Stanley BlackOBE(14 June 1913 – 27 November 2002) was an English bandleader, composer, conductor, arranger and pianist.[1]He wrote and arranged many film scores, recording prolifically for theDeccalabel (including their subsidiariesLondonandPhase 4). Beginning with jazz collaborations with American musicians such asColeman HawkinsandBenny Carterduring the 1930s, he moved into arranging and recording in the Latin American music style and also won awards for his classical conducting.
Stanley Black | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Solomon Schwartz |
| Born | 14 June 1913 Whitechapel,London,England |
| Died | 27 November 2002(aged 89) London, England |
| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1930s–2002 |
| Labels | Decca |
Life and career
editBlack was born asSolomon Schwartzon 14 June 1913 inWhitechapel,England.[1]His parents were Polish and Romanian Jews.[2]He began piano lessons at the age of seven and trained in piano and composition underRae Robertsonat theMatthay School of Music.He was aged only 12 when his first classical composition was broadcast on BBC Radio.[3]His first professional job was for aC.B. Cochran1930 theatrical revue followed by winning aMelody Makercompetition for his arrangement of a jazz chorus the next year.[4]
In the early 1930s, he was employed in dance bands, and had worked with Howard Jacobs,Joe Orlando,Lew Stone,Maurice Winnickand Teddy Joyce by the time he joinedHarry Royin 1936.[1]Black had also broadcast and recorded with several American musicians, including jazz saxophonistsColeman HawkinsandBenny Carterduring their stays in England during this decade.[4]Hawkins had first heard Black on late night radio shows with Lew Stone's band. When the two eventually met in London, the reviewer Edgar Jackson suggested they record together, and the two men collaborated on a duet version of "Honeysuckle Rose".
DuringWorld War II,Black joined theRoyal Air Force,and became involved in managing the entertainment of servicemen based atWolverhampton.In 1944, he was appointed conductor of theBBC Dance Orchestra,and remained in the job for almost nine years, broadcasting as many as six nights a week.[1]
Black's radio work kept him in contact with a large listening audience, through his incidental music for shows such asMuch Binding in the Marshand the first two series ofThe Goon Show.He also conducted theBBC Dance Orchestrafor the popular comedy showRay's a Laugh,starringTed Ray.[5]Black later presented his own programmes on radio and television, includingBlack MagicandThe Marvellous World of Stanley Black.[1]
In the early 1950s, he regularly topped theMelody Makerlists of the most-heard musicians on radio. He was chosen to be included on Decca's first release oflong-playing recordsin the UK in June 1950. This enabled him to continue his conducting, arranging and performing career and resulted many albums. He was particularly popular in United States, as evidenced by his inclusion in theBillboardbest-sellers lists.[1]During 1968–69, he was principal conductor of the BBC Northern Ireland Orchestra.[4]
Becoming involved with the film industry, he composed and arranged music for about 200 films. He was appointed music director atElstree Studiosin 1958.[1]He was also principal conductor of the studio orchestra ofAssociated British Picture Corporation(ABPC) and their musical director composer from 1958 to 1963.
During his life, he conducted many of Britain's major orchestras, and until the 1990s he was still directing regular broadcast sessions at the BBC studios, despite the onset of deafness in later life.
Honours
editBlack received numerous awards, including theOBE.He was made a life fellow of the International Institute of Arts and Letters, and life president of the Celebrities Guild of Great Britain.[1]
In 2003, Decca released a two-CD set,A Tribute to Stanley Black(473 940-2), including recordings from 1951 to 1979.
Personal life
editBlack was married to dance band singer Edna Kaye. The couple wed in 1947; they had a son and daughter.[6]
Black died in London, aged 89, on 27 November 2002.
Works
editBlack is remembered for writing numerous scores for radio, television and cinema, including the theme-tune forThe Goon Show.
Other films he composed scores for includeLaughter in Paradise(1951),The Naked Truth(1957),Blood of the Vampire(1958),Too Many Crooks(1958),The Long and the Short and the Tall(1961),West 11(1963),The System(1964),Crossplot(1969), and theCliff RichardmusicalsThe Young Ones(1961) and his orchestral backing for Richard's follow up,Summer Holiday(1962), which won him anIvor Novello Award.His work also became familiar to millions of cinema audiences as a consequence of his theme tune and music library forPathéNews, written in 1960.[7]
He also recorded many classical works, including collections ofTchaikovskyandGeorge Gershwin.In 1965 he won a Gramophone Award for his version ofRimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol. In addition, he arranged and conducted many commercially successful albums on LP and later CD likeTropical Moonlight,Cuban Moonlight,Black Magic,and series ofFilm SpectacularandBroadway SpectacularforDecca.
Selected discography
edit- The Cash Box Instrumental Hits,LondonLL158
- Plays for Latin Lovers,London LL248
- Jerome Kern's Symphonic Suite,London LL579
- Berlin Suite,London LL811
- Some Enchanted Evening,London LL1098
- Dancing in the Dark,London LL1099
- Carnival in the Sun,London LL1100 (1955)
- Festival in Costa Rica,London LL1101
- Music for Romance,London LL1149 (1955)
- Cuban Moonlight,London LL1166 (1956)
- Music of Richard Rodgers,London LL1209
- Plays for Latin Lovers,London LL1248
- The Night Was Made for Love,London LL1307
- Summer Evening Serenade,London LL1332
- The Music of Lecuona,London LL1438 (1958)
- Music of Cole Porter,London LL1565
- Red Velvet,London LL1592 (1956)
- Tropical Moonlight,London LL1615 (1957)
- Moonlight Cocktail,London LL1709 (Dec 1957)
- Place Pigalle,London LL1742 (1957)
- Sophisticate in Cuba,London LL 1781 (1958)
- The All Time Top Tangos,London PS 176 (1959)
- More Top Tangos,DeccaSKL 4812
- Gershwin Goes Latin,London PS 206 (1960)
- Ravel - Bolero,LondonPhase 4SPC 21003
- Rhapsody in Blue,London Phase 4 21009
- Spectacular Dances for Orchestra,London Phase 4 SP 21020
- Overture!,London Phase 4 21028
- Great Rhapsodies,London Phase 4 21030
- Exotic Percussion,London Phase 4 SP 44004 (1962)
- Spain,London Phase 4 SP 44016 (1963)
- Film Spectacular,London Phase 4 SP 44025
- Film Spectacular Vol.2,London Phase 4 SP 44031
- Music of a People,London Phase 4 SP 44060
- Broadway Spectacular,London Phase 4 SP 44071
- Russia,London Phase 4 SP 44075
- Film Spectacular Vol.3,London Phase 4 SP 44078
- Broadway Blockbusters,London Phase 4 44088
- Dimensions in Sound,London Phase 4 SP 44105 (1968)
- Fiddler on the Roof,London Phase 4 44121
- Film Spectacular Vol. 4,London Phase 4 44173
- Rhapsody in Blue,London Phase 4 21009
- Digital Spectacular!,London LDP 30001
- Film Spectacular Vol. 5,London Phase 4 SP 44225
- South of the Border,London: Richmond B 20003
- Melodies of Love,London: Richmond B20004
- Music of Jerome Kern and Irving Berlin,London: Richmond B20011
- Accent on Romance,London: Richmond B 20024
Selected filmography
edit- Dual Alibi(1947)
- It Always Rains on Sunday(1948)
- The Fatal Night(1948)
- Laughter in Paradise(1951)
- Escape by Night(1953)
- The Naked Truth(1957)
- Blood of the Vampire(1958)
- The Trollenberg Terror(1958)
- Further Up the Creek(1958)
- Too Many Crooks(1958)
- Make Mine a Million(1959)
- Jack the Ripper(1959)
- The Battle of the Sexes(1959)
- Hand in Hand(1960)
- The Flesh and the Fiends(1960)
- Hell Is a City(1960)
- Sands of the Desert(1960)
- The Siege of Sidney Street(1960)
- The Full Treatment(1960)
- The Long and the Short and the Tall(1961)
- House of Mystery(1961)
- Double Bunk(1961)
- The Day the Earth Caught Fire(1961)
- The Pot Carriers(1962)
- Maniac(1963)
- 80,000 Suspects(1963)
- West 11(1963)
- The System(1964)
- Rattle of a Simple Man(1964)
- City Under the Sea(1965)
- Crossplot(1969)
- Valentino(1977)
References
edit- ^abcdefghColin Larkin,ed. (1997).The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music(Concise ed.).Virgin Books.pp. 142/3.ISBN1-85227-745-9.
- ^""Music of the People/ Spirit of the People" CD sleeve note cited at ".cduniverse /.Retrieved6 October2014.
- ^McDonald, Tim (3 December 2002)."Stanley Black".The Guardian.Retrieved6 January2020.
- ^abc"Stanley Black".The Daily Telegeraph.28 November 2002.Retrieved6 January2020.
- ^"BBC Radio 4 Extra - Ray's a Laugh, From 11/10/49".BBC.Retrieved1 February2021.
- ^McDonald, Tim (3 December 2002)."Obituary: Stanley Black".the Guardian.Retrieved1 February2021.
- ^Spencsr LeighObituary: Stanley Black,The Independent,2 December 2002
- David Ades' biography at theRobert FarnonSociety