Pat Thomas born 31 July 1938

Pat Thomas (31 July 1938 – 24 March 1992) was an American jazz singer from Chicago who had a hit with "Desafinado". Surprisingly she is virtually forgotten even as part of the scene of which she was, all too briefly, a major talent. 

Born in Chicago 31 July 1938, her real name was Patricia Thomas. The seventh of eight children, her talent is inherited from her parents, both of whom sang in church choirs. Pat’s sister Mildred was a singer, and her brother Earl Teddy played drums with Dakota Staton and Carmen McRae. Pat attended Dunbar Vocational in Chicago where she had decided to become a dress designer. She summered as a Red Cross swimming instructor, and her athletic ability spread to baseball and basketball as well. But dress designing and sports have gone a-glimmering. Pat’s a singer. 

Pat Thomas began her career in Chicago, where she was born and raised. She won a TV Talent Show for amateur’s turning professional. By this time she was the hometown singer, most sought after by local groups and by visiting musicians. She raised a few eyebrows when she sang with Norman Simmons’ highly successful “Experimental Jazz Band.” When she moved to New York, she made friendship with singer Ernestine Anderson who helped to get connections. Pat Thomas sang with Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Persip, Gigi Gryce and Art Blakey in venues like the Metropole, Birdland, the Basie's Bar and Small's. 

                             

She was the most sought-after female singer by local and visiting musicians, who valued her way of handling lyrics. Pat could be classified as a pop-jazz vocalist. She had directness and clarity mixed with a subtle reading of a song, a warm vocal sound, impeccable intonation, and an unaffectedly sincere feel for the blues.

She recorded an album in the fall of 1960 for the Strand label titled “Jazz Patterns” with a band that included Booker Little, trumpet; Curtis Fuller, trombone; Roland Alexander, tenor sax & flute; Teddy Charles, vibes; Kenny Burrell, guitar; Tommy Flanagan, piano; Reggie Workman, bass; Charlie Persip, drums. 

She was just 24 when she recorded the first English-language version of the bossa nova hit, Desafinado, for Verve in 1962; released as a debut single with One Note Samba it won her a Grammy nomination. Transferred to MGM for release, it was part of  Desafinado, the album she made that year with some notable musicians, including Bud Shank, Laurindo Almeida, Mel Lewis and arranger Lalo Schifrin, plus orchestra. 

It sold well and led to a second album, Moody’s Mood, in 1963, with orchestras arranged by Claus Ogerman and several others. Featuring Johnny Hodges and Hank Jones in some tracks it showed her range was much greater than her ready mastery of the Brazilian idiom and confirmed the further qualities of an artist hailed as “a good singer on her way to becoming a great one”. 

Somehow, that never materialized for all that is known of her is written during her brief burst of recognition during the early sixties.  

In October 1964, "Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face", backed with "The Long Long Night", was released on Verve. "Home in the Meadow", backed with "Where There's Love There's Hope", was released in 1967, also on Verve.

She died in her Los Angeles home, unheralded, on 24th March 1992.   (Edited from Fresh Sound Records & Discogs)

Marc Bolan born 30 September 1947

Marc Bolan (30 September 1947* – 16 September 1977) was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, front man, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist. His music, as well as his highly original sense of style and extraordinary stage presence, helped create the glam rock era which made him one of the most recognizable stars in British rock music. 

Marc Bolan was born Mark Feld in Hackney London. Following stints as a male model, playing in a school band with Helen Shapiro and being a Mod about town he started to make serious efforts to be a star. Marc's debut single "The Wizard" was released, on Decca Records in the U.K, in 1965 and followed up with, "The Third Degree" &"Hippy Gumbo . 

As sales were not good his then manager Simon Napier-Bell, arranged for him to join the group John's Children in early 1967. Later in 1967 Marc and percussionist Steve Peregine Took formed an acoustic duo called Tyrannosaurus Rex. They made three albums, then following an acrimonious American tour, split up. Steve Took died tragically in 1980 after choking on a cherry stone. Marc brought in Mickey Finn as a replacement for the new album Beard of Stars (1970). This album also returned Marc to his electric roots. 

In 1970 Marc shortened the group name to T. Rex. The change worked as later that year they achieved a no 2 U.K. hit with "Ride a White Swan," the first of ten straight Top Ten hits, and the album "T. Rex" was well received. The group was enlarged to include bass player Steve Currie and drummer Bill Legend. 

T. Rex were now a full-fledged electric band, and scored number one hits in 1971 with "Hot Love" and "Get It On." Renamed "Bang a Gong” the song became T. Rex's only notable U.S. hit, making the Top Ten in 1972. The album "Electric Warrior" (1971) was released and is still thought by many to be T.Rex's finest hour. It topped the U.K. charts and "Jeepster" was lifted from it as a single by the record company, apparently against Marc's wishes. 

                             

"Telegram Sam" (1972) became T. Rex's third U.K. number one. This was followed by a fourth, "Metal Guru". "The Slider" album, became a Top five hit in July 1972. T. Rex's seventh straight Top Ten single, "Children of the Revolution," became the first single to break the run of number 1's, peaking at 2. "Solid Gold Easy Action" in December also made number 2. 

March 1973 saw the release of "20th Century Boy," the ninth T. Rex Top Ten single and possibly now the most famous today, due to it's use in a "Levi", advert featuring a young Brad Pitt, in 1991."Tanx" the album, featuring Marc sitting on a small tank in a suggestive way, also went top 10 In June 1973, "The Groover" famous for the intro shout of T-R-E-X! became the groups's tenth and final Top Ten single. 

Elton John, Marc Bolan & Rod Stewart 

Marc tried using his own name on records, issuing the non-charting "Blackjack" single+  credited to "Big Carrot", also issuing "Teenage Dream" as Marc Bolan and T.Rex, finally going back to the "T.Rex brand" even though the original group was fragmenting, Bill Legend having already left. The album "Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow" (1974) can really be seen as the start of Marc Bolan's decline. Around this time Marc also parted company with his wife June, following an affair with T.Rex backing singer Gloria Jones. Long time producer Tony Visconti also left. Marc would now produce on his own. The singles "Teenage Dream" and "Truck On (Tyke) both missed the top 10, more proof of the slip taking place. 

Marc's increasing use of drink and drugs had made him noticeably overweight That coupled with his desire to crack America only dimmed his star more in the U.K. A constantly changing line up for T.Rex also left fans wondering what was going on. A change of style hinted on "Zinc Alloy" became fact on the next album, "Bolan's Zip Gun" (1975). Around this time Mickey Finn also departed T.Rex. On 26 September 1975 Marc and Gloria had a child and called him "Rolan" 

This new responsibility had a positive effect on Marc and he started to cut back on his excesses, although the drink was still a problem. Marc left the UK for tax reasons in early 1976 spending the year between Monaco and the USA. A new television show called "Supersonic" appeared in the UK, it's host Mike Mansfield was to become a leading light in returning Marc Bolan to the public stage. This coupled with Marc's interviewing slot on the "Today" show propelled Marc back as a 'face'. The album "Futuristic Dragon" was released in 1976. 

The arrival of Punk had obliterated most of Marc's fellow chart acts from the early seventies, with the notable exception of David Bowie. Ironically Marc's last televised performance was with David Bowie in the final "Marc” show recorded just days before Marc's death. It was shown posthumously in tribute.

For much of his life Marc Bolan had always said he would not live to make 30 years old. In the early hours of 16 September 1977 a purple Mini 1275 GT driven by Gloria Jones left the road and hit a tree in Barnes, London. In the passenger seat was 29 year old Marc Bolan. He was killed instantly, two weeks short of his 30th birthday.  (Edited from marcbolan.eu)

(*some sources list his birth date as July 30, 1947, or September 30, 1948)

Charlie Christian born 29 July 1916

Charles Henry Christian (July 29, 1916 – March 2, 1942) was an American swing and jazz guitarist. 

It can be said without exaggeration that virtually every jazz guitarist that emerged during 1940-65 sounded like a relative of Charlie Christian. The first important electric guitarist, Christian played his instrument with the fluidity, confidence, and swing of a saxophonist. Although technically a swing stylist, his musical vocabulary was studied and emulated by the bop players, and when one listens to players ranging from Tiny Grimes, Barney Kessel, and Herb Ellis, to Wes Montgomery and George Benson, the dominant influence of Christian is obvious. 

Charlie Christian's time in the spotlight was terribly brief. Born in Bonham, Texas, to Clarence and Willie Christian, Charlie Christian moved with the family to Oklahoma City in 1918. He followed the musical tradition of his older brothers and father and learned to play the trumpet before he was ten. By age twelve he switched to the guitar, making his own crude instrument from cigar boxes in manual training class, as novelist and family friend Ralph Ellison recalled. 

Christian attended Douglass High School in Oklahoma City and learned his music on Deep Deuce, or Northeast Second Street, an incubator for many of the nation's jazz greats. In the 1930s he played string bass with Alphonso Trent's band. Then in 1937 he discovered the instrument with which he would be forever associated—the electric guitar. Taught by Eddie Durham, of the Count Basie band, and Jim Daddy Walker, of the Jap Allen group, Christian took his lessons to a higher level, changing the electric guitar from a rhythm instrument to an important solo presence in the orchestra. His distinctive stylistic innovations had an undeniable influence on generations of jazz and popular music guitarists. 

For all his talent and technique, Christian might have remained a regional sensation if not for jazz producer John Hammond. Hammond was impressed by Charlie's playing, and he arranged for him to audition for one most successful jazz musicians in the world: bandleader and clarinetist Benny Goodman. 

On August 10, 1939, Goodman met Christian at a recording studio in Los Angeles. Goodman thought meeting Charlie was a waste of time, and the entire audition lasted only a few minutes. Charlie's association with the legendary Goodman might have ended there, but Hammond was a persistent man. He arranged for Charlie to sit in with Goodman's band that night, and Charlie's guitar playing held the audience spellbound for over 40 minutes. Goodman was impressed, and hired Christian to play with his newly formed sextet. 

                              

By February 1940 Christian dominated the jazz and swing guitar polls and was elected to the Metronome All Stars. In the spring of 1940 Goodman let most of his entourage go in reorganization. He retained Christian, and in the fall of that year Goodman led a sextet with Christian, Count Basie, Duke Ellington trumpeter Cootie Williams, former Artie Shaw tenor saxophonist Georgie Auld and later drummer Dave Tough. 

This all-star band dominated the jazz polls in 1941, including another election to the Metronome All Stars for Christian. Johnny Guarnieri, who replaced Henderson in the first sextet, filled the piano chair in Basie's absence. As well as playing guitar for Benny Goodman, Charlie participated in after hours jam sessions with other musicians in places such as Mintons and Monroes in New York City. 

While touring the Midwest in the summer of 1941, he began showing severe signs of tuberculosis, a malady blamed on years spent in an Oklahoma City slum apartment house. 

He entered the Seaview Sanatarium at Staten Island, New York, and he died there on March 2, 1942, at the age of twenty-five. 

He was buried in an unmarked grave in Bonham, Texas. A Texas State Historical Commission Marker and headstone were placed in Gates Hill Cemetery in 1994. The location of the historical marker and headstone was disputed, and in March 2013, Fannin County, Texas, recognized that the marker was in the wrong spot and that Christian is buried under a concrete slab. 

In 1966, 24 years after his death, Christian was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame. In 1989 the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame created its first seven inductions, which included Christian. He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an early influence in 1990. 

All of the guitarist's recordings (including guest spots and radio broadcasts) are currently available on CD.    (Edited mainly from AllMusic, okhistory.org  &, Wikipedia)

Sadly, there is no film available of Charlie Christian playing live, so included is a slide show.

Vinnie Bell born 28 July 1932

Vincent Edward Gambella (July 28, 1932 – October 3, 2019), known as Vinnie Bell, was an American session guitarist, and pioneer of electronic effects in pop music. He was the inventor of the electric 12-string guitar and the electric sitar. 

Vinnie Bell will go down in musical history as the inventor of the "watery" guitar sound that was a big fad in instrumental recordings of the late 1960s. Used most prominently on Ferrante and Teicher's 1969 Top Ten cover of the theme to "Midnight Cowboy," the effect became perhaps the most-copied technique among guitarists until the wah-wah pedal became standard equipment in the 1970s. Actually, Bell can probably take credit for the wah-wah pedal, too, as there is evidence that he built them as far back as the early 1950s. Constantly experimenting with home-made electronic devices to modify or distort electric guitar effects, Bell played on somewhere around a gazillion studio sessions in New York and Los Angeles throughout the 1960s and 1970s. 

He was born in Brooklyn, New York City and picked up the guitar at an early age. When he was still in his teens, he was studying with two of the best players on the New York City scene, Carmen Mastren and Tony Mottola. Bell played in nightclubs in the New York City era into the early 1960s, but by 1962, he decided to devote his energies to working as a studio musician. Well before that, he was already sitting in as a session player on various recordings, often to take advantage of the unique guitar effects he was known for producing. His early wah-wah designs can be heard on such rare singles as "Jersey Bounce" by the Spacemen and "Smoke Rings" by the Overtones. A very early example of his "watery guitar" effect can be heard on "Barracuda," a 1959 single by the Gallahads on Vic (produced by Billy Mure, by the way). 

                            

By 1962, Bell decided to devote his energies to working as a studio musician in New York and Los Angeles. He also helped design a number of electric guitar models with the company Danelectro for its Coral line of instruments, including the first electric 12-string guitar, and the electric sitar, which was used, not necessarily by Bell, on such hits as "Cry Like a Baby" by The Box Tops, "Green Tambourine" by The Lemon Pipers, "The Sounds of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel and for artists such as The Four Seasons and Bob Dylan. He also recorded occasionally under his own name, his albums including The Soundtronic Guitar of Vincent Bell (Independent Record Company, 1960), Whistle Stop (Verve, 1964), and Pop Goes the Electric Sitar (Decca, 1967). 

Bell left his indelible mark on many recordings. He added the distinctive "chick" sound that comes of the end of each phrase on Dionne Warwick's "Walk On By" and also stands out on Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You." For one of Joe Harnell's albums, he combined a Greek bouzouki with electronics to produce the "bellzouki." Charles Fox leaned heavily on Bell for his score for the legendary Jane Fonda space sex kitten saga, Barbarella. Even Lester Lanin succumbed to Bell's spell, hiring him and Fox for his album, Narrowing the Generation Gap. Several decades later, his pedalboard tremolo was used to tremendous effect in the bass guitar part that leads off Angelo Badalamenti's atmospheric theme to David Lynch's television series, "Twin Peaks." 

He recorded a cover of the love theme from the 1970 film, Airport. The last of these sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. It also won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition in 1971, while Bell was nominated for Best Instrumental Performance. His work on television and radio commercial probably comprises over a thousand ads. He was voted Most Valuable Player on Electric Guitar seven times by the New York chapter of National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) and given their Emeritus award in the late 80's. Throughout the years, Vinnie occasionally performed live with Peggy Lee, Sinatra, Barbra Streisand and others. By the '90s, he had played guitar or banjo in the Macy's annual New Year's Day Parade, for over 20 years. 

Bell was one of the few session men to regularly rate a mention in an album's credits or liner notes, at least when his special effects were a major ingredient. On the other hand, for every credit, there were hundreds of sessions, ranging from Herman's Hermits to Perrey and Kingsley's landmark Now Sounds from Outer Space album, for which his name was never mentioned. The sight of Vinnie Bell's name on an album is usually a sure sign of something well worth a listen. Any fans of The Family Guy, will know the theme song. Vinnie Bell played guitar for that session. 

Bell had been suffering from the effects of Alzheimer’s Disease for five years. He died peacefully in his sleep, October 3rd, 2019, in Tenafly, New Jersey at the age of 87. 

(Edited from Space Age Pop and Wikipedia) 

Einar Iversen born 27 July 1930

Einar "Pastor'n" Iversen (27 July 1930 – 3 April 2019) was a Norwegian jazz pianist and composer and the son of a "pastor." He went into jazz after World War II ended. Through more than sixty years, he played with everyone in Norwegian jazz. 

Iversen was raised in Oslo where he studied classical piano under Inge Rolf Ringnes, Artur Schnabel and Finn Mortensen. After a year as a sailor and military service in the German Brigade, he quickly established himself in the jazz scene in Oslo during 1949 and played with the vocalist Cecil Aagard. He became a professional musician in 1952, and made his record debut with Rowland Greenberg in 1953.

Like so many other musicians at the time, he had to make a living as a theater musician, but he also played with several big jazz names, both at home and abroad, such as with Dizzy Gillespie at Birdland  on the American boat with alto saxophonist Anthony Ortega and with Modern Jazz Quartet in 1955. He received the Buddy Prize, Norway's highest jazz award, in 1958. 

He was a regular house pianist at the Metropol Jazz Club in Oslo, where he played with musicians such as Dexter Gordon (1962), Coleman Hawkins (1963) and Johnny Griffin (1964). He also collaborated with the Swedish musicians Putte Wickman, Monica Zetterlund and Powel Ramel. He also played with Svend Asmussen and Stuff Smith in Sweden in 1965. 

               "Here's That Rainy Day" from above album.

                              

He led "Einar Iversen's Trio" with Tor Hauge on bass and Jon Christensen on drums and released the country's first jazz trio recording, "Me and my piano" (1967). On "Gemini Records" he released the album Jazz på norsk (1990). The album "Portrait of a Norwegian jazz artist - Einar Iversen" on Gemini Records in collaboration with Oslo Jazz Circle gives a great cross-section of Einar Iversen's career. Other albums followed including  Seaview ("Hazel Records", 2001) With Tine Asmundsen (bass) and Svein Christiansen (drums). Iversen's recent works have been published in Twelve compositions ("Norsk jazzforlag", 2005). 

Iversen received the Order of St. Olav, knight of the first class and he won the Gammleng prize in 1997.

He died on 3 April 2019, aged 88.     (Edited from Salt Peanuts & Wikipedia) 

Joanne Brackeen born 26 July

Joanne Brackeen (born July 26, 1938) is an American jazz pianist and Berklee Piano Professor and music educator. She has been called the "Picasso of jazz piano," a nickname that encompasses her adventurous style and visionary approach. 

Joanne Grogan was born Joanne Grogan in Ventura, California and started playing the piano in her youth and was mostly self-taught. She attended the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and was a fan of pop pianist Frankie Carle before she became enamoured with the music of Charlie Parker. 

During the late 1950s, she began playing around Los Angeles with such jazzmen as Dexter Gordon, Harold Land, Charles Lloyd, Teddy Edwards, Bobby Hutcherson, Charles Brackeen and others. She and Brackeen married and moved to New York City in 1965. She had four children before they divorced. 

She performed with Chick Corea, Freddie McCoy, and Ornette Coleman and in 1969 she became the first female member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. She played with Joe Henderson (1972–75) and Stan Getz (1975–77) before leading her own trio and quartet. To date, she has recorded more than two dozen albums with some 100 of her original compositions. She is a prolific writer with a library of more than 300 original works known for their creative stylistic range, emotional depth, and whimsical spirit. 

             Here's "Charlotte's Dream" from above album. 

                             

Brackeen established herself as a cutting edge pianist and composer through her appearances and has performed at nearly every major concert hall and jazz festival in the world. Her solo performances also cemented her reputation as one of the most innovative and dynamic of pianists. Her trios featured such noted players as Clint Houston, Eddie Gómez, John Patitucci, Jack DeJohnette, Cecil McBee, and Billy Hart. 

During the '90s her fascination with Brazilian music resulted in Breath of Brazil (released in 1991), Brasil from the Inside, an album released in 1992 with guitarist Romero Lubambo, bassist Nilson Matta, and drummer Duduka da Fonseca (a team that became internationally known as the Trio da Paz), and Take a Chance, a quartet offering that appeared in 1993. In 1994 she joined saxophonist Ivo Perelman on his imaginatively stoked tribute to composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, Man of the Forest. 

She served on the grant panel for the National Endowment for the Arts, toured the Middle East with the US State Department as sponsor, and had solo performances at Carnegie Hall. Brackeen joined the Berklee faculty in 1994 and has been recognized as an educator with Berklee’s Distinguished Faculty Award and the Berklee Global Jazz Institute award as well as the outstanding educator award from the International Association for Jazz Education. 

In 2001 Brackeen recorded Eyes of the Elders with saxophonist Talib Qadir Kibwe, an Abdullah Ibrahim alumnus now operating under the name T.K. Blue, and with veteran multi-instrumentalist Makanda Ken McIntyre on what was unfortunately to be his very last album, New Beginning. 

Sharing her musical knowledge and passing on the tradition have been important parts of Brackeen's career. In addition to teaching at Berklee College of Music and the New School, she has led clinics, master classes, and artistic residencies worldwide. 

As a performer and composer, Brackeen has received a living legend award from the International Women in Jazz and the BNY Mellon Jazz 2014 Living Legacy Award.  In 2018 she received the nation’s highest honour in jazz—the 2018 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters award. Brackeen is the first professor to receive the award while teaching at the college. 

She continues to tour and to date has performed across the globe in 46 countries. 

(Edited from Wikipedia & AllMusic)

Denis King born 25 July 1939

 Denis Andrew King (born 25 July 1939) is an English composer and singer. He is best remembered as a member of a family ensemble, The King Brothers. 

King was born in Hornchurch, Essex. He began his musical career at the age of six as a banjolele-playing singer at children's matinees and, by the age of thirteen, with his two older brothers, Mike (25 April 1935– 9 November 2018) and Tony (b. 31 January 1937), was a member of one of the most successful pop groups of the 1950s and 1960s, The King Brothers are considered by many to be Britain’s first boy band. Denis played the piano, Mike the guitar, Tony the double bass. 

By the time King was thirteen The King Brothers were touring around the U.K. in what was known as Twice-Nightly Variety (the equivalent of America’s vaudeville), performing two shows a night in one town before moving on to the next the following week. For two years King attended a different school in a different town almost every week. Along with concerts and tours around Europe, The King Brothers did summer shows, television appearances, played the Windmill Theatre and in 1956 became the youngest Variety act to play the London Palladium.

                             

Within a year they were in the record charts. "A White Sport Coat" and “Standing On The Corner” were their biggest successes. They appeared with Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe, Frankie Vaughan, Roy Castle, Shirley Bassey, Alma Cogan, Ronnie Corbett, Bruce Forsyth, Morecambe and Wise, as well as American stars Bobby Darin, Howard Keel, Sammy Davis Jr, Judy Garland, Lena Horne, Sarah Vaughan, Sophie Tucker and Frank Sinatra. 

During the latter half of the sixties worked started to dry up. Variety theatres closed and light entertainment shows on television that had provided a lot of work wanted to tap into The Mersey Beat. “By the end we were just doing working men’s clubs and that was soul destroying.” said Denis (from an interview with East Anglian Daily Times). “After we went our separate ways I spent much of my time on the golf course until my first wife suggested that perhaps I did something with myself and I went to Guildhall School of Music to learn about composition and orchestration.” 

During the latter years of The King Brothers when they had recorded a single, Denis had often written the B-Side and enjoyed the process of writing music and this then provided him with a continued link to the world of showbusiness. He would become aware of just how close a link when shortly after graduating from Guildhall in 1972 he was offered the opportunity to provide the theme tune and incidental music to a new children’s television show called Black Beauty (Galloping Home), which won an Ivor Novello Award. 

To date, he has created themes and incidental music for over two hundred television series including Within These Walls, If It Moves File It, Dick Turpin, Two's Company, Lovejoy, We'll Meet Again and Hannay as well as written over one hundred jingles for radio and television advertising. He has also worked on films, writing the scores to Simon, Simon (1970), Not Tonight, Darling (1971), Holiday on the Buses (1973), Ghost in the Noonday Sun (1973), Sweeney! (1977), If You Go Down in the Woods Today (1981) and Privates on Parade (1982). 

L-R: John Junkin, Denis King, Barry Cryer
& Tim Brooke-Taylor. Hello Cheeky 

As a musician he has performed with Dame Edna Everage, Albert Finney, Benny Green, with Maureen Lipman and with Dick Vosburgh in the comic revues Beauty and the Beards and Sing Something Silly, as well as on the BBC Radio radio comedy series Hello, Cheeky! from 1973 to 1979; he appeared in the TV version of the latter, produced by Yorkshire Television in 1976

His debut as a theatrical composer was with the original 1977 Royal Shakespeare Theatre's production of Privates On Parade which won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Musical. Other theatre productions include A Saint She Ain't and The Un-American Songbook (with Dick Vosburgh); Stepping Out - The Musical (with Richard Harris and Mary Stewart-David); Bashville and Valentine's Day (with Benny Green); Worzel Gummidge starring Jon Pertwee and Lost Empires (with Keith Waterhouse & Willis Hall); Wind In The Willows (with Willis Hall) and West Five Story (with Richard Harris). 

King has written extensively with Ayckbourn and together they have created the musicals Whenever, Orvin - Champion Of Champions, and Awaking Beauty, which premiered in December 2008 at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough. King later moved to the "celebrity hotspot" of Walberswick, Suffolk, where in 2012 he staged an amateur version of his own musical, Wind in the Willows. In 2018 Denis released his latest album “Love is in the Room” with Sarah Eyden on vocals.  His highly acclaimed and entertaining memoir “Key Changes” was revised and updated in 2020.    

(Edited from Wikipedia & deniskingmusic.com)