Goodnight Moon Al Bowlly 1932

Описание: One of my favorite pieces sung by Al Bowlly with Roy Fox at the Monseigneur.

Albert Alick Bowlly was born in 1899 in Lourenço Marques (now Maputo) Mozambique, to Greek and Lebanese parents. In 1903, they settled in South Africa, and Al was raised in Johannesburg. He would work a series of odd jobs all over the area, and then began to sing and play the ukulele in Edgar Adeler's band, with whom he would tour until an argument caused Al to be fired during the band's stop in Indonesia.

After trying to find work for some time he landed a job in 1926 with Jimmy Lequime performing at The Grand Hotel in Calcutta and at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. It was at this time that Al made his first recording with "Soho Blues" and "The House where the Shutters are Green."

A year later, Al got up to Europe, where he reconnected with Edgar Adeler and they made up, and they would record the ever popular tune "Blue Skies" by Irving Berlin. Having made many recordings by this point, Al would see his next big break when his friend, Len Fillis, a member of Fred Elizalde's Jazz Band, reached out to Al as Fred was in need of a vocalist. Upon hearing Al's recording of "Muddy Water," Fred immediately made arrangements for Al to come join his band in London. However, The Savoy Hotel, where Fred's band was playing, wanted soft dance music, much to the disagreement of Fred, and with his contract not renewed, Al found himself out of work again, getting by through freelance work and recording with various different bands.

His biggest break came in 1930, when he met Ray Noble. Al made quite the impression on Ray, and he invited Al to join his new band performing for His Master's Voice, The New Mayfair Dance Orchestra. Being solely a recording band, many recordings that would become synonymous with Al Bowlly were made, including but not limited to: "Goodnight Sweetheart," "Love is the Sweetest Thing," and "The Very Thought of You," just some of the many songs that helped bring Al Bowlly to stardom.

Another important event in Al's history was in 1931, when he was signed onto a contract for Decca with a bandleader by the name of Roy Fox. His orchestra most famously performed at the Monseigneur Restaurant in Piccadilly, and many of these sessions were broadcasted live, making the band a tremendous success. Upon Roy Fox's absence due to illness, Lew Stone took over the band. Upon Roy's return and contract being up for renewal, the Monseigneur and Roy couldn't agree on terms, leading to Lew Stone being offered the position. Most of the band, including Al, chose to stay with Lew, and after a losing court battle, Roy ended up having to form another band. From October 1932 to November 1938, Al performed and recorded with Lew Stone, making some of the most popular British dance music of the time.

In 1934, Ray Noble was offered a residence in the Rainbow Room on top of the Rockefeller Center in New York City. He took Bill Harty as his business manager and Al Bowlly with him. During this time, Al recorded and performed successfully with Ray Noble as well as Victor Young. When Ray's contract was up in 1936, Al would head back and forth between England and the United States, making more recordings in New York, the second of two Pathe films in England, starting a band in 1937 with his brother which ultimately failed due to Al's declining popularity in England, getting a surgery for "singer's node" in 1937 in America, and making more recordings afterwards in England.

From 1938 to about 1939, Al Bowlly made recordings with many different bands in England, some notable recordings being with Geraldo and his Orchestra. When WWII began, Al began working with a Greek singer and guitar player named Jimmy Mesene, creating "The Radio Stars with Two Guitars." It would be with Jimmy that Al would made his last recording: "When that Man is Dead and Gone," a song in protest of Adolf Hitler, and "Nicky the Greek (Has Gone)."

In 1941, after a show with Jimmy and after seeing a doctor in London after more throat trouble, he returned to his flat in Dukes Court. A German air raid took place during this time, and instead of heading to the air raid shelter, Al chose to remain in his room. A German bomb exploded on the street outside his flat, and the blast killed him. He is buried at a mass grave in the City of Westminster Cemetery in Hanwell, London.

Recorded 3/7/1932
Matrix No. GB-4074-2