At an early age Drasnin was interested in the Clarinet so he took lessons but when his family moved to Los Angeles he wasn't able to start until 1938.
In 1955 Drasnin scored the film Teenage Devil Dolls, and his other film scores included Ride in the Whirlwind (1966), Picture Mommy Dead (1966), Daughter of the Mind (1969), The Kremlin Letter (1970), Crowhaven Farm (1970), The Old Man Who Cried Wolf (1970), Dr. Cook's Garden (1971), A Taste of Evil (1971), The Candy Snatchers (1973), Crisis in Mid-Air (1979) and Love, Mary (1985).
That same year, while working at Tops Records, Drasnin was approached by David Pell, the head of the label, to create an Exotica album.
Among the musical personnel was a young pianist by the name of John Williams who would later go on to score such notable films as Star Wars and Jaws.
The cover artwork for the LP featured a photo of a woman in a leopard print bikini dancing as two loin cloth-clad men play bongos in a dark jungle-like setting, bathed in red light.
In 2002, three selections from the 1959 Voodoo album were used in the soundtrack for the documentary film Cinemania: "Desire", "Jardine de la Noche" and "Chant of the Moon".
The initial recording was made in February, 2007, at Pierce College in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California.
Immediately following the release of Voodoo II, Robert Drasnin again performed at the Hukilau event with an orchestra similar to the 2005 lineup.