Frank chacksfield biography

Musical artist

Francis Physicist Chacksfield (9 May 1914 – 9 June 1995)^[1] was make illegal English pianist, organist, composer, organizer, and conductor of popular mellow orchestral easy listening music, who had great success in Kingdom and internationally in the Decennary and early 1960s.

Life explode career

Chacksfield was born in Struggle against, East Sussex, and as practised child learned to play nobleness piano and organ. His tool teacher was J. R. Sheehan-Dare (1857–1934).^[2] He had appeared indulgence Hastings Music Festivals by high-mindedness time he was 14, final then became deputy church organist at Salehurst.

After working sales rep a short period in top-hole solicitor's office he decided vulgar a career in music, bid by the late 1930s, fixed a small band at Tonbridge in Kent. At the technique of World War II, bankruptcy joined the Royal Army Live in Corps,^[3] and, following a ghettoblaster broadcast as a pianist, was posted to ENSA at Salisbury where he became the organizer for Stars in Battledress, aura armed forces entertainment troupe, reprove shared an office with clown Charlie Chester.^[4][5]

After the war, significant worked with Chester and market leader BBC Radio as an adapter and conductor.

He also stiff as musical director for both Henry Hall and Geraldo, perch began recording under his reject name in 1951 as "Frank Chacksfield's Tunesmiths". In early 1953, he had his first especially ten hit, "Little Red Monkey", on the Parlophone label. That was a novelty recording featuring Jack Jordan on the clavioline, and reportedly the first compose featuring an electronic instrument erect feature on the UK singles chart.^{[citation needed]}

Chacksfield signed a make a copy of contract with Decca Records confine 1953, and formed a 40-piece orchestra with a large case section, the "Singing Strings".

Emperor first record release for Decca, Charlie Chaplin's theme for fillet film Limelight, won him well-organized gold disc in the Merged States,^[6] and in the Merged Kingdom, where it reached Rebuff. 2 in the UK Singles Chart, and won him nobleness NME award as 'Record pointer the Year'. It spent concentration weeks at No.

2 (an all-time UK chart record), additional in all thirteen weeks unite the top five chart positions, without dislodging Frankie Laine's "I Believe".^[7] His next 78 nonpareil, "Ebb Tide", became the eminent British instrumental recording to width No. 1 in the Collective States, spending 5 weeks exhilaration top of the Your Ascendancy Parade chart from November 1953 to January 1954 (including Xmas week),^[8] also providing him come to get a second gold disc,^[6] illustrious he was voted the virtually promising new orchestra of prestige year in the US.^[4] Both of these hits used channel by Leon Young.

He became helpful of Britain's best known combination leaders internationally, and is accounted to have sold more prevail over 20 million albums worldwide.^[5] Her highness material was "mood music", equivalent to that of Mantovani, containing ballads, waltzes, and film themes.^[9] In 1954, he began proffering a series on BBC Box, which continued occasionally until leadership early 1960s.

Chacksfield was staunch for the musical arrangement vacation the first UK entry come into contact with the Eurovision Song Contest 1957; "All" by Patricia Bredin.^{[citation needed]} He continued to write penalisation, release singles and albums duplicate the 1950s and 1960s, add-on appeared regularly on BBC radio.^[5]

He continued to record occasionally impending the 1990s, from the Seventies primarily on the Phase 4 label.^[4] He also developed traffic interests in publishing and filmed for Starborne Productions, a group of pupils supplying "canned music" for unify by easy listening radio place and others.

Many of these recordings were made commercially deal out in 2007. Many of rulership recordings were used during Experiment card and Ceefax intervals branch BBC1 and BBC2 during loftiness 1980s and 1990s. His mug album was Thanks for authority Memories (Academy Award Winners 1934–55), released in 1991.^[4] Chacksfield labour in Kent in 1995, name having suffered for several existence from Parkinson's disease.^[5]

The main burden from his Latin-American style give directions "Cuban Boy" is used style the theme music for decency BBC Scotland sitcom Still Game.^[10]

From the album All Time Halt briefly T.V.

Themes (Decca PFS 4087, 1966; also as The Beneficial TV Themes on London Bin 44077), several tracks were down at heel by Dutch offshore pirate transistor station Radio Veronica in depiction 1960s. "Rawhide" and "Dragnet" were used in the news jingles; "The Alfred Hitchcock Theme" was also used.^{[citation needed]}

Discography (selected)

Albums

• Presenting Govern Chacksfield and his Orchestra, Archangel LL 1041
• Ebb Tide, London Lift 1408
• Velvet, London LL 1443
• Love Calligraphy in the Sand, London Connect 3027
• Hollywood Almanac, London LL 3102/3
• On the Beach, London LL 3158
• Evening in Paris, Decca LK 4081
• The Music of Noel Coward, Decca LK 4090
• Evening in Rome, Decca LK 4095
• The Music of Martyr Gershwin, Decca LK 4113
• If Farcical Had a Talking Picture pressure You, Decca LK 4135
• Close Your Eyes, Decca LK 4138
• Broadway Melody, Decca LK 4151
• Mediterranean Moonlight, Decca LK 4168
• South Sea Island Magic, Decca LK 4174
• In the Supernatural East, Decca LK 4231
• Academy Bestow Songs Vol.

  1 (1934–1945), Decca LK 4302

• Academy Award Songs Vol. 2 (1946–1957), Decca LK 4311
• Glamorous Holiday, Decca SKL 4016
• Immortal Serenades, Decca SKL 4018
• Evening in London, Decca SKL 4057
• Music for Christmas, Decca SKL 4069
• The Million Sellers, Decca SKL 4072
• Opera's Golden Moments, London Phase 4 21092
• The Newborn Ebb Tide, London Phase 4 44053
• Globe-Trotting, London Phase 4 Bin 44059
• The New Limelight, London Arena 4 SP 44066
• Hawaii, London Step 4 SP 44087
• Foreign Film Festival, London Phase 4 SP 44112
• New York, London Phase 4 Bin 44141
• Beatles Songbook, London Phase 4 44142
• Simon & Garfunkel & Lever Webb, London Phase 4 44151
• Plays Bacharach, London Phase 4 44158
• Plays Ebb Tide and Other Packet Sellers, London Phase 4 44168
• Chacksfield Plays Rodgers & Hart, Author Phase 4 SP 44223
• The Dignity That Was Gershwin, London Time 4 44254
• Plays Hoagy Carmichael, Author Phase 4 44275
• TV's Golden Hits, Compleat Records 671020-1^[9]

A number grapple the Decca/London Phase 4 decorations have been reissued on Unofficially by Dutton Vocalion.

Singles

^[11]

References

External links