Artist Info: Les Crane

Les Crane (December 3, 1933 – July 13, 2008) was a radio announcer and television talk show host, a pioneer in interactive broadcasting who also scored an unexpected spoken word hit with his 1971 recording of the poem Desiderata, winning a "Best Spoken Word" Grammy for his efforts.

"Desiderata" reached #8 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. It had great influence on mainstream society and became a counterculture anthem of sorts, and in particular introducing many to the culture of prose poetry and spoken word recording. [read more...]