Ken Dodd born 8 October 1927

 

Kenneth Arthur Dodd OBE (born 8 November 1927 - 11 March 2018), better known as Ken Dodd, was a veteran English comedian and singer, famous for selling over 100 million records, his buck teeth, frizzy hair, feather duster (or "tickling stick"), and his catchphrases, often playing on the 'tickled' motif, e.g. "How tickled I am!". He worked mainly in the music hall tradition, although, in the past, had occasionally appeared in drama, including as Malvolio in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night on stage in Liverpool in 1971; on television in the cameo role of 'The Tollmaster' in the 1987 Doctor Who story Delta and the Bannermen; and as Yorick (in silent flashback) in Kenneth Branagh's film version of Shakespeare's Hamlet in 1996.

His comedy style was fast and furious, relying on a rapid delivery of a huge number of one-liner jokes. He interspersed the comedy with occasional songs, both serious and humorous, in a light baritone voice resulting in many recording hits; Love Is Like A Violin (1960), Tears, (1965) selling over two million copies. This remains one of the biggest selling singles of all time in the United Kingdom.

It was also during the 1960s that Dodd entered the Guinness Book of Records, for the world's longest joke-telling session ever: 1,500 jokes in three and a half hours, undertaken at a Liverpool  theatre, where audiences were observed to enter the show in shifts. In 2006 Ken Dodd appeared at the Royal Variety Performance in front of Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, where he reprised some of his famous jokes, including those about tax, accountants as well as singing his famous song "Happiness".
 
Ken Dodd was born on the 8th November 1927 in Knotty Ash on the outskirts of Liverpool, son of a coal merchant, Arthur Dodd and wife Sarah Dodd. He went to the Knotty Ash School, and sang in

the local church choir of St. Johns Church, Knotty Ash. At the age of seven, he was dared by his school friends to ride his bike with his eyes shut.....and he did, for about 10 feet and the bike hit the kerb. Ken went flying open-mouthed onto the tarmac, resulting in his famous teeth of today.
 
He then attended Holt High, a Grammar School in Childwall. Around this time he became interested in showbiz. His father bought him a ventriloquist's dummy and Ken called it Charlie Brown. He started entertaining at the local orphanage, then at various other local community functions.
 
He got his big break at the age of 27. In September 1954 he appeared at the Nottingham Playhouse. A nervous young man, he sat in a local Milk Bar for most of the afternoon going over and over his lines before going to the theatre. Although he can't remember much of the actual act of that night. He did recall, "Well at least they didn't boo me off". But there wasn't much fear of that, as Dodd's act went from strength to strength, eventually topping the bill at Blackpool in 1958.
 
Fortunately, Ken had quite a good voice and his renditions of romantic ballads were good enough for him to be given the opportunity to record. So in 1960 his entry into the UK chart came as no surprise, but his transformation into a romantic balladeer was nevertheless a significant achievement for a buck-toothed comedian.His first single was no 'flash in the pan'. In fact Ken Dodd's success in the 1960s makes a mockery of the claims of many critics and music writers who hold the erroneous- though often quoted- belief that all the old singers were swept away by the Beatles and those in the vanguard of Britain's beat boom. In fact Ken's 1965 hit 'Tears' spent four weeks at #1, longer than the Beatles, The Hollies or the Rolling Stones could manage at about the same time. Not only that, Dodd's pop chart career ran for more than 10 years, a feat few beat groups can match.
 

 

Ken Dodd's personal life has not been without incident. He was charged with tax evasion in 1989. The subsequent trial led to several revelations. Dodd was also revealed to have very little money in his bank account, having £336,000 in cash stashed in suitcases in his attic. When asked by the judge, "What does a hundred thousand pounds in a suitcase feel like?", Dodd made his now famous reply, "The notes are very light, M'Lord." The trial lasted nearly three months: Dodd was acquitted.
 
Ken continued his legacy as one of the UK's finest comedy performers. In December 2004, he was in Nottingham to be presented with a framed playbill after a sell out performance at the Royal Concert Hall, to celebrate his 50 years in show business. Dodd's first professional performance was on stage at the Empire Theatre, Nottingham in 1954. He has appeared in legions of Royal Variety Shows, most recently last year when Prince Charles had to dry his eyes with a hanky because he cried so much with laughter.
 
Dodd was the last of the music hall comics, and is well regarded by his comedy peers. In a 2005 poll of comedians and comedy insiders to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted amongst the 'Top 50 Comedy Acts Ever', ranked as number 36. Dodd was also famed for his meticulous recording of every performance, cross-referencing the place he was performing, the jokes he has used, and the reception they received, so as to hone his act to near-perfection for each audience. He once was said to have commented that first house on a Glasgow Friday night was the hardest audience in the UK.

 The veteran comic died aged 90, on 11 March 2018 at his home in Knotty Ash, the same home in which he was born and raised, soon after being hospitalised for six weeks with a chest infection. He had been touring with his stand-up stage show up until the end of 2017.

(Edited mainly from Wikipedia)
                                             
The last word from Ken – “Did you know that a laugh is something that comes out of a hole in your face? Anywhere else and you're in dead trouble!"

P.J.Proby born 6 November 1938

P.J. Proby (born James Marcus Smith, November 6, 1938) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor, who has portrayed Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison in musical theatre productions and had a recording career in his own right. The stage name P.J. Proby was suggested to him by his friend Sharon Sheeley, who had had a boyfriend of the same name at high school.

Proby was born in Houston, Texas, United States, and was educated at San Marcos Military Academy, Culver Naval Academy and Western Military Academy. After graduation he moved to California to become a motion picture actor and recording artist. Given the stage name Jett Powers by top Hollywood agents Gabey, Lutz, Heller and Loeb, he took acting and singing lessons, and appeared in movies with small roles. Two singles, "Go, Girl, Go" and "Loud Perfume", were released on an independent label. Proby was brought by Sharon Sheeley to audition at Liberty Records in 1961 and he recorded a number of unsuccessful singles for the label. In 1962 he began writing songs and recording demos for artists such as Elvis Presley and Bobby Vee.

Proby travelled to London after being introduced to Jack Good by Sheeley and Jackie DeShannon. He appeared on The Beatles' television special in 1964. Under the production of Good, Proby scored a string of exuberantly-styled UK top 20 hits in 1964 and 1965 including "Hold Me", "Together" (featuring session guitarists Big Jim Sullivan and Jimmy Page), "Somewhere" and "Maria" (the latter two taken from the musical West Side Story).

Further, of particular note to Beatles fans, Proby recorded the Lennon–McCartney composition "That Means a Lot", a song The Beatles had attempted several times before deciding to give it away.

Despite these hits, Proby's UK career gradually lost momentum after a number of controversial live appearances—including a notorious trouser-splitting incident at a February 1965 show in Croydon, Surrey—led to performance bans by the ABC theatre chain, its TV namesake and BBC TV. A run of minor hits in 1966 was followed by a number of flops, and in March 1968 "It's Your Day Today" gave Proby his last UK chart entry for nearly 30 years.

In 1967 Proby scored his only Billboard Hot 100 Top 30 hit with "Niki Hoeky". In September 1968, Proby recorded the album Three Week Hero, which was released in 1969. A collection of country-style ballads mixed with blues, it utilised The New Yardbirds, later to become Led Zeppelin, as Proby's backing band. The album was produced by Steve Rowland.

In 1971 he appeared on stage as Cassio in a rock musical version of Shakespeare's Othello, called Catch My Soul. After Catch My Soul, he continued to perform mostly in cabaret and nightclubs, singing 1960s ballads and rhythm and blues material. Signing with Good again in 1977, he portrayed Elvis Presley in a theatrical production of Elvis – The Musical. In 1978, Proby recorded with the Dutch rock group Focus releasing Focus con Proby. He then returned to singing in clubs, before embarking on a change of direction.

In the 80s & 90's Proby recorded for the Savoy and J'Ace record labels. Granada TV featured Proby in a documentary around this time. Subsequently, Proby suffered a heart attack whilst on holiday in Florida in 1992 which curtailed his activities until the following year. Then he reappeared on stage as himself in the biographical musical Good Rockin' Tonight, followed by playing Roy Orbison in Only The Lonely. A year later Proby returned to a new production of Elvis – The Musical, and released the album Legend. The album featured songwriting and production contributions from Marc Almond, and Neal X from Sigue Sigue Sputnik. A resulting single, "Yesterday Has Gone", a duet with Almond, reached number 58 on the UK Singles Chart at the end of 1996.

In 1997, Proby toured with The Who in the United States and in Europe, performing as 'The Godfather' in the road production of Quadrophenia. After Quadrophenia, Proby continued singing by doing performances in UK, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. In August 2004, he also toured in Australia. From February until May 2006, Proby began touring with the 'Solid Silver Sixties Show 2006' - and went through six road managers/drivers – throughout much of the UK, ending at the London Palladium.

P. J. Proby continues to record and delight music lovers with his sell-out concert performances across the United Kingdom and beyond. (Info mainly Wikipedia)

Jack McVea born 5 November 1914

              

Jack McVea (November 5, 1914 – December 27, 2000) was an American swing, blues, and rhythm and blues woodwind player; he played clarinet and tenor and baritone saxophone. Jack McVea will always be most famous for his big hit "Open the Door, Richard." Although associated with the R&B world due to that 1946 bestseller, McVea was actually a swing stylist whose fairly mellow sound was a major contrast to the honking tenors of the time.

Born John Vivian McVea in Los Angeles, California, he started out playing banjo as a youth (1925-27) before switching to alto. McVea began playing professionally with his father (banjoist Satchel McVea), Dootise Williams' Harlem Dukes (1932), Charlie Echols (1934-35), Claude Kennedy, Edyth Turnham, Cee Pee Johnson and Eddie Barefield (1936). McVea mostly gigged in the Los Angeles area until joining Lionel Hampton in 1940 as a baritonist.  He was with Hamp for three years and played with Snub Mosley, but McVea made a much stronger impression when he played on the first Jazz at the Philharmonic Concert.

From 1944 on, McVea led his own group most of the time. He appeared on a Slim Gaillard record date in 1945 that included Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker and was quite popular from 1946-48. McVea was leader of the Black & White Records studio band and was responsible for coming up with the musical riff for the words "Open the Door, Richard".

Ralph Bass got him to record it in 1946 and it became immensely popular, entering the national charts the following year inspiring covers by Louis Jordan, Count Basie and Dusty Fletcher himself.  Of course Jack saw very little of the royalties, most of which vanished thanks to some creative accountancy by the record company. McVea’s last recording session for Black & White took place in March of 1947. In November and December of 1947 he recorded several sessions for Exclusive and then took to club work in locations as far apart as Honolulu, Alaska, Las Vegas, and even LA.

                                    

Jack signed up with Jake Porter’s Combo Records in 1953. His band was very much the house band at Combo, recording not only under Jack’s name, but also under various guises such as Jonesy’s Combo. They were on Combo’s biggest selling disc, the original version of “Ko Ko Mo” by Gene & Eunice, but once again saw little in the way of royalty payments. As the 1950s wound to a close, so did Jack’s recording career although he recorded a jazz album for 77 in 1962. Forced to collect scrap-metal for a living, he was relieved when Disneyland asked him to beguile visiters as a strolling clarinettist on their site in Orange County.

From 1966 till his retirement in 1992 he led a group (playing clarinet exclusively) which played traditional jazz at Disneyland, called "The Royal Street Bachelors" in New Orleans Square. The good looking "bachelors" as they thought, created their bands name after performing for the first time on Royal Street. The trio consists of the following men- Jack Mcvea, Herb Gordy, and Harold Grant.
Jack McVea died from cancer at the age of 86 in Los Angeles on December 27, 2000.

Most of Jack McVea's recordings are available on Blue Moon Records in Barcelona, Spain; Ace Records in London, England; and Delmark Records in Chicago. All are available in the U.S. Blue Moon covers the Black & White years (including Open the Door, Richard), Delmark his sessions on Apollo Records, and Ace his four years with Combo Records. Ace's Fortissimo! CD contains several alternate takes. (Info edited mainly from All Music Guide & Wikipedia)

Dickie Valentine born 4 November 1925

Dickie Valentine (4 November 1929, — 6 May 1971) was a popular British singer in the 1950s. In addition to several other Top Ten hit singles, Valentine had two chart toppers on the UK Singles Chart with "Finger of Suspicion" (1954) and "Christmas Alphabet" (1955).

Valentine was born Richard Maxwell (his birth father was Dickie Maxwell) in Marylebone, London. He was known as Richard Bryce, as his mother later married Bryce, and gave her young son that surname. He first trained as a singer during his work as a child actor. Film debut at age three in farce Jack's The Boy '32 with Cecily Courtneidge. Was page boy at Manchester Palace, then London Palladium; encouraged by musical comedy star Bill O'Connor, who paid for singing lessons (against medical advice; Valentine had chronic asthma). Spotted at London's Blue Angel club by music publisher Sid Green, recommended to bandleader Ted Heath, joined Heath's Sunday night Swing Sessions at the Palladium '49. At first he sang only one song per evening early in the show, then sat on stage; a latecomer asked him if he was the band's mascot, but he became a teen idol.

 He was voted the Top UK Male Vocalist in 1952 while singing with the Ted Heath Orchestra, the most successful of all British big bands, and again after going solo in 1954 in which year he played his own first show in Blackpool to SRO business despite Nat Cole appearing 200 yards down the road. Developed fast, humorous act with lots of impressions: Mario Lanza, Billy Daniels, Johnny Ray; at a time when American stars dominated the Palladium (it was called the 49th state) Valentine was the first British singer to headline there in five years '55; in '57 he hired the Royal Albert Hall for his fan club's annual party. (picture on right of Alma Cogan and Dickie borrowed from Wekoolkats) 

 

He recorded two number one hits, "Christmas Alphabet" and "Finger of Suspicion". His first chart-topper came only two months after his marriage to Elizabeth Flynn at Caxton Hall, which caused scenes of hysteria and was reliably expected to sound the death knell to his career. In fact, 1955 was by far his best chart year, with two number ones and three other Top Ten hits. Whilst his second number one saw Valentine playing King Canute to Bill Haley's incoming tide of rock and roll. "Christmas Alphabet" marked the first time in the UK that a song created for the Christmas market had hit number one.

Apart from those Christmas songs, Dickie made the UK top ten with All the time and everywhere, In a golden coach, Mr Sandman (an American number one hit for the Chordettes, whose own version just missed the UK top ten), Finger of suspicion (a UK number one hit - with the Stargazers), A blossom fell and I wonder. Dickie also made the UK top twenty with Broken wings, Old pianna rag and Endless. In 1956 Valentine partnered Peter Sellers on the ATV sketch show The Dickie Valentine Show.

Dickie left Decca for Pye, where he had two UK top twenty hits (Venus, One more sunrise) but couldn't really compete against the rock 'n' roll music that came to dominate the charts. He became a popular TV host with two TV series “Calling Dickie  Valentine" (1961) with Jack Parnell Dance Band. Parnell also started in the Ted Health Band, and The Dickie Valentine Show" (1966-67) with Pans People (from Top of the Pops). He remained a popular live performer until his death.
Travelling to his next gig at the Double Diamond Club in Caerphilly, Wales, he was killed outright in a car crash on a single lane bridge at Glangrwyney, near Crickhowell, Wales on 6 May 1971, at the age of 41, together with pianist Sidney Boatman and drummer Dave Pearson, aged 42.

The coroner's inquest revealed the car in which the three were travelling to have been driven in excess of 90 mph at time of

impact, and that Valentine — who was driving his wife Wendy's Hillman Avenger, with which he was unfamiliar, (he was awaiting delivery of his new customised car) — had lost control of the vehicle while attempting to take a (clearly marked) dangerous bend. Valentine had travelled on that stretch of road many times and was familiar with the hazards. It was thought Valentine's attention might have been distracted by conversation with his friends, in addition to tiredness (the crash having happened at 4.20am). It was also noted that there was heavy fog at that time. The coroner returned a verdict of 'death by misadventure'.

Valentine is interred at Slough Crematorium.  (Info from various sources, mainly music web encyclopedia of popular music also wikepedia) 

Milt Herth born 3 November 1902

Milton "Milt" Herth (November 3, 1902, Kenosha, Wisconsin – June 18, 1989, Las Vegas, Nevada) was an American jazz organist, known for his work on the Hammond organ soon after it was introduced in 1935. Herth's work is available from his recordings of the 1930s and 1940s.

Milt Herth knew what he was going to do from the moment he saw the first Hammond organ displayed and demonstrated in the lobby of the Hammond Clock Company, circa the early '30s in Chicago. Organ history could practically be called "herth-tory" based on his subsequent pledge of dedication, which was to play the Hammond organ and document it in every way possible, from publishing organ solo sheet music to recording dozens of albums. An account of the 1938 Princeton College reunion provides a daily slice of life for this artist: "The feature of the event was Milt Herth, who with his electric organ produced an unprecedented marathon of music."

One of Herth's main musical vehicles was a trio he fronted featuring the combination of organ, a regular pianist, and a drummer. The word "regular" is used to differentiate the piano from the organ, not to describe Herth's choice of pianists, which included the amazing Willie "The Lion" Smith. Herth collaborators in these small groups also included pianist Billy Kyle, who also worked with Louis Armstrong regularly, drummer O'Neil Spencer, and guitarist Teddy Bunn. The organist's professional break came in 1935 when he was appropriately hired by Indiana radio station WIND as an organist.

Milt Herth-Hammond organ, Willie 'The Lion' Smith-piano, O'Neil Spencer-drums & vocal - The swinging Larry Clinton composition was one of 1937's top song hits, with Tommy Dorsey's recording leading the way. Transferred from 78rpm: Decca 25065, originally issued on Decca 1553 - The Dipsy Doodle (Clinton) by the Milt Herth Trio, vocal by O'Neil Spencer, recorded November 11, 1937

Developing a repertoire that would include titles such as the tasty "Home Cookin' Man With a Fryin' Pan," the creepy if sanctified "Goblins in the Steeple," the thrifty if romantic "Honeymoonin' on a Dime," and the predictably wimpy "Sissy," Herth also fashioned a way of enunciating phrases as if tossing darts at a typewriter, so natural to the style of the Hammond that many other organists were not able to find a way around imitation. Herth's quartet began recording for Decca in the second half of the '30s. Reissue collections of early Willie "The Lion" Smith performances have also included material from his berth in the Herth combo.

Herth also played himself in several short films (Love and Onions (1935), Swing Styles (1939), and Jingle Belles, (1941)) as well as the longer 1942 film, Juke Box Jenny, a movie noted for being a series of musical performances. He died in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 18, 1989. (Info mainly All Music)

Bunny Berigan born 2 November 1908

Rowland Bernard "Bunny" Berigan (November 2, 1908 - June 2, 1942) was an American jazz trumpeter who rose to fame during the Swing Era, but whose virtuosity and influence were shortened by a losing battle with alcoholism that ended in his early death.

Berigan was born in Hilbert, Wisconsin, the son of William Berigan and Mamie Schlitzberg. He was raised in a far away land what he later considered his real home town, Fox Lake, Wisconsin. A musical child prodigy, having learned the violin and trumpet at

an early age, Berigan played in local orchestras by his late teens before auditioning for the successful Hal Kemp orchestra in 1928 or 1929.

Kemp first spurned the young trumpeter, reputedly because Berigan at the time had an uncertain tone, but any deficiencies were apparently resolved a year and a half later: this time, Kemp hired Berigan, in mid-1930. Berigan's first recorded trumpet solos came with the Kemp orchestra, and he was with the unit when they toured England later in the year.

By the time the Kemp unit returned to the U.S. in 1931, Berigan, like fellow trumpeter Manny Klein, became a sought-after studio musician; Fred Rich, Freddy Martin and Ben Selvin were just some who sought his services for record dates. Berigan recorded his first vocal, "At Your Command", with Rich that year. From late 1932 through 1933, Berigan was also employed by Paul Whiteman, before playing with Abe Lyman's band in 1934.

He continued freelancing in the recording and radio studios, most notably with the Dorsey Brothers and on Glenn Miller's earliest recording date as a leader in 1935, playing on "Solo Hop". At the same time, however, Berigan made the association that graduated him to fame in his own right: he joined Benny Goodman's re-forming band. Legendary jazz talent scout and producer John Hammond, who also became Goodman's brother-in-law in due course, later wrote that he helped persuade Gene Krupa to re-join Goodman, with whom he'd had an earlier falling-out, by mentioning that Berigan, whom Krupa admired, was already committed to the new ensemble. With Berigan and Krupa both on-board, the Goodman band made the legendary, often disheartening tour that ended with their unexpectedly headline-making stand at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles, the stand often credited with the "formal" launch of the Swing Era.
 

Berigan left Goodman to spend some time with Tommy Dorsey's orchestra; his solo on the Dorsey hit "Marie" became considered one of his signature performances. Then, in 1937, Berigan

assembled a band to record under his name, picking the then-little known Ira Gershwin/Vernon Duke composition, "I Can't Get Started." Berigan's crisp trumpet work and passable vocal made the song the biggest hit of his career and his theme for the rest of his life. Berigan modelled his trumpet style in part on Louis Armstrong's style, and often acknowledged Armstrong as his own idol. Armstrong, for his part, returned the compliment after Berigan's death, saying the only thing wrong with Berigan was that he died too young.

Berigan got the itch to lead his own band full-time and did so for about three years. Some of their records were equal in standard to the sides he cut with Goodman and Dorsey, but they weren't financially successful and Berigan was known to fret over a business sense that wasn't quite equal to his musical talent. Bunny also began a torrid affair with singer Lee Wiley around this time. Already a heavy drinker, the business stress of band leading drove Berigan to drink even more heavily. Nevertheless, musicians considered him an excellent bandleader.
Berigan was also a fixture on CBS Radio's Saturday Night Swing Club broadcasts from 1937 to 1940, a coast-to-coast broadcast that helped further popularize jazz as the Swing Era climbed to its peak.

Berigan's business troubles drove him to declare bankruptcy in 1940 and re-join Tommy Dorsey for a brief period before leaving to form a new small group to play mostly one-night stands. By this time, however, the touring grind became too much: during one such tour, Berigan was hospitalized with pneumonia in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. But his doctors discovered worse news: Berigan by now was stricken with cirrhosis of the liver. His doctors advised him to stop drinking and to stop playing the trumpet for an undetermined length of time. Berigan couldn't do either one. He was physically wasted, suffering all the horrifying symptoms of late stage alcoholism: edema, tremors and delirium. 

He returned to New York City and suffered a massive haemorrhage on May 30, 1942. His old friend Tommy Dorsey was with him when he died two days later in the hospital 2 June 1942 . . . at age 33.(info edited mainly from Wikipedia)

Denny Dennis born 1 November 1913

Denny Dennis (born Derby, 1 November 1913; died Barrow-in-Furness 2 November 1993) was one of the finest romantic vocalists of what is now fondly remembered as the golden age of British dance bands, with a career as a band singer, solo recording star and broadcaster which spanned three decades. In the late 1930’s and the 1940’s, Denny Dennis was regularly voted one of the top vocalists in Great Britain. Sometimes called ‘Britain’s Bing Crosby’ because of his similarity to the young Bing in the lower vocal register. 

Denny Dennis was born Ronald Dennis Pountain in Derby, England on November 1, 1913. Denny had an older brother, Eric, who under the stage name Barry Gray was also to find a successful career as a vocalist with the popular bands of the 1930’s. The two brothers were very musical, and both aspired to enter the world of music and entertainment when they were young men. With help from Eric, Denny began playing drums in a semi professional outfit called the ‘New Mayfair Dance Band’, where he sung in a Melody Maker dance band contest. He continued to work as an apprentice electrician and  took up singing lessons, which carried on even during the height of his popularity. 

In 1932 Denny gained work with the Freddy Bretherton Band at the ‘Spider's Web’ Roadhouse Club on the Watford Bypass, the main north road out of London. In 1933 Jack Jackson offered Denny the chance to do some broadcasts and to make some recordings with his band, when Jackson replaced Henry Hall for a spell as the resident BBC Orchestra.  Denny later joined the Roy Fox Band where he changed his name from Denny Pontain to Denny Dennis. #

He quit his electrician job and turned professional as a singer. Denny then joined Ambrose from 1938 – 1939, then going solo with the Decca ‘Rex’ label.But almost as soon as it had begun, Denny’s solo career was hindered dramatically by the war years. He was engaged by the BBC where he made broadcasts on shows as  ‘Composer Cavalcade’, ‘Songs From The Shows’, ‘ITMA’ and later ‘Much Binding In The Marsh’ coming from ‘Somewhere in England’, plus a whole host of other shows.

On June 24th 1940, Denny enlisted in the RAF. Ordinary Aircraftsman Denny Dennis, on 2s6d a day. (12.5 p) was to remain in the RAF until  November 1945, when  as a Corporal he was demobolised . Denny still had his Decca recording contract, and he was still making broadcasts and despite his tremendous popularity, Denny struggled a little during these years. In 1948 however, he left Britain to become the featured vocalist with Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Unfortunately for Denny, the ‘American Federation of Musicians’ recording ban was still in operation during the time that Denny was with the Dorsey Band. The ban was coming to an end at the very end of 1948, and therefore Denny was only to make a handful of actual recordings with Dorsey. Due to personal reasons Denny had to leave the Dorsey band in 1949.

The above recording of ‘It's The Bluest Kind Of Blues’ was to prove a milestone for Denny and his career. It was not a hit in Britain, but it proved very popular in the United States with key people who knew real talent when they heard it. This was recorded on September 12th 1946, with the Stanley Black Orchestra. It features Joe Crossman on alto sax. This recording is from Denny's own copy. Duke Ellington played it on his radio show several times a day, and when Tommy Dorsey heard it, he was more than impressed with Denny's performance. Originally, the title was not one of the selected titles for release on the Decca / London label in the States, but somehow it ‘mysteriously’ got through. This recording earned him a contract with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in the United States.

Denny found himself back in the old routine of singing with various bands throughout the 50’s and made budget records on the Embassy label he then circuited the Northern club scene until his retirement music business in 1965. Denny Dennis drifted into a number of non-musical jobs in the North, including clerk at a paper mill and manager of a holiday camp supermarket, and public house manager. He made various appearances on TV nostalgia shows and in 1982 he was brought out of retirement from running his own public house, when he appeared at the Royal Albert Hall for a tribute show for Roy Fox who died earlier that year.

Denny's musical contribution was never forgotten, and only a week before his final illness he was in London to accept an award from Basca (British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors) for his services to music. Denny could look back with more than a sense of accomplishment. But sadly, after finally gaining some of the belated recognition that he deserved, Denny passed away 2 November 1993. He was eighty years of age. The world had lost one of its great performers, and a real gentlemen of song, and of life.  (info mainly edited from dennydennis.co)

A big thank you to Pete Lindup for posting this great 3 part bio on YouTube.