American [[jazz]] musician (pianist), composer, conductor and arranger. Free was born in the [[Brooklyn]] borough of New York City in 1922, and received a classical musical education, studying with [[Alexander Siloti]] and also at the [[Juilliard School]]. While still in his teens, he organized a combo (Stanley Friedland's Royal New Yorkers) that played in the Catskills. He also served as a staff sergeant in the [[7th Cavalry Regiment (United States)|Seventh Cavalry]] in [[World War II]], seeing combat in the Pacific.{{citation needed|date = December 2023}}

Upon his return, he became active in many musical endeavors, including serving as musical director for one of the first live television variety talk shows, "Cafe De Paris" with Sylvie St. Clair, on [[WNYW|WABD]], the old [[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]] channel in New York (1949). The Stan Free Trio played in many New York jazz clubs of the day, including The Composer, The Embers, The Living Room and Hickory House to name a few. He was the featured performer for several summers at Herb McCarthy's Bowden Square in [[Southampton (village), New York|Southampton, Long Island]]. He recorded several albums (now out of print) under his own name: ''Free For All: The Stan Free Trio'', ''Piano A La Percussion'' and ''Stan Free Five: Would You Believe? Jazz Alive''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Stan Free {{!}} Biography & History|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/stan-free-mn0000070448/biography|access-date=2020-09-12|website=AllMusic|language=en-us}}</ref>

Free's best-known recording was the [[Moog synthesizer|Moog]] hit "[[Popcorn (instrumental)|Popcorn]]" (1972), with the album named ''Hot Butter''. In addition to Free, five studio musicians contributed to the album. Free also toured and recorded with the First Moog Quartet (1970–72), organized by [[Gershon Kingsley]]. Additionally he arranged music and conducted for many performers, notably the jazz vocalist [[Chris Connor]] (Chris Craft), and the comedian [[Jack Carter (comedian)|Jack Carter]]. He was also a [[Session musician|studio musician]] for many of the rock and pop groups of the 1960s, including [[The Four Seasons (band)|The Four Seasons]], [[The Monkees]] and [[The Association]]. In 1979, Free played percussion on the Broadway Show ''[[The Most Happy Fella]]''.{{citation needed|date = December 2023}}

He was married with children and grandchildren, and died in New York.{{citation needed|date = December 2023}}

==Discography==
===Albums===
====''Hot Butter''====
*Musicor MS-3242 (U.S.); Pye International NSPL.28169 (UK), 1972
'''Side one'''
# "[[Popcorn (instrumental)|Popcorn]]" ([[Gershon Kingsley]]) (2:30)
# "[[Godspell|Day by Day]]" ([[Stephen Schwartz (composer)|Stephen Schwartz]]) (3:44)
# "[[Apache (instrumental)|Apache]]" ([[Jerry Lordan]]) (2:50)
# "At the Movies" (Abbott, Mullaney, Jerome, Jerome, Jordan) (2:31)
# "Tristana" (Abbott, Mullaney, Jerome, Jerome, Jordan) (3:29)
# "[[Song Sung Blue]]" ([[Neil Diamond]]) (3:54)

'''Side two'''
# "[[Telstar (instrumental)|Telstar]]" ([[Joe Meek]]) (2:34)
# "Tomatoes" ([[Neal Hefti]]) (2:27)
# "[[Amazing Grace]]" (Trad. Arr. Abbott, Mullaney) (2:37)
# "[[Je t'aime... moi non plus|Love at First Sight]]" ([[Serge Gainsbourg|S. Gainsbourg]]) (2:38)
# "Song of [[The Nairobi Trio|the Narobi Trio]]" ([[Robert Maxwell (songwriter)|R. Maxwell]]) (2:13)<!---"Narobi" is the spelling given on the album-->
# "[[Symphony No. 40 (Mozart)|Hot Butter (The Silent Screen)]]" (Abbott, Mullaney, Jerome, Jerome, Jordan) (2:04)

====''More Hot Butter''====
*Musicor MS-3254; 1973
'''Side one'''
# "Percolator"
# "Slag Solution"
# "Sounds" 
# "[[Wheels (The String-A-Longs song)|Wheels]]"
# "Skokiaan"
# "[[Pipeline (instrumental)|Pipeline]]"

'''Side two'''
# "Space Walk"
# "The Masterpiece"
# "Tequila" (Instrumental)
# "Syncopated Clock"
# "[[Makizushi|Kappa Maki]]"
# "Mah-Na, Mah-Na"

====''Popcorn with Hot Butter''====
'''Side one'''
# "Popcorn" (Instrumental)
# "Day by Day"
# "Apache"
# "At the Movies"
# "Tomatoes"

'''Side two'''
# "Pipeline"
# "Hot Butter"
# "Telstar"
# "Tristana"
# "Song of the Nairobi Trio"
# "Amazing Grace"

====''Moog Hits''====
*Musicor Records, L34984, 1974 (Australia)
'''Side one'''
# "Slag Solution"
# "Sounds - Simple"
# "Wheels"
# "Skokiaan"
# "Russian Whistler"

'''Side two'''
# "Space Walk"
# "The Masterpiece"
# "Tequila"
# "Syncopated Clock"
# "Mah-Na, Mah-Na"
# "Mexican Whistler"

====''Popcorn'' (CD)====
*Castle Music ESMCD907 (UK), 2000
# "[[Popcorn (instrumental)|Popcorn]]" ([[Gershon Kingsley]])
# "[[Godspell|Day by Day]]" ([[Stephen Schwartz (composer)|Stephen Schwartz]])
# "[[Apache (instrumental)|Apache]]" ([[Jerry Lordan|Lordan]])
# "At the Movies" (Abbott, Mullaney, Jerome, Jerome, Jordan)
# "Tristana" (Abbott, Mullaney, Jerome, Jerome, Jordan)
# "Song Sung Blue" ([[Neil Diamond|Diamond]])
# "[[Telstar (instrumental)|Telstar]]" ([[Joe Meek|Meek]])
# "Tomatoes" ([[Neal Hefti|Hefti]])
# "[[Amazing Grace]]" (Trad. Arr. Abbott, Mullaney)
# "[[Je t'aime... moi non plus|Love at First Sight]]" ([[Serge Gainsbourg|Gainsbourg]])
# "Song of [[The Nairobi Trio|the Narobi Trio]]"<!---"Narobi" is the spelling given on the album--> ([[Robert Maxwell (songwriter)|Maxwell]]). 
# "[[Symphony No. 40 (Mozart)|Hot Butter (The Silent Screen)]]" (Abbott, Mullaney, Jerome, Jerome, Jordan)
# "[[Mah Nà Mah Nà|Mah-Na-Mah-Na]]" ([[Piero Umiliani|Umiliani]])
# "[[Masterpiece Theatre|Masterpiece]]" ([[Jean-Joseph Mouret|Mouret]], Parnes)
# "Percolator" ([[Lew Bedell|Bideu]], [[Ernie Freeman|Freeman]]) 
# "[[Skokiaan]]" ([[August Msarurgwa|Kusarurgwa]]) <!--it is spelled with a K on the album cover, but if the "Skokkian" page is correct, it is an error-->
# "Slag Solution" (Morgan, Ranzzano)
# "Sounds" ([[Teo Macero|Macero]])
# "Space Walk" (Mullaney, Mullaney)
# "[[The Syncopated Clock|Syncopated Clock]]" ([[Leroy Anderson|Anderson]], [[Mitchell Parish|Parish]])
# "[[Tequila (Champs song)|Tequila]]" ([[Danny Flores|Rio]])
# "[[Wheels (The String-A-Longs song)|Wheels]]" ([[Norman Petty|Petty]])

===Singles===
* 1972: "[[Popcorn (instrumental)|Popcorn]]" <small>([[Gershon Kingsley]])</small> [2:30] / "At the Movies" <small>(John Abbott, Dave Mullaney, Bill Jerome, Steve Jerome, Danny Jordan)</small> [2:31]
* 1972: "[[Apache (instrumental)|Apache]]" <small>([[Jerry Lordan]])</small> [2:47] / "Hot Butter" ([[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]]: [[Symphony No. 40 (Mozart)|Sinfonie Nr. 40]]) <small>(Abbott, Mullaney, B. Jerome, S. Jerome, Jordan)</small> [2:08]
* 1972: "[[Tequila (The Champs song)|Tequila]]" <small>([[Danny Flores|Chuck Rio]])</small> [1:47] / "Tomatoes" <small>([[Neil Hefti]])</small> [2:21]
* 1973: "Percolator" <small>([[Lew Bedell]], [[Ernie Freeman]])</small> [1:58] / "Tristana" <small>(Abbott, Mullaney, B. Jerome, S. Jerome, Jordan)</small> [3:29] (#46 [[RPM (magazine)|CAN]] AC<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.4821.pdf| title=RPM AC Playlist - May 26, 1973}}</ref>)
* 1973: "Slag Solution" <small>(Tony Ranzzano, Babel Son)</small> [2:30] / "Kappa Maki" <small>(Abbott, Mullaney, B. Jerome, S. Jerome, Jordan)</small> [2:38]
* 1975: "Getting Off" <small>(D. Mullaney, J. Mullaney)</small> [2:53] / "Getting On" <small>(D. Mullaney, J. Mullaney)</small> [3:29]
* 1977: "[[You Should Be Dancing]]" <small>(Gene Farrow, Chris Warren)</small> [5:13] / "You Should Be Dancing" (Track Without Lead Vocal) <small>(Farrow, Warren)</small> [4:42]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p25238/biography|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic.com biography]
*{{Discogs artist|Stan Free}}
*{{IMDb name|id=0293065}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:American instrumental musical groups]]
[[Category:American synth-pop groups]]