Korla Pandit, one of exotica’s most famous figures, was a television celebrity in the 1950s through a Southern California television program that featured his organ playing. Pandit, who wore a turban but never spoke, performed on a Hammond B-3 Organ while looking into the camera. He also added Latin and Far East influences to his riffs. Although it doesn’t sound exotic now, the mere fact that a man of Indian descent was present on television’s then-new medium is quite novel. Pandit is not necessarily Indian, but his biographical details are still a mystery. He claims he was born and raised in New Delhi. While he did perform some original music, a lot of his repertoire consisted of exoticized versions of standard songs. He was a part of the exotica tradition. This did not aim to make authentic “world music”, but to disguise mainstream pop with mild influences from the Middle East. In his prime, Pandit produced a lot of music (including over a dozen albums for Fantasy), and his music made a comeback in the late 80s and ’90s when it was discovered by a younger audience. Interview for Incredibly Strange Music, Vol. He has performed live in concert and appeared as himself in the Ed Wood film. From allmusic Korla Panit (September 16, 1921-October 2, 1998), John Roland Redd was a composer, pianist and organist. He is also credited as a television pioneer. He was also known as the “Godfather of Exotica”. Pandit, a member of an African-American family, was born in St. Louis, Missouri on 19-21. His family then moved to Hannibal in Missouri, where they lived for nine more years. The family moved to Columbia in Missouri in 1931. [1] Pandit was born to Ernest Redd, an African American man. His mother was Doshia O’Nina Redd. They were both of French and African descent. Pandit was born to two of his siblings, and four other sisters. They were all light-skinned. Pandit attended a segregated school where he learned piano. He was a contemporary of “Sir”, a jazz pianist who knew him at that time. He said John Roland Redd was a better piano player than him. He was known as Juan Rolando in the middle of the 1940s and played the organ at KMPC Los Angeles. He also performed at various supper clubs. He was also heard on Jubilee. This program featured black jazz and swing music that was transcribed by the Special Services of the War Department to air to overseas WWII servicemen. He married Disney artist Beryl Juni DeBeeson in 1944. They remade his image by replacing “Juan Rolando” with “Korla Pandit.” This created a romantic story for him, as a child born in New Delhi to a Brahmin priest, and a French opera singer. The two traveled from India via England before finally reaching the United States. Wikipedia
