Clara Ward born 21 April 1924

Clara Mae Ward (April 21, 1924 – January 16, 1973) was an American gospel singer who achieved great artistic and commercial success during the 1940s and 1950s, as leader of the Famous Ward Singers.

Born in Philadelphia, Ward was unquestionably the driving creative force behind her group's success, but the business smarts belonged to her mother, Gertrude Mae Murphy Ward. The textbook stage mother, Gertrude and her husband relocated to the Philadelphia area from a life of abject poverty in rural South Carolina; the family struggled throughout the Depression, but in 1931 she was struck by a vision which commanded her to begin a singing career. Forming a family group which included Clara and her sister Willa on piano, Gertrude quickly emerged among the most forceful promoters in all of gospel -- a gifted vocalist in her own right, her truest talents were nonetheless of an entrepreneurial nature, and after a transcendent performance at the 1943 National Baptist Convention, the Ward Singers were one of the top attractions on the church circuit.

                                   

The Wards' success, however, did not come without a price, as Clara, the star of the group, later admitted to constant frustrations with her life as a teen phenomenon, and although she loved gospel, it appears unlikely that she would have pursued a singing career if not for the constant pressure applied by her mother. By the late '40s, the group had grown so successful that they added a pair of new members, Henrietta Waddy and Marion Williams, a Miami teen whose powerhouse voice became the Wards' trademark. With Williams installed as soloist, the Wards hit their creative peak, issuing such masterful hits as "Surely God Is Able" and "Packin' Up." For her part, Clara remained content to remain somewhat in the background, accompanying the group on piano while Williams stole the spotlight.

While her gorgeous alto was the centrepiece of hits like "How I Got Over," arguably Ward's greatest strength was as an arranger; "Surely," the group's biggest hit, even introduced a new waltz rhythm into the gospel lexicon. The Wards -- who by now also included Frances Steadman and Kitty Parham -- were also the first gospel group to employ the switch-lead style of the shouting quartets, always keeping at least four vocalists in their ranks at all times. The consensus pick as the best hymn singers in the business, the Wards also rejected the homespun choir robes of the past in favour of elaborate costumes -- according to legend, on one occasion their infamous wigs grew so tall that they actually touched the ceiling. Throughout the '50s, they were among gospel's elite, scoring more hits and making more money than any group before them.

During the early '50s, the Wards began regularly touring with the Reverend C.L. Franklin of Detroit; the father of Aretha Franklin, who was a gifted singer and preacher in his own right, and as his star rose, the group's fame continued to grow. However, in 1958, Williams quit, and the bottom fell out -- Parham and Steadman exited as well, all over their notoriously low salaries, and although new recruits including Thelma Jackson, Carrie Williams, and Jessie Tucker were quickly brought in, the Wards' popularity decreased. But by 1961, amid considerable hoopla, they moved to the club circuit, playing Las Vegas and even Disneyland, all to the shock of gospel traditionalists; white audiences were intrigued, and the group continued touring throughout the '60s

Ward was the first gospel singer to sing with a 100-piece symphony orchestra in the 1960s. The Clara Ward Singers recorded an album together on the Verve label, V-5019, The Heart, the Faith, the Soul of Clara Ward, and the Ward Singers performed their music live in Philadelphia with the city's Symphony and the Golden Voices Ensemble. Ward sang backup for pop artists with her sister Willa's background group, most notably on Dee Dee Sharp's hit, "Mashed Potato Time", which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962. In 1969, Ward recorded an album for Capitol Records, Soul and Inspiration, consisting of pop songs from Broadway plays, Hollywood movies and the Jimmy Radcliffe song of hope "If You Wanna Change the World". The album was later reissued on the Capitol's budget Pickwick label minus one track. In the same year, she recorded an album in Copenhagen, Denmark on the Philips label, Walk A Mile In My Shoes, which included the pop title song, other pop songs (such as "California Dreaming") and a few gospel songs.

Ward also recorded an album for MGM/Verve, Hang Your Tears Out To Dry, which included country and Western, blues/folk, pop and an arrangement of the Beatles' hit song, "Help". Her 1972 album Uplifting on United Artists, produced by Nikolas Venet and Sam Alexander, included an interpretation of Bill Wither's pop hit "Lean On Me" and a rearrangement of the Soul Stirrers' 1950s recording of "Thank You, Jesus". Also in 1972 Ward, because she was under exclusive contract to United Artists at this time, provided vocals for a Canned Heat's album The New Age, on the ballad "Lookin' For My Rainbow"; it was released on that album and as a single 45 rpm record.

In 1968, the Clara Ward Singers toured Vietnam at the request of the U.S. State Department and the U.S.O. It was a popular war-time tour supported by recorded radio broadcasts of the Ward Singers on U.S. Armed Forces Radio. The Ward Singers narrowly missed death when their hotel in Vietnam was bombed and several guests died. Ward was invited back to Vietnam by U.S.O. in 1969 for several more months. These war-time tours were filmed and all the Ward Singers were given special certificates of recognition by the U.S. Army.

The Clara Ward Singers toured in Australia, Japan, Europe, Indonesia, and Thailand during the late-1960s through the early-1970s. They had a one-day TV special in London, England. They were in constant demand on American television programs and appeared on The Mike Douglas Show over a dozen times. They appeared on Oral Roberts' Country Roads TV special, later released as a soundtrack album. In 1969, The Clara Ward Singers appeared on the Monkees' television special. Clara continued to perform at her mother's church, the Miracle Temple of Faith for All People in Los Angeles, California, as well as at Victory Baptist Church. Her mother, Gertrude Ward, also had a popular religious radio program in the Los Angeles market.

Ward collapsed while performing at the Castaways Lounge in Miami Beach, Florida in May 1966 and suffered a series of strokes prior to her death. The first occurred in August 1967 which was listed as "massive". Two more strokes followed: one listed as "minor" during a recording session at her home in December 1972; another on January 9, 1973, which left Ward in a coma. Ward died on January 16, 1973 at age 48 as a result of several strokes. Aretha Franklin and Rev. C. L. Franklin sang at her funeral in Philadelphia; Marion Williams sang at her second memorial service held days later in Los Angeles. She is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

In 1977, Ward was honoured posthumously at the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York City and her surviving sister, Willa, accepted the award in her honour.

(Edited from AllMusic & Wikipedia) 

Mort Weiss born 20 April 1945

Mort Weiss (April 20, 1935 – October 13, 2021) was a bebop-oriented clarinet player with ten albums as leader to date. Mort’s playing style has been compared to such diverse entities as Jackson Pollack and Paul Desmond. His natural musical talent combine with his facility on the clarinet to produce his very own unique style.

Mort was born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, and when he was nine, he was given an uncle’s metal clarinet and started taking lessons. After moving with his family to Los Angeles, he continued playing classical music, and during his teens studied with the L.A. Philharmonic Orchestra's esteemed clarinettist, Antonio Remondi. After graduation and a year at the Westlake School of Music, the precocious teenaged Weiss soloed on several T.V. programs with the Freddie Martin Orchestra, a.k.a. "The Band of Tomorrow." Weiss' exposure to jazz began with Dixieland. But, when he first heard a Charlie Parker record, that was when he was hooked.

It was while he was in high school that Mort was introduced to jazz, and it quickly became his major interest. He stood in back alleys by open kitchen doors listening to Miles, Dexter, Buddy, Getz and all the others. He learned the blues from “Senator” Gene Wright, well-known bassist, visited jazz clubs and played in after-hours jam sessions whenever chance presented itself. Practicing 8 to 10 hours a day and playing with other aspiring jazz musicians kept him busy. At age 19, Mort was drafted into the Army and played in the Army Band. It was during his tour of duty that he learned the tenor saxophone and started gigging in R&B bands in and around Kansas City, Kansas, forming his own group after his discharge. In 1959 he recorded saxophone for the first and only time—on Eden Ahbez's composition “Wild Boy” (Sierra Records). It has since become a cult item having been compiled on half-a-dozen albums of early rock 'n' roll and novelty tunes. He toured the mid-west, Las Vegas and Los Angeles with his band, playing mostly R&B and Rock & Roll on the tenor sax. In 1965, he stopped playing, tired of his life-style and the music he had to play in order to make a living.

                       Here's "Bernies Tune" from above album

                                     

 Mort began working at a music store. He eventually became District Manager for the company's chain, and in 14 years opened his own store, The Sheet Music Shoppe, in Santa Ana. Under Weiss' direction, The Sheet Music Shoppe grew into the largest purveyor of printed music in Southern California. But Mort has a major natural talent for jazz and a great love for the clarinet. An acquaintance remembers that he never saw Mort without his clarinet case in his hand. He practiced continuously, even practicing clarinet on breaks during gigs when he was playing tenor sax. His talent and the results of his hard work have remained with him.

Although getting back into playing jazz had been a long-time dream for Mort, a flyer from a nearby college “Do you want to Play Jazz??”, recruiting players for a jazz combo, enticed him to get his clarinet out of the case and begin practicing. That was in July 2001. By October Mort had met Ron Eschete’ and the two had started playing together on a regular basis. In December, his first Jazz CD was out on his own SMS label. A double CD album “No Place To Hide” consisting of 19 songs was released in April 2002 with Ron Eschete’ playing a 7 string guitar and Mort Weiss on clarinet, a rare combination.

Between 2003 and 2015, SMS Jazz produced ten more recordings featuring Weiss and talented musicians such as Joey DeFrancisco, Ramon Banda, Dave Carpenter, Roy McCurdy, Luther Hughes, and Sam Most. Weiss' release of I'll Be Seeing You (SMS Jazz, 2012), is a quartet affair, featuring drummer Roy McCurdy, bassist Chris Conner and percussionist Ramon Banda. It is a modified clarinet trio related in spirit to Sonny Rollins' famous trios of the late 1950s. Lacking a harmony instrument, pressure is placed on Weiss and Conner to infer the harmonic structures usually provided by the piano or guitar. Weiss considered I'll Be Seeing You to contain his most fully-realized playing.

His last album  from 2015, Mort Weiss Is a Jazz Reality Show was deemed by critics to have been his best recording to date, which shows a man truly at one with himself, the world and the music.

Weiss died October 13, 2021, in Woodbridge, Virginia, from a heart failure, at the age of 86.

(Edited from Wikipedia & SMS Jazz) 

Bobby Russell born 19 April 1940

Bobby Russell (April 19, 1940 – November 19, 1992) was an American singer and songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, he had five singles on the Hot Country Songs charts, including the crossover pop hit "Saturday Morning Confusion". Russell was married to singer and actress Vicki Lawrence from 1972 to 1974.

Robert L. Russell was born in Nashville Tennessee. There's not much information regarding his early years but he was raised in the days when the Tennessee capital was taking steps towards becoming Music City. His roots and leanings were in country but he would wisely lend his composing talents which were very adaptable to the pop market in the 1960s. He first hit the nation’s Hot 100 with a rather obscure song by Jan and Dean, “Tennessee” but it would take four years for Russell to enter the Top 20 which he did with a song recorded by Gary Lewis and the Playboys, “Sure Gonna Miss Her”.

                                 

 Russell's best-known songs were lyric-heavy, with lines that seem artfully torn from conversation. Two of those songs ruled the radio in 1968, the year Bobby Goldsboro had a five-week pop #1 and three-week country #1 with "Honey." The hit song inspired numerous cover versions, as did another Russell-penned hit, "Little Green Apples."

"Little Green Apples", won the Song of the Year Grammy Award in 1968. It was originally recorded and released by Roger Miller, who had the first Top 40 hit with the song. It was also a hit for O.C. Smith and Patti Page in the US in 1968. The song was a particular favourite of Frank Sinatra. Russell also wrote the song "Honey", which was a hit for Bobby Goldsboro in 1968, spending five weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Russell wrote the ballad "Do You Know Who I Am", which was recorded by Elvis Presley during his 1969 Memphis sessions. Russell penned "The Joker Went Wild", a Billboard Top 40 hit for Brian Hyland in 1966. Russell also wrote "Anabell of Mobile" for Nancy Sinatra. The Russell composition "Camp Werthahekahwee", an ode to summer camps sung by a father to his son, appeared on a 1986 album by Ray Stevens. The name of the camp is pronounced "where the heck are we?"

Bobby with Vicki Lawrence

Russell had modest success as a solo recording artist, reaching the pop Top 40 with a whimsical look at domesticity called "1432 Franklin Pike Circle Hero," and again with another glimpse of suburbia called "Saturday Morning Confusion," a top 25 country hit and No. 28 pop hit in the early fall of 1971.The song was a first-person account of a family man suffering from a hangover and trying to find peace and quiet to sleep it off, but constantly being henpecked by the kids, wife and neighbours. But his next indelible hit would come in 1972 when his actress wife, Vicki Lawrence, recorded "The Night the Lights Went out in Georgia," a pulsing tale of Southern injustice. Lawrence sang the demo of the song in hopes of placing it with another artist, but Cher and others turned it down. Lawrence went on to record a studio-polished version, and it became another cross-format hit. Also penned and sung by Russell was 1974's "Go Chase Your Rainbow", his highest-charting entry in Australia.

Other songs that Russell recorded were "Better Homes and Gardens", "1432 Franklin Pike Circle Hero", "For a While We Helped Each Other Out", "Our Love Will Rise Again", "How You Gonna Stand It", and "Mid American Manufacturing Tycoon". He also wrote and recorded "Summer Sweet" for the Disney live-action Rascal in 1969 and wrote and sang the title song "As Far as I'm Concerned" over the opening credits of The Grasshopper. He continued writing songs throughout the '80.

Russell died in Nicholasville, Kentucky, of coronary artery disease on November 19, 1992. He was 52 years old. He was posthumously inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1994.

(Edited from Wikipedia & Nashville Songwriters Foundation)

Hal Galper born 18 April 1938

Harold Galper (April 18, 1938 – July 18, 2025) was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, educator, and writer.

Born in Salem, Massachusetts, Galper first began taking piano lessons at age six. A gifted performer, he entered Berklee School of Music in Boston from 1955 to 1958, honing his skills by studying with noted pianist and teacher Madame Chaloff. During college, he hit the jazz clubs, playing with such luminaries as Sam Rivers, Herb Pomeroy, and Jaki Byard. He also garnered his own gigs, working as the house pianist at such Boston venues as The Stables, Connelly's, and Lennie's on the Turnpike. After graduating, he launched his professional career, touring and recording for three years with iconic trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker. From there, he also played with such luminaries as Joe Henderson, Cannonball Adderley, and others .He also accompanied vocalists Joe Williams, Anita O'Day, and Chris Connor.

By the '70s, Galper had begun to embrace an expansive soul-jazz and fusion sound, a style he showcased on two 1971 recordings for Mainstream Records, "The Guerilla Band and Wild Bird," both of which featured trumpeter Randy Brecker and his brother, saxophonist Michael Brecker. A third Mainstream session, the trio date Inner Journey, followed in 1972 and found Galper returning to a more acoustic sound. He played with Stan Getz for a year starting in 1972, and in 1973, he played electric piano in Cannonball Adderley's Quintet, but he quickly became dissatisfied with the instrument. He replaced George Duke and stayed with Adderley until 1975. 

                         Here's "Yellow Days" from above LP

                                

He then joined saxophonist Lee Konitz for the straight-ahead duo session "Windows". Galper's follow-up as leader, 1976's Reach Out, reunited him with the Brecker Brothers for a fiery and searching post-bop set. Along with several more sessions with the Breckers, he rounded out the decade by recording two albums with John Scofield for the Enja label in 1978-79, the first led by Scofield, and the second led by himself.

The '80s were also a busy time for Galper, who recorded again with Baker. He worked steadily with Phil Woods for much of the decade, appearing on 14 of the saxophonist's albums. Consequently, his own output slowed somewhat, though he did deliver several highly regarded efforts like 1982's Naturally with bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Victor Lewis, 1986's Dreamsville, and 1987's Time to Remember. After releasing his 1989 trio album Portrait, he decided to return to more regular solo work. Galper left the Woods group in August 1990 to tour and record with a trio with Steve Ellington on drums.

From 1990 to 1999, his group was on the road six months a year. Galper's output increased steadily and he recorded for such labels as Concord, Enja, and Philology with albums like 1992's Tippin', 1995's Rebop, and 1999's Let's Call This That.

Along with performing, Galper has worked as an educator and helped found New York's New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music. He also taught at Purchase University until 2014. He also authored a highly regarded theory textbook, Forward Motion. His theoretical and practical articles appeared in six of Down Beat editions. His scholarly article on the psychology of stage fright, originally published in the Jazz Educators Journal, has subsequently been reprinted in four other publications.

During these years, he remained active, recording a handful of trio albums including 2007's Agents of Change with bassist Tony Marino and drummer Billy Mintz, 2009's Art-Work with former John Coltrane bandmates bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Rashid Ali, and 2012's Airegin Revisited with bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer John Bishop. In 2018, Galper delivered Cubist, a quartet date featuring saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi. A concert album, The Zone: Live at the Yardbird Suite, appeared the following year and found the pianist leading his trio. It proved to be one of his last major projects.

In his final years, Galper continued to perform locally in upstate New York, notably with drummer Billy Mintz and bassist Tony Marino at Rafter’s Tavern in Sullivan County, where he continued to “explore his roots and learn something new every day.” In November 2024, he announced a hiatus from performing to focus on writing.

Hal Galper died in Cochecton, New York, on July 18, 2025 at the age of 87.

(Edited from AllMusic, Wikipedia, New Grove Jazz Dictionary & Hal Galper's website)  

Don Winters born 17 April 1929

Don Winters (April 17, 1929 - August 17, 2002) was an American country singer and songwriter.

Don Winters was born in 1929 in Tampa, Florida, he was raised mostly in South Georgia, he was the son of entertainer "Pop" Winters who headed "The Southern Strollers." Don began performing with them in the late 40s but moved to Nashville in the 50s and recorded on Decca and RCA labels. He recorded a few duets with his sister Rita Marie Winters, who was born on August 15, 1932 and chose the stage name Rita Robbins, with whom she had already participated in Nita, Rita & Ruby. The stage name Rita Robbins has no personal connection to Marty Robbins. 

Don was a gifted vocalist, noted especially for his yodeling and long wind. He began recording for RCA Victor in 1953 with his sister Rita. Then from 1956 - 1966 he recorded for various labels which included Coin (1956) Columbia (1957) Decca (1960) Brunswick (1961-62) Hamilton, Sims (1963) Ashley, Robbins (1966).  

                                   

His solo efforts included his 1961 top-ten single of "Too Many Times" and another favourite,  "Shake Hands With A Loser. Around 1960 he joined Marty Robbins' band as a singer and guitar player. With Bobby Sykes the three were known as "The Marty Robbins Trio" and performed with Marty Robbins. During his 23 years with Marty, he was part of the band and a featured solo artist in his shows.

Most internet sources credit them as being in the recording sessions for Columbia Records from spring 1960 to Dec. 1964 although, however it is well known that Marty Robbin's producers Don Law and Frank Jones mainly used session staff from the Nashville A-Team. Strangely both Winters and Sykes are not mentioned in Marty's recording sessions except for two in 1960. in the early '70s he had a brief side career recording several albums of country covers and generic tribute albums along with the studio band, The Country Ramblers.

Don Winters, Bobby Sykes and Marty Robbins

Meanwhile he was a devoted and loyal friend to Marty Robbins, accompanying him to races and public appearances until his death in 1982. Later, in an interview with Swampland, reporter Michael Buffalo Smith asked him that as well as touring with Robbins if he also recorded with him. Winters replied " Oh yes. I did the background vocals on a lot of songs like “El Paso City” and “Devil Woman.” Not the original “El Paso City,” we re-recorded it."   

Winters recorded the album "The Yodeling King" with his sons Donnie and Dennis, The Winters Brothers Band in 1984 , and also did a few shows with them. His last last performance was with his sons on June 15, 2002, a few months later he passed away at his home in Nolensville, Tennessee on August 17, 2002. He was first diagnosed with colon cancer in 1994 from which he recovered, but died after a year's struggle with liver cancer. He is buried in Nolensville Cemetery in Nolensville, Tennessee, USA.

(Scant information edited from IMDB, Rock'n'Roll Records Forum & Rocky 52)

Vince Hill born 16 April 1934

Vincent Brian Hill (16 April 1934 – 22 July 2023) was an English traditional pop singer, best known for his cover version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein show tune "Edelweiss" (1967), which reached No. 2 on the UK singles chart. He recorded 25 studio albums and several soundtracks, wrote songs and plays and hosted TV shows during the 1970s and 1980s, and earned a national and international reputation through hit records and sold–out performances at some of the world’s most prestigious concert venues such as the Sydney Opera House, London’s Royal Albert Hall and the London Palladium.

Vince Hill was born in Holbrooks, Coventry. He first sang professionally in a public house named The Prospect in Margate, Kent, when he was 17 years old. He decided to become a full-time musician after working as a baker, truck driver and coal miner. His first opportunity as a singer came when he read an advert in Melody Maker magazine, which said that the Band of the Royal Corps of Signals needed a vocalist. He travelled to Catterick camp in Yorkshire where the band was based, performed the audition, and gained the job. This offered Hill a way to undertake his National Service as well as experience performing across the world. After completing his military service, he toured with the musical Florodora, and later became a singer with Teddy Foster's Band, a big band based in London. At the beginning of the 1960s Hill joined a British vocal group, the Raindrops, which gave him his first opportunity to perform in television and radio shows, especially on the BBC radio show Parade of the Pops. The Raindrops also had in its ranks Jackie Lee, Len Beadle and Johnny Worth.

                                    

By late 1961, Hill left The Raindrops for a fledgling solo career. His debut entry in the UK Singles Chart was the Les Vandyke penned "The River's Run Dry", which went to No. 41 in June 1962. In 1963, he participated in A Song for Europe, the UK heat of the Eurovision Song Contest, with another Vandyke-penned song, "A Day at the Seaside". The next few years proved fallow, as a succession of single releases failed to reach the chart. 

In January 1965, Hill was offered an international recording contract with the EMI group, which signed him to their Columbia label. His first Top 20 chart success with his new label came a year later with "Take Me to Your Heart Again", Hill's cover of the Édith Piaf hit "La Vie En Rose", which climbed to No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart in 1966 and No. 18 on the RPM chart in Canada. "Roses of Picardy", composed during the First World War, was another Top 20 success, reaching No. 13 in mid 1967.

Further notable songs that he recorded included "Heartaches" (No. 28, 1966), "Merci Cherie" (written by the Austrian singer Udo Jürgens), which was the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966, (No. 36, 1966), "Love Letters in the Sand" (No. 23, 1967), "The Importance of Your Love" (music by Gilbert Bécaud, English lyrics by Norman Newell) and "Look Around (And You'll Find Me There)". The latter track, taken from the soundtrack to the film Love Story, was his final Top 20 hit, peaking at No. 12 in the latter half of 1971. His most successful hit was his cover recording of the Rodgers and Hammerstein song "Edelweiss", from their 1959 musical The Sound of Music. The recording was a No. 2 hit on the UK Singles Chart in March 1967. It was to become his signature tune for the rest of his career, which saw him top the bill at the London Palladium and Talk of the Town. His album Edelweiss was also a hit for EMI Columbia.

Although known mainly for his voice, Hill was also a songwriter and composed many songs with his musical director Ernie Dunstall. These were used on his studio albums and flip sides to his singles of the day. The Dunstall-Hill composition "Why Or Where Or When" was also recorded by Mr. Lee Grant and topped the New Zealand chart in 1968, while "I Never Did As I Was Told" was covered by Broadway star Robert Goulet in 1971. Hill's song "I'm Gonna Make It", sung by Joe Cuddy, was the overall winner of the 1973 Castlebar Song Contest. Hill's long-term recording contract with EMI Columbia came to an end in 1974, by which time he had released 14 studio albums and countless singles. In the following year he signed to a new recording deal with CBS Records, for whom he released a further three studio albums of contemporary song material. Hill also continued to perform regularly in clubs, cabaret and various stage productions. He also hosted his own prime-time television show in Canada called Vince Hill At The Club, which also aired in the US.

Vince and Annie

From the 1980s onwards, Hill concentrated mainly on his live performances and continued to play all the top venues around the world, including the London Palladium, Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House and Talk of the Town, as well as appearing on cruise ships. He would also continue to make guest appearances on popular television shows of the day, such as The Golden Shot, Seaside Special, Rainbow, The Good Old Days, 3-2-1, Blankety Blank and Cash in the Attic. In 1982, Hill added acting to his CV, in the BBC radio drama, Tolpuddle (which he also wrote). In 1990, Hill took to the stage to play Ivor Novello in the stage play My Dearest Ivor. Hill also wrote the stage musical, Zodiac. His stage acting continued, including a starring role as The Cowardly Lion in an adaptation of the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of The Wizard Of Oz.

In 2004, Hill was diagnosed with prostate cancer and underwent successful keyhole surgery. A year later, following a routine blood test, it was discovered he also had chronic myeloid leukaemia. Following extensive treatment, the illness was brought under control. His autobiography, Another Hill to Climb (Bank House Books), written in collaboration with Nick Charles, was released in 2010. Hill came out of semi-retirement in April 2012 to make a successful return to the stage for one night only in which he performed in a big band night at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club. Hill said, "It was an absolute success — we sold out and I got a standing ovation. At that point, I just thought, "I've finished, that'll do me." In 2009, the Vince and his wife Annie celebrated their golden wedding anniversary and invited 130 friends to their home for a party. In 2014, he lost his only son Atholl and in 2016, Vince’s beloved wife Annie passed away from a degenerative lung condition.

Hill came out of retirement again in March 2018, when he returned to the stage in The Good Old Days of Variety at the Cast in Doncaster. Later that year, in September, Hill appeared in his 'Final Farewell Show' at the Kenton Theatre in Henley-on-Thames. Hill became a Patron of the Macular Society in October 2010. Hill suffered from AMD (age-related macular degeneration) from 2011; this was a major reason for his reluctantly retiring from live performances. In August 2021, it was revealed via Twitter that Hill had recently suffered a stroke. Hill died peacefully at his home in Henley-on-Thames on 22 July 2023, at the age of 89.

(Edited from Wikipedia & Beat Magazine)

Ginette Acevedo born 15 April 1942

Ginette Acevedo (born April 15, 1942), is a Chilean singer, who won the Viña del Mar International Song Festival twice: the international genre in 1964 and the folkloric genre in 1971. 

Born Mirna Jinett Acevedo Palma in San Fernando, Colchagua, Chile. Due to work of her father, a soldier assigned to the Infantry School, the family moved from San Fernando to San Bernardo when Ginette was two years old. It was in that commune of Greater Santiago that she developed all her school studies and began to be interested in singing. Like almost all performers of her generation, her first stage was on the radio. Every Sunday morning her voice could be heard in "La revista postal telegráfica", on Radio Minería. Ginette had recently turned 18 and still considered singing as a hobby. She had no studies on the subject and clung to what experts described as a "naturally imposed" register. Her early repertoire was New Wave hits, and imports from American balladeers, such as Connie Francis and Brenda Lee.

Ginette was then inspired by the Argentinian folk singer Ramona Galarza. "The cadence of the songs was very much in line with my way of singing," she recalled,  who in 1963 recorded her first single, the guarania "No quiero ser", and immediately established herself as one of the new successful young voices in the country, capable of crossing generations with a combination of freshness and tradition. That song spent nine months at the top of the radio ranking and was chosen the best of the year by disc jockeys and the press. Four other hits by Argentine composers followed: "La canción del Jangadero", the strumming double "Puente Pexoa" and "Collar de caracolas", and the guarania "Anahí".

                        Here's "El Jangadero" from above LP

                                   

After marrying her manager, the well-known show producer Luciano Galleguillos, the singer travelled to Buenos Aires in 1964, determined to make a professional space for herself among Argentines. It was hard work, which forced her to an intense promotion in the provinces, but which soon distinguished her with great radio and even film appearances. From the end of 1964, Ginette Acevedo continued her career in Argentina, where she was presented as "The sweet voice of America", achieving her definitive professionalization and Latin American projection, and becoming the cover of the prestigious magazine Folklore. 

One her greatest successes at the time was the recording she made for Ramón Ayala's musicalization of Pablo Neruda's "Poema 20". "Many could not believe that I was Chilean, more than anything because of the repertoire I sang. It was assumed for a long time that I was an Argentine singer," she recalls. In addition to releasing albums and promoting herself through extensive tours, she was summoned in 1967 to participate in two musical films: Pichones de hombre and Chao, amor. 

In 1967, she participated in three television programs in Buenos Aires: "Telemúsica", hosted by Raúl Matas; "Argentina canta y baila", where she was part of the stable cast along with Atahualpa Yupanqui, Eduardo Falú and Los Fronterizos; and "Domingo 67", in which she was the main figure. She also worked in radio and performed in up to six dance clubs weekly, but with a failing marriage and the death of her father, she suffered from a mixture of stress and depression, and she saw no greater future for a musical activity that at that point only produced tension for her. She decided to give up her professional promotion in Argentina and return to Santiago. Acevedo returned to Chile in the mid-1970s, and wrote a farewell letter to her admirers that was published in Ritmo magazine. She believed that with it she had closed her musical career forever.

It was her friend Palmenia Pizarro who convinced her to return to the stage. With the argument that "I couldn't be so irresponsible as abandoning my fans like that," Acevedo recalls, Palmenia took her to the Philips label, where a song that Óscar Cáceres and Luis Barragán had composed with her voice in mind was waiting for her. It was called "La torcacita", and it told the story of the despair of a man immersed in heartbreak. For the singer, the song touched chords very close to her recent emotional depression. After rehearsals and arrangements, the song won the folkloric section of the 1971 Viña Festival and is to this day the most popular in his repertoire. The song was later included on the album Ginette (1972).

After a couple of years of intense work, a second retirement took place this time because of her new marriage and her decision to settle down to family life after the birth of their first child. In 1977, the top brass of the Channel 13 stars came to her house to convince her to return to television, to Gonzalo Bertran's program "Esta noche fiesta". It was the first of several television slots that had her presence since then and for almost all of the eighties. From that period, her most important album was Mujeres de Chile (1979), a work composed by Willy Bascuñán of which the song "Mujer en el tiempo" stood out. Despite her constant presence on television, self-management was the only channel of work for Ginette Acevedo during that time. Without a record contract, from 1982 she herself looked for a way to publish and distribute her own recordings. 

At the end of 2003, the singer decided to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the appearance of her first single with a concert at the Providencia Theater in the capital, in which Palmenia Pizarro also participated. Until well into the 2000s, Ginette Acevedo has remained active in a constant dynamic of live performances and self-releases. Among the latter, the duet album with Valentín Trujillo Desde el alma (2012), recorded only with piano and voice, stands out. Together with composer Julio Zegers, she was recognized by the Chilean Society of Musical Authors and Performers (SCD) as a "fundamental figure of Chilean music" in 2022.

(Edited from Musical Popular, Chile)