Les Crane - Later Career

Later Career

In 1968, he was back on the West Coast, hosting a talk show on KLAC in Los Angeles. Critics noted that in the style of the 1960s, he now dressed in a turtleneck and moccasins, sprinkling his speech with words like "groovy." ("Communicasters," 1968). But he was still doing interviews with major newsmakers and discussing topics like civil disobedience, the hippies and the rising popularity of meditation. (Sweeney, 1968) He also did some local TV talk. Crane left KLAC when the station switched to a country music format.

In late 1971, the 45rpm recording of Les Crane's reading of Desiderata reached #8 on the Billboard charts. It had a 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. The recording was considered inspirational and positive during a somewhat negative time. It won him a Grammy.

Though Crane thought the poem was in the public domain when it was recorded, the rights in fact belonged to the family of author Max Ehrmann, and royalties were distributed accordingly.

A parody of Desiderata by National Lampoon on their comedy album, Radio Dinner (1972) went on to fame via the Dr. Demento and Howard Stern radio shows. Called Deteriorata and voiced by Norman Rose, the parody declared to listeners: "You are a fluke of the universe. You have no right to be here. And whether you can hear it or not, the universe is laughing behind your back". Melissa Manchester, then a little-known session singer, performed the gospel-tinged background vocals.

When asked about the recording during an interview by the Los Angeles Times in 1987, Crane replied, "I can't listen to it now without gagging." He admitted to being more fond of the National Lampoon satire.

In the 1980s, Crane transitioned to the software industry and became chairman of The Software Toolworks, creators of the three-dimensional color chess series, Chessmaster and the best-selling educational series, Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. Toolworks was also responsible for such classics as The Original Adventure and the PC version of Pong. The Software Toolworks was sold and renamed Mindscape in the early 1990s.