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eden ahbez

George Alexander Aberle (April 15, 1908 – March 4, 1995), known as eden ahbez, was an American songwriter and recording artist of the 1940s to 1960s, whose lifestyle in California was influential in the hippie movement. He was known to friends simply as ahbe.

Ahbez composed the song "Nature Boy", which became a No. 1 hit for eight weeks in 1948 for Nat "King" Cole. Living a bucolic life from at least the 1940s, he traveled in sandals and wore shoulder-length hair and beard, and white robes. He camped out below the first L in the Hollywood Sign above Los Angeles and studied Asian mysticism. He slept outdoors with his family and ate vegetables, fruit, and nuts. He claimed to live on $3 per week.

Birth and Death Data: Born Brooklyn (borough of New York City, New York, United States), Died March 4, 1995 (Los Angeles (seat of Los Angeles County, and largest city in California, United States) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1948 - 1949

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor D8VB-3703 10-in. 4/12/1948 Nature Boy Guild Choristers ; Eve Young Female vocal solo, with mixed vocal ensemble composer  
Gramophone 0EA12943 10-in. before May 3rd 1948 Nature boy (to love and be loved in return) Dick James Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble composer  
Exclusive EXC-1286 10-in. 12/31/1949 Nature boy The Celebrities ; Herb Jeffries composer  
Columbia (U.K.) CL8614 10-in. 11/16/1948 Étrange garçon Aimé Barelli ; Lucienne Delyle Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble composer  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "ahbez, eden," accessed January 3, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111374.

ahbez, eden. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 3, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111374.

"ahbez, eden." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 3 January 2026.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111374

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