Ray Davies
Ray Davies (born 1944) and his brother Dave (born 1947) were the two youngest of eight children born to working class parents who lived in Muswell Hill. He had six older sisters, one of whom gifted Ray a guitar on his 13th birthday, before she tragically died at a WestContinue Reading
Margo Guryan
Margo Guryan (born 1937) is a sadly underrated songwriter, whose work melds jazz and 1960s pop. She was born in New York City. Both parents played the piano, so she had early access to a good instrument and was encouraged to study from a young age. She also started writingContinue Reading
The Way We Were
Barbra Streisand had already released award-winning and best-selling albums, starred in a Broadway musical (Funny Girl) and two film musicals (Funny Girl again, and Hello Dolly), by the time she recorded the theme song from ‘The Way We Were’ in 1973, but this was her first hit single, going toContinue Reading
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday (1915-59) is rightfully considered one of the greatest of all jazz singers. Though her voice had limited range – she was no virtuoso vocalist like Ella Fitzgerald or Sarah Vaughan – her singing had an emotional impact that is perhaps unmatched. She was born Eleanora in Baltimore toContinue Reading
Billy Eckstine
Dubbed the (almost certainly racist) ‘Sepia Sinatra’ by the American press, Billy Eckstine (1944-1993) was an influential bandleader, and a singer, whose rich bass-baritone inspired a large number of singers who followed. Born in Pittsburgh, he was singing at church events by the age of 11. His family moved toContinue Reading
Peggy Lee
Born Norma Jean Egstrom in Jamestown, North Dakota, Peggy Lee (1920-2002) had her first professional singing experience sing on local radio shows, for which we she was occasionally paid in free food by the restaurant sponsor. Lee sang in the Doll House in Palm Springs and then The Buttery RoomContinue Reading
The Last Time I Saw Paris
Written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein (1940) This song, published in 1940, was a rare one that composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein did not write for a particular show or film, but rather it was inspired by wartime nostalgia, with Paris having come under Nazi control inContinue Reading
Memphis In June
Written by Hoagy Carmichael and Paul Francis Webster (1945) Written for the 1945 film noir Johnny Angel starring George Raft. In the film, Hoagy Carmichael (playing a character improbably named Celestial O’Brien) sings the song himself. The lyric was by Paul Francis Webster, who had previous collaborated with Carmichael onContinue Reading
Bob Dorough
Born in Cherry Hill, Arkansas, but brought up in Plainview, Texas, Bob Dorough (1923-2018) is one of a handful of songwriters who were able to continue the legacy of the Great American Songbook into the latter part of the 20th Century. His songs have been recorded by everyone from MilesContinue Reading
Dorothy Fields
Dorothy Fields (1904-1974) is one of the most successul lyricists of all time with a career spanning almost five decades. She is particularly remembered for her work with composers Jimmy McHugh and Jerome Kern. Born in New Jersey, her father was a well know vaudeville comedian and producer. She marriedContinue Reading