An Oh so swinging Lew Stone list................

Lew Stone

Lew Stone (born in London, 1898; died 1969) was a British dance band leader and arranger. He was well known in Britain during the 1930s.

Stone learned music at an early age and became an accomplished pianist. In the 1920s, he worked with many important dance bands. Some arrangements attributed to Stone can be heard on particular records by the Savoy Orpheans (1927) and Ray Starita and his Ambassador's Band (1928).

During 1927-1931, Stone's arrangements for the Bert Ambrose Orchestra made it virtually the best in Europe. The HMV discs are today sought after as much for those arrangements as for the superb instrumentalists or vocals.

Stone continued to work with other bands like Jack Hylton's and Jack Payne's BBC Dance Orchestra, and he also took several top musicians into the studio to make a few recordings that were issued on the Duophone label as 'Stoneis Stone and his Orchestra'. Roy Fox's Band opened at the Monseigneur Restaurant in 1931 and Stone took up the position of pianist and arranger. When Fox became ill in October he was sent to Switzerland to rest and Stone assumed leadership of the band. The main vocalist at the Monseigneur was the very popular Al Bowlly who had already sung on over 30 recordings.

Stone began to use other band members for vocal refrain and this proved successful, particularly when trumpeter Nat Gonella sang "Oh! Mo'nah". Sales of the record Decca F.2763 were huge and may have kept Decca in business .

When Fox returned to London in April 1932, he found that his band was the most popular in the city. A contemporary article in The Gramophone magazine described events.

In 1932, Stone also worked with a studio band and several recordings were issued on the flexible Durium Records featuring vocals by Al Bowlly, Sam Browne and Les Allen. Some of the arrangements on Durium were by Stan Bowsher.

In October 1932, when Roy Fox's contract at the Monseigneur ended, Stone was offered the post of bandleader and this story filled the pages of the music press. An article from Rhythm magazine describes how this happened.

The Tuesday night broadcasts from the Monseigneur established Stone's band as a great favourite with the listening public, who recognised the sheer quality of the music, and the royal clientele attracted an unsurpassed reputation. Rave reviews were common in the music press, for example Melody Maker.

The popularity of vocalist Al Bowlly increased; he was a regular on broadcasts, his name was credited on many of the Decca records and he toured with the band including an appearance before royalty at the London Palladium.

There is a very good cartoon of Stone's Band with Al Bowlly at the microphone and the other musicians from the band of 1933 are: Nat Gonella and Alfie Noakes (trumpets), Stone Davis and Joe Ferrie (trombones), Joe Crossman, Jim Easton, Ernest Ritte, Harry Berly (reeds), Eddie Carroll (piano), Harry Sherman (guitar), Tiny Winters (string bass) and Bill Harty (drums). Some arrangements were by Phil Cardew, Stan Bowsher, Con Lamprecht.

In 1933, Stone's Monseigneur Band was involved in an interesting competition designed to test the popularity in Britain of British vs US dance bands. It was run by the 'News Chronicle' newspaper and was based on the sales of specially recorded dance tunes by Stone's band, Jack Hylton's, Guy Lombardo's and Wayne King's. The songs were "What More can I Ask?" and "Can't We Meet Again?".

From late 1931 until 1934, Stone was also musical director for British and Dominion Films, working mostly from Elstree Studios, and later worked with other film companies. About 40 pre-1947 films which involved Stone with his band or as Musical Director are included in the listings of British musical films on the British Dance Bands on Film, British Entertainers on Film, British Musical Directors website.

In November 1933, Stone transferred his band to the Cafe Anglais and in February 1934 started a very successful tour for the Mecca Agency. The band returned to the Monseigneur in March 1934 until the summer when the Monseigneur was sold to become a cinema. In September 1934, Al Bowlly and Bill Harty left to join Ray Noble in USA.

For about a year from November 1934, Stone moved to the Regal Zonophone record label, continued with theatre tours, and the band was resident for a time at the Hollywood Restaurant. Alan Kane became the main vocalist while there were also vocal contributions from Nat Gonella, Joe Ferrie, Tiny Winters and Joe Crossman. When Gonella left to concentrate on his own Georgians band in March 1935, trumpeter Tommy McQuater joined Stone's band. On October 12,, Stone featured Sam Browne as vocalist for the first time with "Cheek To Cheek" and Isn't This A Lovely Day?. In November, Stone and his band returned to the Decca record label.

In 1936, Stone stopped touring and formed a smaller band which opened on 30 March at the Cafe de Paris. The band also began to broadcast regularly for commercial radio stations Radio Normandy and Radio Luxembourg. In October, Stone became musical director for the show On Your Toes (opened February 1937). The band continued at the Cafe de Paris until 31 July 1937. In September, Stone became musical director of the show Hide and Seek at the London Hippodrome starring Cicely Courtneidge and Bobby Howes.

Al Bowlly returned to England at the end of 1937 and in February 1938 he began recording with Stone again. Recordings with Bowlly in 1938 are as good as those made during the earlier years. Stone's band played music of all kinds, for all tastes, and for all the dance tempos, but today it is particularly their playing of the sentimental ballads that is recognised and in demand for re-issue on CD, especially the titles featuring Bowlly. In his own arrangements, Stone was particularly careful to match Bowlly's voice with appropriate ensemble phrasing and short instrumental solos resulting in very pleasant recordings which make much more satisfying listening than many other bands' recordings of the standard tunes.

Stone was not afraid to work with modern music and was also an innovator. His recordings of the Gene Gifford/Casa Loma Orchestra titles are not mere copies but careful interpretations which make full use of the superb musicians in his band. The skills of Stone Davis, Joe Crossman and Nat Gonella are particularly evident on several of Stone's earlier jazz titles, some of which were issued in USA.

In June 1938, the band was the first name band to play at Butlins Holiday Camps and in September they were back at The Cafe de Paris and broadcasting regularly from there.

In October, Stone became musical director for the Jack Hulbert show Under Your Hat which continued into 1939 and featured the Rhythm Brothers (Clive Erard, Jack Trafford, Frank Trafford). His band played at the El Morocco Club, London.

In June 1940, Stone opened at the Dorchester Hotel with a seven piece band which he led on the novachord. This band was much praised for its original style. Later Stone also made several records with his jazz group the Stonecrackers which featured Britain's finest soloists. Broadcasting and recording with his large band continued and he toured the country during the rest of the war years. After the war, his band resided at various places including The Embassy Club, The Pigalle Restaurant and Oddenino's Restaurant up to 1955. In this period he made several recordings with the King of Jiddish Music Leo Fuld. Stone continued to broadcast and work round the ballrooms but was concentrating on his entertainments agency in the 1960s. At the time of his death in 1969 Stone's music from the 1930s was just beginning to gather a whole new following.

And here's a few tunes...............This one is special to me...Lew Stone has always been probably one of my most favorite bandleaders, I think the quality and just plain "swinging-ness" of his bands were as good and much better than a lot of the American bands....and anyone who knows my lists by now would surely know....though I'm way too Scots/Irish Catholic to EVER be an Anglophile....I DO LOVEEEE MY BRITISH DANCE BANDS!!

Sooooo, on that note....here's an afternoon's labour of love for ya.....Lew Stone (Oh, and btw.....I know some of these songs have been posted previously on an Al Bowlly list.....you can't post a Lew Stone list without a fair amount of Al Bowlly....so do mind the duplicates.... :)


Oh! Susannah - Goodbye Blues - That's A Plenty  (medley) L.S. ahb
I'll Never Be The Same  L.S. & the Monseigneur Band  (v.Bowlly) Dec 2 1932
Isle Of Capri L.S. aho (v.Nat Gonella)
Eadie Was A Lady   Dec. 29 1933  L.S. ahb V=Al Bowlly  
Lazybones  L.S. ahb  (v.Joe Crossman)
White jazz L.S. ahb
Ja-Da L.S. ahb
I Never Had A Chance L.S. ahb (v.Bowlly) July 25 1934
Miss Otis regrets L.S. ahb
Ebony shadows L.S. ahb
A Brivella Der Mame  (a letter to my mother) in Yiddish v=Al Bowlly L.S. ahb Jan. 27, 1933
Lying in the hay L.S. and the Monseigneur band (v.Bowlly & Gonella) Dec 23 1933
Canadian capers L.S. ahb
I love you truly Al Bowlly & L.S. ahb May 3 1934
Don't change L.S. and the Monseigneur band Oct 24 1933 al bowlly
Aunt Hagars Blues L.S. and his Stonecrackers  May 22 1941
Blue jazz  L.S. and the Monseigneur band
Cheek to cheek  L.S. & His Orchestra v=Sam Browne
Garden of Weed L.S. and the Monseigneur bandIt's Easy To Remember L.S. aho
Little Nell Al Bowlly & L.S.  and his Monseigneur band Jan 10 1933
Lookie Lookie Lookie, Here Comes Cookie L.S. v=Tiny Winters
Pop goes your heart L.S. and the Monseigneur band
Seein' Is Believin' L.S. aho v v=Alan Kane
She's a Latin From Manhattan (who did these vocals, and why does it sound like Ozzy Nelson to me??  lol....sorry...can anyone set me straight, here??******) This is a file I had from a friend with no info on it**
She wore a little jacket of blue L.S. ahb
Stars fell on Alabama L.S. and the Monseigneur band
Take me back to dear old Blighty  ** again, a file from a friend...no info...who did the vocal?)
That's a plenty L. S. aho
There's something wrong with the weather L. S. ahb v=sam browne
Til the lights of London shine again L.S. aho
When they sound the last "All clear" L.S. aho
Wings over the Navy L.S. aho
Winter wonderland L.S. aho
Zing! went the strings of my heart L.S. (Vocal: Joe Crossman, Alfie Noakes, Don Barrigo, Jock Jacobsen) 1935
All of me Al Bowlly & L.S.- Durium dance band March 15, 1932
As long as I live L.S. ahb voc Al Bowlly August 3, 1934
Auf Wiedersehen my dear Al Bowlly & L.S. Durium dance band Apr 20 1932
Blue prelude Al Bowlly & L.S. & the Monseigneur Band Sept 15 1933
By the fireside Al Bowlly & L.S. (Durium dance band)  Mar 15 1932
Can't we talk it over Al Bowlly & L.S. (Durium dance band) Apr 20 1932
Coffee in the morning and kisses at night Al Bowlly & L.S. ahb Feb 15 1934
Easy come easy go Al Bowlly & L.S. June 15, 1934
Everyone should have a sweetheart Bowlly Al & L.S. Oct 3 1938
Experiment Al Bowlly/L.S. ahb Nov 3 1933
Georgia's gotta moon Al Bowlly with L.S. & His Band Nov 28 1938
Goodnight Vienna Al Bowlly & L.S. (Durium dance band) Apr. 11932
Gosh, I must be falling in love  L.S. ahb vocal Al Bowly Feb 15 1934
How could we be wrong Al Bowlly & Lew Stone ahb Nov 3 1933
It's psychological Al Bowlly & L.S. ahb Mar 23 1934
I won't tell a soul L.S. ahb Al Bowlly Aug 12 1938 
Just humming along Al Bowlly, Durium Dance Band - L.S. Apr. 20 1932
Looking for a little bit of blue L.S. And The Monseigneur Band Al Bowlly 8-3-1934
Music maestro please Al Bowlly and L.S. ahb  Aug 12 1938
My woman Al Bowlly & L.S. and his Monseigneur band Nov 29 1932
O.K. Decca medley Pt. 2 w/ Al Bowlly
The girl in the Alice Blue gown Al Bowlly with L.S. ahb Feb 4 1938
Why waste your tears L.S. And The Monseigneur dance Orch Al Bowlly Oct 31 1932
You couldn't be cuter Al Bowlly  L.S. ahb Aug 12 1938
You're a sweetheart Al Bowlly  L.S. Orchestra
You're my thrill Al Bowlly & L.S. Orch. Apr 24 1934
I can't write the words L.S. and his Monsiegneur band  V=Al Bowlly Nov 16 1932
Isn't it heavenly L.S. and his Monseigneur band V=Al Bowlly Aug 1 1933
Who'll buy an old gold ring L.S. Band, V=Al Bowlly Dec 29 1933
Little lady make believe L.S. ahb, V=Al Bowlly Aug 12 1938
Mama, I wanna make rhythm L.S. ahb V=Al Bowlly Apr 21 1938
Ti PiTin waltz Lew Stone ahb V=Al Bowlly  Apr 21 1938



http://www.mediafire.com/?hh2nlw47hhfpd5e

Ray Noble...........a big 'ol jumble of a list......

Ray Noble

Ray Noble (17 December 1903 – 3 April 1978) was an English bandleader, composer, arranger and actor. Noble studied music at the Royal Academy of Music and became leader of the HMV Records studio band in 1929. The band, known as the New Mayfair Dance Orchestra, featured members of many of the top hotel orchestras of the day. The most popular vocalist with Noble's studio band was Al Bowlly.

The Bowlly/Noble recordings achieved popularity in the United States. Union bans prevented Noble from taking British musicians to America so he arranged for Glenn Miller to recruit American musicians. Glenn Miller played the trombone in the Ray Noble orchestra which performed Glenn Miller's composition "Dese Dem Dose" as part of the medley "Dese Dem Dose/An Hour Ago This Minute/Solitude" during a performance at the Rainbow Room in 1935. The American Ray Noble band had a successful run at the Rainbow Room in New York City with Bowlly as principal vocalist.

Bowlly returned to England but Noble continued to lead bands in America, moving into an acting career portraying a stereotypical upper-class English idiot. His last major successes as a bandleader came with Buddy Clark in the late 1940s.

Ray Noble wrote both lyrics and music for many songs that became popular, contributing "Love Is The Sweetest Thing", "Cherokee", "The Touch of Your Lips", "I Hadn't Anyone Till You" and "The Very Thought Of You" to popular culture. He co-wrote "Goodnight, Sweetheart" (a number one hit for Guy Lombardo on U.S. charts), "Turkish Delight" and "By the Fireside". The Ray Noble composition "You're So Desirable" was recorded by Billie Holiday and Teddy Wilson, and by Robert Palmer in 1990.

Ray Noble was also an arranger who scored many record hits in the 1930s: "Easy to Love" (1936), "Mad About the Boy" (1932), "Paris in the Spring" (1935).

Noble and Bowlly's 1934 recording of "Midnight, the Stars and You" was prominently featured on the soundtrack of Stanley Kubrick's film The Shining in 1980.

Another example of a Noble/Bowlly classic, the 1931 song "Guilty", can be found on the Amélie film soundtrack.

Noble played the piano but seldom did so with his orchestra. In a movie short from the 1940s featuring Ray Noble and Buddy Clark (one of his most popular band singers), Ray Noble is asked by the announcer to play one of his most popular hits. He sits down at the piano and plays "Goodnight, Sweetheart" ("Goodnight sweetheart, 'til we meet tomorrow. Goodnight sweetheart, parting is such sorrow"). This is the song that once seemed to be played at the end of every high school and college prom, the end of every party featuring live music, and the last song played by a dance band to signal the end of the evening.

Although Noble was no singer, he did appear twice as an upper crust Englishmen on two of his more popular New York records, 1935's Top Hat and 1937's Slumming on Park Avenue.

Noble provided music for many radio shows like The Charlie McCarthy Show and Burns and Allen and also guest appeared in some of their films. He and his orchestra appeared with Edgar Bergen in the 1942 film Here We Go Again and in 1937's A Damsel in Distress (film) with Burns and Allen. Noble played a somewhat "dense" character who was in love with Gracie Allen. His catchphrase was "Gracie, this is the first time we've ever been alone together."

From: http://www.parabrisas.com/d_nobler.php

British orchestra leader Ray Noble found success on both sides of the Atlantic. He rose to prominence in his native land during the mid-1920s and in 1929 was appointed Director of Light Music at British label HMV. There he led the New Mayfair Orchestra, a studio group which featured some of the best British musicians of the day, borrowed for pick-up work from other bands, mainly that of Lew Stone. Notable was vocalist Al Bowlly, who recorded many sides with Noble's orchestra. In 1933 Noble toured for the first time, taking a hand-picked outfit to the Netherlands. It was the first time that he led a group in public.

Noble's recordings sold well in the United States, and in 1934 he decided to move across the Atlantic, taking Bowlly with him. In contrast to the straight dance music that his British orchestra had played Noble embraced jazz upon his arrival in America. He employed Glenn Miller to assemble him a top notch band, and Miller did just that. Noble's new group featured such talented artists as trumpeters Charlie Spivak and Pee Wee Erwin, trombonist Will Bradley, saxophonist Bud Freeman, guitarist Fred van Eps, and pianist Claude Thornhill.

Noble's orchestra settled in at the Rockefeller Center's Rainbow Room in 1935, with Miller taking on much of the arranging duties. Though jazz was prevalent in its book it was on the ballads where the group shined, particularly on numbers which featured Bowlly. Noble's American band never did as well as his British outfit, partly due to inferior recordings and partly due to Noble's inability to completely grasp and exploit the abilities of his musicians. He often seemed in awe of his men's talent, as if he couldn't believe what he heard.

Though Noble's orchestra proved popular with the public, backstage the story was not as happy. Miller emerged as a favorite among many of the men, a fact often resented by Noble. The band also put in a grueling schedule, working well into the night seven days a week. Stress levels were high, and many of the key musicians had left by the end of 1936. In 1937 open conflict broke out amongst the members with the result that Noble quit as leader and the group disbanded.

After his orchestra broke up Noble left New York for the West Coast, where he formed another less-noted band and served as musical director on the Burns and Allen and Edgar Bergan and Charlie McCarthy radio programs. He also worked sporadically in Hollywood, scoring for several films and appearing in two. Noble remained in the United States until at least 1959. He eventually returned to England, retiring to Jersey in the Channel Islands. Ray Noble died of cancer in 1978.

Ok.....enough with the bio. This is a list of everything I have from Ray Noble. It's a fairly big list. In the effort to get this one up, I've scoured every source I could find to get as many songs as I could. Bit rates and quality vary, there are broadcasts, and studio tracks. Some tracks are from my collection, some from friends, and quite a few from sources found online...royalty free sites, archives, and from various downloads....in other words, quite the jumble. I know there are quite a few Noble fans out there (thinking of you, specifically, Dylan Ross), I'm posting a lot of this knowing that you all may probably have most of it....in the event that you don't.....here it is.  In that the list is so large, I've not done quite as much of the usual research that I do on dates, etc....this list has been taking so long to put together, that, in the essence of wanting to get it up, I have not done that this time...(I may come back very soon and add a lot of that in to the post....not just now...I apologize)

So now....here it is...such as it is....I hope everyone gets a little something from it :)




Copper Blues (Intro: Dancing shoes)
Baby you've got the right idea
Every day away from you
Crazy feet
Allah's holiday
Brighter than the sun
All I do is dream of you
Crazy rhythm (b'cast)
Dipsy doodle
Cherokee
Easy to love
El Relicario
Footprints in the snow
Haunted house
I'll follow my secret heart
I'll be around v=Anita Ellis (b'cast)
Amore v=Anita Newton (b'cast)
How are things in Glocca Morra v=Buddy Clark
A foggy day
Let's face the music v=Fred Astaire
Double trouble v=Freshmen
Clouds
Goodnight sweetheart
A bedtime story
A couple of fools in love  
After all you're all I'm after  
All over Italy  
And so goodbye  
Beat of my heart  
Beautiful lady in blue
Belle of Barcelona (b'cast)
Beside a Dutch canal
Blue moon  
Blues in my heart  
But definitely  
Butterflies in the rain
By the fireside  
California here I come
Can't we meet again
Close your eyes
Did you ever see a dream walking
Dinner for one please, James
Dreaming a dream
Dreams that don't grow old  
Dreamy serenade  
Driftin' tide  
Everything's been done before
Experiment  
Freckle face, you're beautiful  
Good evening  
Goodnight little girl of my dreams
Goodnight sweetheart  
Goodnight Vienna  
Grinzing  
Guilty  
Gypsy fiddles  
Hand in hand  
Hang out the stars in Indiana
Happy
Happy and contented
Have you ever been lonely
Hiawatha's lullaby
Hold me
How could I be lonely
Die Eensaam Weg (The Lonesome Road)  Al Bowlly in Afrikaans
It's all forgotten now
The prisoner's song
Blue Prelude w/ Paul Robeson

http://www.mediafire.com/?vdgnf2gsmb13a35


In the moonlight
I've got a feeling
Just imagine
Makin' wicky wacky down in Waikiki
I know now
In a little gypsy tea room
I've got my love to keep me warm
Let's call a heart a heart
Let's spill the beans
Little old lady
More than you know
I used to be color blind
Mad dogs and Englishmen w/ Noel Coward
Just keepin' on w/ Paul Robeson
Little pal  w/ Paul Robeson
Oh, you nasty man
Linda  
It's all forgotten now
I wished on the moon
Not bad  
Linda medley v=Buddy Clark (b'cast)
I hadn't anyone 'til you v= Tony Martin
Living in clover
A letter to my mother  
A little kiss each morning
A little white gardenia  
I guess I'll have to change my plan  
I'll forsake all others
I'll string along with you
I love you truly
I'm glad I waited
I'm misunderstood (b'cast)
I'm saving the last waltz for you
I'm telling the world she's mine
I never had a chance
I never had a chance (vers 2)
I only want one girl
I shall still keep smiling along
It's bad for me
It's great to be in love
It's just a little street where old friends meet
I've got you under my skin
I was true
June time is love time
Lady in blue
Let's swing it
Little Dutch mill
Looking on the bright side of life  
Look what you've done  
Love is the sweetest thing  
Love locked out  
Love tales  
Lullaby of Broadway  
Maybe it's because I love you too much  
Midnight the stars and you
My heart is saying  
Now
Oceans of time  
Old covered bridge hill  
On a steamer coming over  
One morning in May  
Paris in the spring  
The old spinning wheel  
Medley: What More Can I Ask for/By the Fireside/love is the greatest thing  
Nice work if you can get it v=Fred Astaire
Lady of Spain  


http://www.mediafire.com/?ggm3adzs9t9a463

Terribly fond of you (Intro-dance away your blues)
So the bluebirds and the blackbirds got together
Someone
Whispering
Shout for happiness
Twentieth Century blues
What a perfect combination
Stay on the right side of the road
Tiger rag
Who walks in when I walk out (1)
Who walks in when I walk out (2)
Speedboat Bill
Goodnight sweetheart (show closing)
Velia  (b'cast)
Veni Veni  
Repeal the blues w/ the Three Ginx  
Rhythm is our business  
Sleep
Snowball
Sweet Sue just you
This little piggy went to market
Way back home
Ray Noble talks about Al Bowlly  
Pettin' in the park  
Please
Poor me poor you  
Remember me
Roll on Mississippi  
When you've got a little Springtime in your heart   
Where are you girl of my dreams   w/ Al Bowlly and Anona Winn
The physician w/ Gertrude Lawrence  
Slumming on Park Avenue w/ The Merry Macs
Somebody ought to be told  
Sailin' on the Robert E. Lee
Seven years with the wrong woman  
Sing as we go  
Standing on the corner  
That's what life is made of  
There's a ring around the moon  
There's something in the air
The touch of your lips  
The very thought of you
This is the day of days  
Time on my hands  
Top hat white tie and tails
Way back home
When you've fallen in love  
When you were the girl on the scooter  
Why be so unkind to me  
With all my heart  
With all my love and kisses  
You're more than all the world to me  
You're the cream in my coffee  
You're twice as nice
When my little Pomeranian met your little Pekinese  
Whispers in the dark  
When day is done  v=Joe Morrison (b'cast)
Remember me   v=Tony Martin
That old feeling  v=Tony Martin (b'cast)

http://www.mediafire.com/?ec3qwg58sbq2lw2

A Roy Fox list....with Al Bowlly, Denny Dennis, and more................

Roy Fox and his Band

From:  http://www.mgthomas.co.uk/dancebands/Musicians/MusicianPages/Roy%20Fox.htm

Bandleader, Cornettist.
Born: Denver, Colorado, October 25th 1901
Died:  Twickenham, England, 20th March 1982, aged 80
Signature tune:  Whispering

Born in Denver, Colorado, on October 25th 1901, Roy Fox was taken as a child to Hollywood, where he grew up and first began playing as lead trumpet with Abe Lyman’s Band, alongside Gus Arnheim, Miff Mole, Buster Johnson and Gussy Miller. When given a chance at the age of 20 to form his own it was the largest in Hollywood, playing at the Café Royale, right opposite the MGM studio. He moved to other ritzy establishments, including the Cocoanut Grove, until he was appointed an executive of Fox Films, supervising their Musical Production Department, and for some years supplying musicians but not actually leading bands. During this time he worked on some money-spinning movies, including "Sunny Side Up".

Receiving a cable from London inviting him to play at the Café de Paris he came over to do so in September 1930, bringing an American band and staying eight weeks, during which he started recording for Decca, trumpet leading a 10-piece band with vocalist Kenneth Allen. Although the band was reported as rather unexciting, Roy himself created a good impression with his whispering trumpet style and quiet demeanour.He was booked to open at the new luxury Monseigneur Restaurant in Piccadilly on May 27th 1931, with a star-studded -10 piece British band comprising:

Nat Gonella, Sid Buckman (trumpets), Joe Ferrie (trombone), Billy Amstell and Ernest Ritte (alto sax), Harry Berley (tenor sax and viola), Lew Stone (piano, arranger), Don Stuteley (bass), Bill Harty (drums) and Al Bowlly (guitar & vocals). 

The brass section had been with Billy Cotton, who was himself resting after illness. I believe Cotton bore Roy no ill-feeling for pinching his star musicians. To be honest, it was their choice and if Roy hadn't offered them the job, it is likely they would have found work elsewhere in any case.

Lew Stone and Bill Harty brought Al Bowlly along to Roy after finding him busking to a theatre queue in the West End! Arriving from South Africa a few years before, he had been with one or two bands (including Fred Elizalde at the Savoy Hotel) and done reasonably well, but had hit upon hard times and was broke. Roy gave him a job and launched him upon his illustrious career as the doyen of dance band singers. After only a few months at the Monseigneur, Roy was stricken with pleurisy and had to leave for the mountain air of Switzerland, staying five months, during which time Lew Stone led the band and built up a formidable reputation with his progressive ideas and his brilliant arrangements.

When Roy came back, in April 1932, it was to an embarrassing state of affairs, as the band (and the Monseigneur management) now looked upon Lew Stone as their leader, so Roy left in October 1932 to form a completely new band - except for trumpet player Sid Buckman - at the Café Anglais. It was, however, by no means a second best product for it included some accomplished musicians, notably Harry Gold (tenor), Jack Nathan (piano), Ivor Mairants (guitar), Maurice Burman (drums) and Eric Tann (trombone), plus Jack Plant (vocals).

Roy moved from the Café Anglais to the Kit Cat in January 1933 with a bigger band which boasted singers Peggy Dell, Jack Plant, Ronnie Genarder and, eventually, Denny Dennis. The band made its stage debut at the Plaza in Haymarket for two weeks commencing April 28th 1933. Roy went back to the Café de Paris in February 1934, reducing his band size to suit the management, and from there he went into variety, touring the country continuously until his health failed again in 1938, necessitating another sojourn in the Alps.

After having a rest for a few months he was told by a friend that a new ballroom, the St Kilda Palais, situated right on the beach at Melbourne, Australia, needed a new band, so he made some enquiries and was offered the job, which carried three broadcasts a week with his own programme, called Roy Fox’s After Dinner Show. He took his vocalist, Pat McCormack, with him and was at St Kilda for nine months, proving a big success, with his health gradually improving in the warm, dry climate. He was invited to renew his contract, but felt that it would be good for listeners to his radio shows to see the band in person, so he decided to go on tour.

It was a devastatingly ill-advised venture, because the weather was terrible, the distances involved were phenomenal and the venues were insignificant. In the end he lost all his money and had to throw in the towel. He managed to pay up all his debts and made up his mind to return to England, by which time war had broken out. Pat McCormack and Roy’s wife at the time, Dorothea, boarded the boat with 30 cases of luggage and Roy went off to watch the Melbourne Cup Race. Afterwards he went along to see the American Consul to thank him for his kindness during his stay in Australia, and was shocked to be told that his passport would have to be withdrawn because he was an American citizen. He could only return to the States.

He was advised to get his luggage, Pat and Dorothea off the boat and was heartbroken because he had lived in England for eight years and desperately wanted to go back. He got a passage on a boat sailing for America with Dorothea and they arrived in Hollywood at Christmas 1939. He at once received an offer to form a band to play at the Rainbow Room, in Radio City, and he booked a singer named Kay Kimber, who had done some films in Hollywood, and was appearing in a musical in New York called Two For The Show. But before he could open the Rainbow Room was closed because it was considered to be vulnerable to air raids, being situated on top of a skyscraper.

Instead, Roy went into the La Martinique, where he broadcast weekly, and from there to a new club called the Rio Bamba, on 57th Street, a swanky place where the floor show included a brash young singer named Frank Sinatra, who deflated Roy’s ego by telling him that he was the worst conductor he had ever worked with! Roy ticked him off and after that they became good friends. Roy left the Rio Bamba to go into the Savoy Plaza Hotel, a smart haunt of high society, just opposite Central Park, and in 1943 he married Kay Kimber. He went to Washington to get his passport back, so that he could return to London to form a band to entertain the troops, having been rejected for military service due to his ill health.

But he was told that all accommodation was reserved for military personnel. On the day that he did finally receive permission to go back to England he had an offer to play a season at the Mount Royal Hotel, in Montreal, fronting a Canadian band, with Kay Kimber as vocalist. It was a three-year contract with nightly coast-to-coast broadcasts, so it was enormously appealing, but he preferred to return to London, so he booked a passage on the Queen Elizabeth and sailed in February 1946, leaving Kay in New York until he fixed a job and could send for her.

He met with a great deal of hostility from some British bandleaders, notably Billy Cotton and Jack Payne who accused him of dodging the war, and threatened to have him black-listed, but John Mills, owner of the Milroy Club, booked him to replace Harry Roy and he went in with a band which included some of his former musicians, notably trumpet-player Sid Buckman and pianist-arranger Jack Nathan. Kay came over within a few weeks and was signed for a big Jack Hylton musical, High Button Shoes, at the London Hippodrome.

When he left the Milroy he went on tour expecting to receive the same response to which he had been accustomed before the war, but when he opened at the East Ham Palace in the winter of 1946 with a 18-piece band there were rows of empty seats. It was the same in most theatres. The weather was bitterly cold, people had perhaps forgotten him, and he was on percentage, so he lost a lot of money. He was said to owe £10,000 income tax for the period just before he went to Switzerland the second time, and he was made bankrupt. Fortunately he was offered a 17-week summer season in 1947 at the Palace Ballroom, Douglas, Isle of Man.

Then he went back on tour, believing he could not flop again, but sadly he did, largely because pop music had put dance bands out of favour. He lost so much money that he had to pack it in and Kay went home to her family in Iowa. Luckily Roy had an offer from Louis Ellman, owner of Dublin’s Theatre Royal, to produce shows and conduct a stage band of Irish musicians. He hoped this would encourage Kay to come back, but it didn’t.

He became friendly with an actress appearing at the neighbouring Abbey Theatre, Eileen O’Donnell, and as Kay threatened to divorce him unless he returned to the States, he let her do so and married Eileen, who presented him with a son, Gary. They came back to London and Roy formed a band of young modernist musicians, including Victor Feldman, Tubby Hayes, Benny Green, Tony Crombie, Lennie Bush and Stan Tracey, to play at some of the venues where he used to be such a favourite. But audiences were looking for something different and he was forced to disband. He became a manager and agent for a few selected artists, but I don’t think it was a very profitable business.

Roy was a great believer in talent contests and ran them all over the country when on tour. His singing discoveries included Peggy Dell, Denny Dennis, Mary Lee, Bobby Joy, Pat McCormack, Barry Gray, Jack O’Hagen, Ella Logan and Betty Bolton. His musicians, over the years, apart from those already named, included Max Goldberg, Jack Jackson, Lew Davis, Benny Frankel, Spike Hughes, Tiny Winters, Eric Tann, George Gibbs, Andy Hodgkiss Don Macaffer, Art Christmas and Andy McDevitt. And, of course, we must not forget the chirpy singing Cubs, who were Les Lambert, Harry Gold and Ivor Mairants.

Roy recorded for Decca from October 1930 to December 1935 and was their musical director for six years. He changed over to HMV in January 1936 and 17 titles taken from his radio recordings during the summer of 1938 were released on a Halcyon LP. There are now album re-issues of his old 78s on HMV, Decca and World Records, reminding us of his soft, sweet, relaxed band, so characteristic of himself and those carefree days before the calamitous war.

A suave, good-looking six footer, Roy was regarded as the best dressed bandleader in the country, always resplendent in tails, reflecting his elegant and dignified personality. Everyone knew his silken voice with its mellifluous accent, which at once identified him as a Californian. His mellow muted trumpet playing in his days as a musician earned him the title of Whispering Cornettist.

He told me why he chose “Whispering” as his signature tune. “One night when I was playing at Hollywood’s Cocoanut Grove, celebrated violinist Jascha Heifetz danced by while I was playing trumpet and remarked to his partner, ‘It sounds like a whisper’. So I decided to use it as a signature tune, especially as the composer, John Schoenberger was a close friend of mine”.

Roy only did one Royal Variety Performance, at the London Palladium, for King George V and Queen Mary in 1933, but he did two other Command shows, one a Royal Film Performance and the other for King Albert of Belgium. For many years Roy had a beautiful house in Highgate, close to his bandleading rival Jack Payne, but in due course he moved to a spacious ground floor flat conveniently next door to the Decca Studios in Chelsea. He was keen on all sports, chiefly horse racing, and was an enthusiastic punter. He enjoyed home life and had a great love of dogs, always having at least one. Every year he bought a new Rolls Royce - those were the days!

Wemyess Craigie, who ran his thriving fan club and was promoted to publicist and then his personal secretary, told me: “He was thoughtful, ever-courteous and generous to a fault, which eventually caused him to go bankrupt. He was deeply concerned about the welfare of his musicians and singers and treated them with kindness and respect. But he was a strict disciplinarian and could be abrupt if people didn’t respond. He had a fetish about punctuality and any-one who arrived late was curtly told not to let it happen again”. The end was miserable for Roy. He had to leave his luxury flat in Chelsea, apparently because he couldn’t go on paying the rent, and his marriage to Eileen O’Donnell, who was also known as Kerrie Marsh and had done some acting on TV, including Emergency Ward 10, ended in 1966, so he was alone. A mutual friend told me that for a time he lived in a shack in the garden of someone who had been close to him, until his old friend and ever-faithful fan, Wemyess Craigie, heard about it and managed to get him into the Variety Artists’ home Brinsworth House, at Twickenham, Middlesex, where he gradually faded away.

I went to see him in 1981 soon after I retired, a journey of four hours each way from my home on the Isle of Wight, and he was unable to talk to me for more than a few minutes. He died on 20th March 1982, aged 80. He had been married three times and his first wife, Dorothea, had been a show girl in the Marx Brothers’ musical, The Cocoanuts on Broadway.


I just realized that Roy Fox and I share a birthday.......October 25 (granted, it was 61 years before me, but I digress.....lol......)

Now, I did a large posting of songs by Al Bowlly a while back....A few of those songs will be repeated here, as they were recorded with the Roy Fox band. I have, since posting the Bowlly list, found that I had more recordings of him in another location. They were a bunch of Fox band recordings that feature him, and thus were not included in the original posting........so, on that note......give a listen. Again, I will apologize in advance for low bit rates, poor quality of some recordings that are on 78s, and for tags that are occasionally hard to read. I am posting the track list in the order of the songs, so hopefully that should help. I am usually trying to get a lot of music posted quickly, with as much detail as I can.........often these lists are VERY large, and do not come from collected albums of music. There are often duplicates of songs listed under other titles, and without always strong identification of singers, dates, etc....it takes long enough to get these up as it is. I'm mostly just wanting to get things as accurate as possible on the track lists. I do hope everyone understands.

Build a little home w/ Denny Dennis (DD)
I saw stars
In the dark
Jungle drumsThe echo of a song 1 w/ Al Bowlly (AB)
Alma Mia w/ AB
Are you prepared (to be true?) w/ AB
By my side w/ AB
Dance hall doll w/ AB
Goodnight moon w/ AB
Hurt w/ AB
It must be true w/ AB
Jig time w/ AB
Koppa-ka-banna w/ AB
Lazy day w/ AB
Living in clover w/ AB
Looking for you w/ AB
Lovable w/ AB
Love for sale w/ AB
Afraid to dream
I cover the waterfront
Keep young and beautifulAdios (Madriguera) w/ AB
All of a sudden w/ AB
Bathing in the sunshine w/ AB
Bubbling over with love w/ AB
Cherie C'est vous w/ AB
Concentratin' w/ AB
Drink brothers drink Echo of a song 2 w/ AB
Gone forever w/ AB
Goodnight Vienna w/ AB
How'm I doin'? w/ AB
I'd rather be a beggar with you w/ AB
If anything happened to you w/ AB
If I didn't have you w/ AB
If I have to go on without you w/ AB
I found you w/ AB
If you were only mine w/ AB
I'm for you One Hundred Percent w/ AB
I'm glad I waited w/ AB
I'm gonna get you w/ AB
I'm so used to you now w/ AB
Lady play your mandolin w/ AB
Leave the rest to nature w/ AB
Longer that you linger in Virginia w/ AB
Look in the looking glass w/ AB
Love you funny thing w/ AB
Lullaby of the leaves w/ AB
Between the devil and the deep blue sea w/ AB
I let a song go out of my heart w/  DD
It's a sin to tell a lie w/ DD
For sentimental reasons w/ Jack O'Hagan (JOH)
It's got to be love w/ Mary Lee (ML)
I've got beginner's luck w/ ML
Kiss by kiss w/ AB
Let's face the music and dance w/ DD
Cruising down the river  
Call it a day w/ AB

http://www.mediafire.com/?crtmgtd6bef4vdh


Pop goes your heart
--A Roy Fox Commentary--
Writing a letter to you w/ AB
Maybe it's love w/ AB
Memories of you w/ AB
One more time w/ AB
Ooh that kiss w/AB
Out of nowhere w/ AB
Over the blue w/AB
Overnight w/ AB
Peach of a pair w/ AB
Poor kid w/ AB
Take it from me w/ AB
That Lindy Hop ( I side with those who say that it is only The Three Ginx, and not AB)
--A Roy Fox Commentary about Al Bowlly--
A pretty girl is like a melody
A street in old Seville
On the other side of the hill
Tiptoe through the tulips
Without that certain thingMarta w/ AB
Missouri Waltz w/ AB
My sweet Virginia w/ ABMy temptation w/ AB
The night when love was born w/ AB
The old man of the mountains w/ AB
Sing another chorus please w/ AB
Somebody loves you w/ AB
Song of happiness  w/ AB
Sweet and lovely w/ AB
That's what I like about you w/ AB
The peanut vendor w/ AB
There's something in your eyes w/ AB
This is the Missus w/ AB
Tie a little string around your finger w/ AB
To be worthy of you w/ AB
You can't stop me from loving you w/ AB
You've got what gets me w/ AB
Minnie the moocher w/ AB
They can't take that away from me w/ DD
Whispering w/ Jack Plant (JP)
The wind  in the West (vocal: Peggy Dell, Jack Plant and the Cubs)
Oh, Joanna w/ Sid Buckman (SB)
Minnie the moocher's wedding day w/ AB
Them there eyes  (v: The Three Ginx)
Nobody's sweetheart  w/ AB
Put that sun back in the sky w/ AB
Wedding bells are ringing for Sally w/ AB
Yes yes, my baby said yes w/ AB


http://www.mediafire.com/?y5w46u5t4uzewan

By request: the big Al Bowlly list.......It's crooning time......

Al Bowlly.....this is a work of love....done as a request. This is a big file....enjoy.

Here's a little Wikipedia stuff about Al Bowlly for those unfamiliar with him: 

Albert Allick "Al" Bowlly (7 January 1899^[1] – 17 April 1941) was a popular Jazz singer and crooner in the United Kingdom during the 1930s, making more than 1,000 recordings between 1927 and 1941. Bowlly showcased a diverse range of material unsurpassed by any contemporary other than perhaps Bing Crosby. He was also a truly international recording artist. He was killed by the explosion of a parachute mine outside his flat in Jermyn Street, London during the Blitz.

Al Bowlly is invariably credited with inventing crooning, or "The Modern Singing Style", releasing a book of the same name. Bowlly experimented with new methods of amplification, not least with his Melody Maker advert, showing him endorsing a portable vocal megaphone. With the advent of the microphone in 1931, Al adapted his singing style, moving away from the Jazz singing style of the 20s, into the softer, more expressive crooning singing style used in popular music of the 30s and 40s. It was Al's technique, sincerity, diction and his personality that distinguish him from many other singers of the 30s era.

Al is also credited with being the first "Pop Star". Prior to the advent of Bowlly, the bandleaders were the stars and the main attractions, with the records being sold as "Ray Noble and his orchestra (with vocal refrain)" a phenomenon that can be seen on 78s of the period. Most singers were all but anonymous, but Al's popularity changed this, with him being the first singer to be given a solo spot on BBC radio due to popular demand, and records appearing featuring his own name. Bowlly's personality, good looks, charisma, and above all his voice, earned him the nickname "The Big Swoon", with Al finding himself being mobbed by female fans for autographs and photos after his performances.

And here's the tunes:

A million dreams (1932) w/ George Scott Wood Orch.

All ashore (1938) w/ Lew Stone and his Monsiegneur Band

Balloons (1932) w/ Lew Stone and his Monseigneur Band

Beware of love (1930) w/ Marius B. Winter and his dance Orch.

By my side (1931) w/ Roy Fox and his Orch.

Colorado Sunset (1938) w/ Geraldo and his Orch.

Concentratin' on you (1932) w/ Roy Fox and his band

Dark eyes (1939) w/ Bram Martin and his band

Down by the river (1935) w/ Ray Noble and his Orch

Down Sunnyside lane (1931) w/ Ray Noble and the New Mayfair Dance Orch.

Eadie was a lady (1933) w/ Lew Stone and his band

Every day's a holiday (1937) Al Bowlly and his band (studio group)

Give me my ranch (1939) Acc. by orchestra directed by Ronnie Munro.

Glorious Devon (1932) Acc. by George Scott Wood on piano

Goodnight Angel (1938) w/ Lew Stone and his band

Got a date with an angel (1931) w/ Ray Noble and the New Mayfair dance Orch.

I lay me down to sleep (1933) w/ Lew Stone and his Monseigneur Band

I love you truly (1938) w/ Lew Stone and his Monseigneur Band

I'll string along with you (1934) w/ Ray Noble and his Orch.

I'm thru with love (1931) w/ either the Blue Jays, OR The Harry Hudson Deauville Dance Band

Ive got to sing a torch song (1933) w/ Ray Noble

In my little red book (1938) w/ Mantovani Orch

Just let me look at you (1938) w/ Lew Stone

Moon love (1939) w/ Ronnie Munro

My sweet Virginia (1932) w/ Rox Fox

Now it can be told (1938) w/ Lew Stone

On with the show (1931) pt. 1 w/ Ray Noble (Al sings a chorus of "On a little balcony in Spain")

Pied piper of Hamelin (1931) w/ Ray Noble

Poor kid (1931) w/  Roy Fox

Ridin' home (1939) w/ Ronnie Munro

Roll along prairie moon (1935) w/ Ray Noble

Romany (1939) Acc. by Orchestra

Al Bowlly Remembers: Pts 1 & 2 medly: (1938) Lover Come Back to Me/Dancing in the Dark/I'm Gonna sit right down and write myself a letter/Auf Wiedersehen my dear

Great day (1930) w/ the Alfredo Orch.

Adeline (1930) w/ Jay Wilbur and his band (Al-Gtr. and voc.)

Three wishes (1933) w/ Ray Noble Orch.

Hallelujah (1927) -instrumental w/ Bowlly on banjo w/ the Arthur Briggs' Savoy Syncopator's Orch

I'm sorry Sally (1928) w/ The Fred Elizalde Orch.

If anything happened (1928) w/ the Fred Elizalde Orch.

I'm playing with fire (1933) w/  Jack Jackson Orch.

Aloha (1930) instrumental w/ Len Fillis Hawaiians

http://www.4shared.com/file/kUo80mui/al_bowlly.html

And here's a few more I couldn't get in the first list:

Dreamy Amazon (1928) w/ Arthur Briggs' Savoy Syncopator's Orch.

Me and my shadow (1927) w/ Arthur Briggs' Savoy Syncopator's Orch.

Sometimes I'm happy (1927) w/ Arthur Briggs' Savoy Syncopator's Orch.

I'm playing with fire (1933) w/ Jack Jackson Orch.

and, with the Roy Fox Band:

It must be true (1931)

Jig time (1932)

Kiss by kiss (1931)

Lazy day (1931)

Looking for you (1931)

Lovable (1932)

Love for sale (1931)

Maybe it's love (1931)

Memories of you

My temptation (1931)

One more time (1931)

Ooh that kiss (1932)

Out of nowhere (1931)

Over the blue (1931)

Overnight (1931)

Peach of a pair (1931)

Peanut vendor (1931)

http://www.4shared.com/file/ldR90Fj4/bowlly2.html