Valjean
Encyclopedia
Valjean Johns who typically recorded under his first name only, was an American pianist best known for his recording of the theme song from the TV show Ben Casey
.
Born in Shattuck, Oklahoma
, Valjean studied music at Oklahoma University, graduating in 1958 and attaining a Fulbright scholarship. In 1962, he released a recording of David Raksin
's "Theme from Ben Casey", which hit #28 on the Billboard Hot 100
. That same year, he released a full-length album, also titled Theme from Ben Casey, which peaked at #113 on the Billboard 200
.
Valjean also toured, making appearances with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra
and the Tulsa Philharmonic Orchestra among others.
Ben Casey
Ben Casey is an American medical drama series which ran on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, *, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaffe intoned, "Man, woman, birth, death, infinity." Neurosurgeon Joseph...
.
Born in Shattuck, Oklahoma
Shattuck, Oklahoma
Shattuck is a town in Ellis County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,356 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Shattuck is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land....
, Valjean studied music at Oklahoma University, graduating in 1958 and attaining a Fulbright scholarship. In 1962, he released a recording of David Raksin
David Raksin
David Raksin was an American composer born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With over 100 film scores and 300 television scores to his credit, he became known as the "Grandfather of Film Music." One of his earliest film assignments was as assistant to Charlie Chaplin in the composition of the score...
's "Theme from Ben Casey", which hit #28 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. That same year, he released a full-length album, also titled Theme from Ben Casey, which peaked at #113 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
.
Valjean also toured, making appearances with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra. It performs its concerts in the Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, United States....
and the Tulsa Philharmonic Orchestra among others.