Clinton Ford (singer)
Encyclopedia
Clinton Ford was an English
popular
singer of the 1950s and 1960s.
Initially, he worked as a laboratory assistant, but in 1957 became a Butlins Redcoat in Pwllheli
, and worked there for three summer seasons. During the winter season he sang with the group called 'Merseysippi' at the Cavern Club in Liverpool
, recording several songs with them including "Get Out and Get Under".
He began his recording career as Clinton Ford with the Oriole
record label
, changing his name because his own did not fit some of his American songs. He performed skiffle
in a band called the 'Backwoods Skiffle Group' and also recorded some singles with the 'Hallelujah Skiffle Group', but these were unsuccessful. He did appear at the Royal Albert Hall
, and with Ken Dodd
on Dodd's television shows. He also appeared later in Stars and Garters, The Billy Cotton Band Show
and The Good Old Days
.
Ford had his chart
success in 1959, with a cover
of the Red Foley
's song "Old Shep
"; albeit for just one week. Ford donated his royalties from "Old Shep" to the Battersea Dogs' Home, so he made nothing from this high-selling record. Nevertheless, Ford had the only version of this famous song ever to appear in the UK Singles Chart
. Unable to give up chasing the musical fads of the time, his next chart entry was "Too Many Beautiful Girls" in a trad jazz
style, and for his biggest hit
he turned to the music hall
days of George Formby, who had recorded "Fanlight Fanny" in 1935. This led to an eponymous album that reached number 16 in the UK Albums Chart
in May 1962. After touring for a while with Kenny Ball
& His Jazzmen, he returned for a stint at Liverpool's Cavern Club, to find that the market for trad jazz and country and western
styled novelties had been replaced by the beat music
of a certain local band called The Beatles
.
His career outlasted many of his contemporaries, with his singles
appearing in the UK charts over a span of more than eight years. He was also in great demand on BBC Radio
programmes, such as Saturday Club
where a live singer was required, to sing standards and also covers
of current hit songs. In April 1963, a BBC
manager complained that Ford seemed to be on nearly every radio show and demanded an investigation. As a result, practically every producer in the Corporation
stopped using him.
After recording for Columbia Records
, in 1966 Ford changed record label
to Piccadilly Records. In 1967 "Run To The Door" again made the UK chart, and other singles including "Dandy
" and "This Song Is Just For You" were released. In 1968 Ford made a comic album with George Chisholm
and the Inmates, Clinton The Clown, in a single all-night session. The album included the innuendo-laden "My Baby's Wild About My Old Trombone", which was written for Ford, and "The Old Bazaar in Cairo" which Ford co-wrote with Charlie Chester
.
He set up a guest house with his wife on the Isle of Man
but continued to tour throughout the 1980s and 1990s. BBC Radio 2
's veteran DJ, Brian Matthew
, who was best man at Ford's wedding, revealed on his Sounds of the 60s
show, on 10 March 2007, that Ford was living on the Isle of Man but was seriously ill, unable to work and bed-ridden.
Clinton Ford died on 21 October 2009. He is survived by his wife, Margaret (Maggie) (née Worsfold) whom he married in 1962, and four children, Georgina, Susannah, Becky and Ian.
Ford's track "Dance With a Dolly (With a Hole in Her Stocking)" was chosen by the television producer
, Anne Wood
, as one of her Desert Island Discs
in October 2011.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
popular
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
singer of the 1950s and 1960s.
Biography
He was born Ian George Stopford Harrison, in Salford, Lancashire.Initially, he worked as a laboratory assistant, but in 1957 became a Butlins Redcoat in Pwllheli
Pwllheli
Pwllheli is a community and the main market town of the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, north-western Wales. It has a population of 3,861, of which a large proportion, 81 per cent, are Welsh speaking. Pwllheli is the place where Plaid Cymru was founded. It is the birthplace of Albert Evans-Jones -...
, and worked there for three summer seasons. During the winter season he sang with the group called 'Merseysippi' at the Cavern Club in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, recording several songs with them including "Get Out and Get Under".
He began his recording career as Clinton Ford with the Oriole
Oriole Records
Oriole Records may refer to:* Oriole Records * Oriole Records...
record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, changing his name because his own did not fit some of his American songs. He performed skiffle
Skiffle
Skiffle is a type of popular music with jazz, blues, folk, roots and country influences, usually using homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a term in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, it became popular again in the UK in the 1950s, where it was mainly...
in a band called the 'Backwoods Skiffle Group' and also recorded some singles with the 'Hallelujah Skiffle Group', but these were unsuccessful. He did appear at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, and with Ken Dodd
Ken Dodd
Kenneth Arthur Dodd OBE is a British comedian and singer songwriter, famous for his frizzy hair or “fluff dom” and buck teeth or “denchers”, his favourite cleaner, the feather duster and his greeting "How tickled I am!", as well as his send-off “Lots and Lots of Happiness!”...
on Dodd's television shows. He also appeared later in Stars and Garters, The Billy Cotton Band Show
Billy Cotton Band Show
The Billy Cotton Band Show was a popular Sunday afternoon radio programme on the BBC Light Programme from 1949 to 1968.The band leader, Billy Cotton, was a larger-than-life Cockney character who started each show with the cry “Wakey-Wake-aaaay!”, followed by the band’s signature tune “Somebody...
and The Good Old Days
The Good Old Days
The Good Old Days is a popular BBC television light entertainment programme which ran from 1953 to 1983.It was performed at the Leeds City Varieties and recreated an authentic atmosphere of the Victorian–Edwardian music hall with songs and sketches of the era performed by present-day...
.
Ford had his chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
success in 1959, with a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the Red Foley
Red Foley
Clyde Julian Foley , better known as Red Foley, was an American singer, musician, and radio and TV personality who made a major contribution to the growth of country music after World War II....
's song "Old Shep
Old Shep
"Old Shep" is a song by Red Foley and Arthur Willis about a dog Foley owned as a child . Foley and Willis wrote the song in 1933...
"; albeit for just one week. Ford donated his royalties from "Old Shep" to the Battersea Dogs' Home, so he made nothing from this high-selling record. Nevertheless, Ford had the only version of this famous song ever to appear in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. Unable to give up chasing the musical fads of the time, his next chart entry was "Too Many Beautiful Girls" in a trad jazz
Trad jazz
Trad jazz - short for "traditional jazz" - refers to the Dixieland and Ragtime jazz styles of the early 20th century in contrast to any more modern style....
style, and for his biggest hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
he turned to the music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
days of George Formby, who had recorded "Fanlight Fanny" in 1935. This led to an eponymous album that reached number 16 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
in May 1962. After touring for a while with Kenny Ball
Kenny Ball
Kenny Ball is an English jazz musician, best known as the lead trumpet player in Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen.-Career:...
& His Jazzmen, he returned for a stint at Liverpool's Cavern Club, to find that the market for trad jazz and country and western
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
styled novelties had been replaced by the beat music
Beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...
of a certain local band called The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
.
His career outlasted many of his contemporaries, with his singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
appearing in the UK charts over a span of more than eight years. He was also in great demand on BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
programmes, such as Saturday Club
Saturday Club (BBC radio)
Saturday Club was an influential BBC radio programme in Britain, broadcast on the Light Programme and later Radio 1 between 1957 and 1969. It was one of the earliest - and for several years almost the only - radio programme in the country to broadcast pop music...
where a live singer was required, to sing standards and also covers
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of current hit songs. In April 1963, a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
manager complained that Ford seemed to be on nearly every radio show and demanded an investigation. As a result, practically every producer in the Corporation
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
stopped using him.
After recording for Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, in 1966 Ford changed record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
to Piccadilly Records. In 1967 "Run To The Door" again made the UK chart, and other singles including "Dandy
Dandy (song)
"Dandy" is a 1966 song from The Kinks, appearing on their Face to Face album. It was released as a single in Continental Europe only, where it charted, reaching #1 in Germany, #2 in Belgium and #3 in the Netherlands...
" and "This Song Is Just For You" were released. In 1968 Ford made a comic album with George Chisholm
George Chisholm
George Chisholm may refer to:* George Chisholm , British geographer* George Chisholm , British trombone player and bandleader*George Chisholm...
and the Inmates, Clinton The Clown, in a single all-night session. The album included the innuendo-laden "My Baby's Wild About My Old Trombone", which was written for Ford, and "The Old Bazaar in Cairo" which Ford co-wrote with Charlie Chester
Charlie Chester
Charlie Chester was a British comedian and TV and radio presenter, broadcasting almost continuously from the 1940s to the 1990s. His style was similar to that of Max Miller.- Life and career :...
.
He set up a guest house with his wife on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
but continued to tour throughout the 1980s and 1990s. BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
's veteran DJ, Brian Matthew
Brian Matthew
Brian Matthew is a veteran English broadcaster, who became well known in the 1960s. He is still broadcasting on radio for the BBC, having presented Sounds of the 60s since 1990, often employing the same vocabulary and the same measured delivery he used in previous decades.-Early life and...
, who was best man at Ford's wedding, revealed on his Sounds of the 60s
Sounds of the 60s
Sounds of the 60s is a long-running Saturday morning programme on BBC Radio 2 that features recordings of popular music made in the 1960s. It was first broadcast on 12 February 1983 and introduced by Keith Fordyce who had been the first presenter of the TV show Ready Steady Go! in 1963...
show, on 10 March 2007, that Ford was living on the Isle of Man but was seriously ill, unable to work and bed-ridden.
Clinton Ford died on 21 October 2009. He is survived by his wife, Margaret (Maggie) (née Worsfold) whom he married in 1962, and four children, Georgina, Susannah, Becky and Ian.
Ford's track "Dance With a Dolly (With a Hole in Her Stocking)" was chosen by the television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, Anne Wood
Anne Wood
Anne Wood CBE is a British children’s television producer.She was born in Spennymoor, County Durham, England and grew up in Tudhoe Colliery, a small coalmining village nearby.-Her Teaching Years:...
, as one of her Desert Island Discs
Desert Island Discs
Desert Island Discs is a BBC Radio 4 programme first broadcast on 29 January 1942. It is the second longest-running radio programme , and is the longest-running factual programme in the history of radio...
in October 2011.
Selected singles
- "Old Shep" (1959) – UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
No.27 - "Too Many Beautiful Girls" (1961) – UK No.48
- "Fanlight Fanny" (1962) – UK No.22
- "Run To The Door" (1967) – UK No.25
- "The Last One to Say Goodnight" WB 7182
Albums
- Clinton Ford (1962) – UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
No.16 - Listen With Us (1965)
- Clinton The Clown (1968) with George ChisholmGeorge ChisholmGeorge Chisholm may refer to:* George Chisholm , British geographer* George Chisholm , British trombone player and bandleader*George Chisholm...
(PyePye RecordsPye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man...
182010) - Songs For Children Aged One to a Hundred (1969) Marble Arch Records