A note from JJ's webmaster:
I asked Jean Jacques to list his favorite Top 20 tracks from the albums that he recorded for Vanguard Records, back in the '60s. Also, I requested that he mention a little bit about why these songs of his are his favorites...:

MY TOP 20 FAVORITE VANGUARD TUNES
by Jean Jacques Perrey

1) "The Little Man From Mars"
"This is the very first recording I did for Vanguard. It is special to me because it was the very first experiment with tape loops, despite Pierre Shaeffer's (negative) advice!" 

2) "Spooks in Space"
"The first one I made with the crazy loops. The idea of crazy tape loops had been inspired to me by a dream I had about Jean Cocteau and Edith Piaf."

3) "E.V.A."
"Because it had been suggested to me by Walt Disney, and it is timeless and futuristic. Also, it is a tribute to the first man who walked on the moon."

4) "Baroque Hoedown"
"This was a "co-composition" with Gershon Kingsley. I'll put "Baroque Hoedown" down because it became the theme song for the Disneyland's Electrical Parade, 6 years after Walt Disney passed away. But Walt is still alive in my heart and my soul."

5) "Visa to the Stars"
"It became an Esso commercial , co-composed with Andy Badale (Angelo Badalamenti,) and also has something related to science fiction."

6) "Flight of the Bumble Bee"
"Because it impressed Salvador Dali so much. I'll never forget how he jumped out of his chair when he heard it !"

7) "Strangers in the Night"
8) "Third Man Theme"

""Because I loved these tunes and wanted to make crazy adaptations."

9) "The Little Ships"
10) "Frère Jean Jacques"

"Because I have happy memories of my mother singing me to sleep with these tunes when I was a child."

11) "Four Three Two One"
"I made this with my friend Billy Mure. It was exciting to do!"

12) "Minuet of the Robots"
13) "Gypsy in Rio"

"Because it reminds me lot of fun I had working with Harry Breuer on these tunes. "Gypsy in Rio", by the way , is a kind of tribute to my idol Spike Jones, but with crazy electronic sounds instead of acoustic effects."

14) "Gossipo Perpetuo"
"It was also a lot of work in manipulating the small pieces of the tape where the voices were recorded. I remember (arranger) Harry Breuer was laughing so much, when I recorded this!"

15) "Country Rock Polka"
16) "18th Century Puppet "

"With my good friend Harry Breuer."

17) "Passport to the Future"
18) "Pioneers of the Stars"

"These were dedicated also to space themes, and were masterly arranged by my good friend Angelo Badalamenti."

19) "The Elephant Never Forgets"
"Because I love elephants, and the middle part sounds fantastic to me, because of the good arrangement of my much-missed friend Harry Breuer."

20) "Swan's Splashdown"
"This was a crazy idea, and a modern tribute to Tchaïkowski who is, I think, one of the best Russian composers for ballet music! My daughter Patricia was still a ballerina during the time I recorded this. I also wanted to pay tribute to my former idols who were at the origin of my decision to stop medical studies and become a Electronic Music composer: Tom Dissevelt and Kid Baltan, who I consider as my Masters, and real Pioneers of modern recreative Electronic Music."


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