Emile Ford
Encyclopedia
Emile Ford is a musician
and singer, who was popular in the United Kingdom in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
official
and an opera
-singing mother
, and he moved to Britain
with his family at an early age.
He was educated at the Paddington Technical College in London
.
It was during this time that Ford taught himself to play a number of musical instrument
s. These included the guitar
, piano
, violin
, bass guitar
and drums
. His innate interest in music
was fostered by his mother, and perhaps derived in part — according to annotator Roger Dopson
and journalist
Norman Jopling — in his synesthesia
: he perceived sound
as colours and patterns.
He teamed up with George Ford, Ken Street and John Cuffley as Emile Ford and the Checkmates, and their first self-produced recording
"What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?
" went to number one in the UK Singles Chart
at the end of 1959 and stayed there for six weeks. The track remains as having the longest question ever asked by a chart topping disc
in the UK
.
Ford was also the first black
British artist to sell one million copies of a 7" single
.
Ford first entered show business
at the age of twenty, and made his first public appearance at The Buttery, Kensington
. This was immediately followed by appearances at (on a rota basis) The Breadbasket, Fitzroy Square
; The Roebuck, corner of Tottenham Court Road
and Warren Street tube station
; The Macabre, Soho
; and Chiquita’s, near Regent Street
(then the Show Business
Agents
coffee bar).
Ford's first appearance with a backing group was at the Athenaeum Ballroom in Muswell Hill
.
His TV
appearances in 1958 included outings on The Music Shop, the Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson
Show, Oh, Boy!
, and Six-Five Special
. In 1959 the band appeared on the TV programme Sunday Serenade, which ran for six weeks.
But it was winning the Soho Fair talent contest in July 1959, that led to his Pye
recording contract
.
In January 1960, Ford signed a two year employment management
contract with Leslie Grade
. Emile Ford also scored a number one EP
in 1960. His debut album was made up of covers
, and he made several album
s throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Most of his albums included new versions of "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?".
In the late 1960s he moved to Sweden
and while there his private recordings were stolen and bootlegged
. These recordings were subsequently released on the Hallmark record label
.
In 2001, Castle Communications
released the double-CD
set, Counting Teardrops, covering Ford's complete Pye Records
sides from 1959 through to 1963. A full track listing is available here.http://www.mmguide.musicmatch.com/album/album.cgi?ALBUMID=648470
(α - Credited to Emile Ford. All other recordings credit Emile Ford and the Checkmates).
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and singer, who was popular in the United Kingdom in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Life and career
Ford was the son of a governmentGovernment
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
official
Official
An official is someone who holds an office in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority .A government official or functionary is an official who is involved in public...
and an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
-singing mother
Mother
A mother, mum, mom, momma, or mama is a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that grew into a child. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to specify a universally...
, and he moved to Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
with his family at an early age.
He was educated at the Paddington Technical College in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
It was during this time that Ford taught himself to play a number of musical instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
s. These included the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
. His innate interest in music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
was fostered by his mother, and perhaps derived in part — according to annotator Roger Dopson
Roger Dopson
Roger Dopson is a rock historian, archivist, researcher, writer and educator who has contributed liner notes for hundreds of LPs and CD albums, issued across a myriad of record labels. These include Sequel Records, EMI, Sony, Universal, BMG, Castle Music, Sanctuary, See For Miles, GVC, Repertoire,...
and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
Norman Jopling — in his synesthesia
Synesthesia
Synesthesia , from the ancient Greek , "together," and , "sensation," is a neurologically based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway...
: he perceived sound
Sound
Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...
as colours and patterns.
He teamed up with George Ford, Ken Street and John Cuffley as Emile Ford and the Checkmates, and their first self-produced recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
"What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?
What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?
"What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?" is a song written by Joseph McCarthy, Howard Johnson and James V. Monaco in 1916. It was released in 1917 by Ada Jones and Billy Murray on Victor 18224....
" went to number one 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 ...
at the end of 1959 and stayed there for six weeks. The track remains as having the longest question ever asked by a chart topping disc
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Ford was also the first black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
British artist to sell one million copies of a 7" single
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...
.
Ford first entered show business
Show business
Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz, is a vernacular term for all aspects of entertainment. The word applies to all aspects of the entertainment industry from the business side to the creative element ....
at the age of twenty, and made his first public appearance at The Buttery, Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
. This was immediately followed by appearances at (on a rota basis) The Breadbasket, Fitzroy Square
Fitzroy Square
Fitzroy Square is one of the Georgian squares in London and is the only one found in the central London area known as in Fitzrovia.The square, nearby Fitzroy Street and the Fitzroy Tavern in Charlotte Street have the family name of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton, into whose ownership the land...
; The Roebuck, corner of Tottenham Court Road
Tottenham Court Road
Tottenham Court Road is a major road in central London, United Kingdom, running from St Giles Circus north to Euston Road, near the border of the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, a distance of about three-quarters of a mile...
and Warren Street tube station
Warren Street tube station
Warren Street tube station is a London Underground station, located at the intersection of Tottenham Court Road and Euston Road. It is on the branch of the Northern Line, between and , and the Victoria Line between and Euston. It is in Travelcard Zone 1 and is the nearest tube station to...
; The Macabre, Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
; and Chiquita’s, near Regent Street
Regent Street
Regent Street is one of the major shopping streets in London's West End, well known to tourists and Londoners alike, and famous for its Christmas illuminations...
(then the Show Business
Show business
Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz, is a vernacular term for all aspects of entertainment. The word applies to all aspects of the entertainment industry from the business side to the creative element ....
Agents
Talent agent
A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, film directors, musicians, models, producers, professional athletes, writers and other people in various entertainment businesses. Having an agent is not required, but does help the artist in getting jobs...
coffee bar).
Ford's first appearance with a backing group was at the Athenaeum Ballroom in Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill is a suburb of north London, mostly in the London Borough of Haringey. It is situated about north of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. Muswell Hill is in the N10 postal district and mostly in the Hornsey and Wood Green parliamentary constituency.- History :The...
.
His TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
appearances in 1958 included outings on The Music Shop, the Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson
Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson
Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson were a popular English husband-and-wife team of entertainers, during the 1950s and early 1960s.-Early days:They were both successful solo singers before their marriage in 1955...
Show, Oh, Boy!
Oh, Boy! (TV series)
Oh Boy! was the first teenage all-music show on British TV airing in 1958 and 1959. It was produced by Jack Good for ITV.Good had previously produced 6.5 Special for the BBC Television, but wanted to drop the sport and public-service content from this show, and concentrate on the music...
, and Six-Five Special
Six-Five Special
The Six-Five Special is a British television programme launched in February 1957 when both television and rock and roll were in their infancy in Britain.-Description:...
. In 1959 the band appeared on the TV programme Sunday Serenade, which ran for six weeks.
But it was winning the Soho Fair talent contest in July 1959, that led to his Pye
Pye Records
Pye 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...
recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
.
In January 1960, Ford signed a two year employment management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
contract with Leslie Grade
Leslie Grade
Leslie Grade was a British talent agent and executive with The Grade Organisation. He was born Laszlo Winogradsky in Tokmak, Ukraine, Russian Empire...
. Emile Ford also scored a number one EP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
in 1960. His debut album was made up of 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...
, and he made several album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Most of his albums included new versions of "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?".
In the late 1960s he moved to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and while there his private recordings were stolen and bootlegged
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
. These recordings were subsequently released on the Hallmark 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,...
.
In 2001, Castle Communications
Castle Communications
Castle Communications was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Terry Shand, Cliff Dane and Jon Beecher. The company was acquired by the American music distributor Alliance Entertainment in 1994 and in 2000 it was absorbed into Sanctuary Records Group...
released the double-CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
set, Counting Teardrops, covering Ford's complete Pye Records
Pye Records
Pye 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...
sides from 1959 through to 1963. A full track listing is available here.http://www.mmguide.musicmatch.com/album/album.cgi?ALBUMID=648470
Further information
- The readers of the BritishGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
music magazineMagazineMagazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
, NMENMEThe New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
, voted Emile Ford and the Checkmates as the "Best New Act" in 1960.
- "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?" was originally recorded by Ada JonesAda JonesAda Jones was a popular mezzo-soprano who recorded from 1905 to the early 1920s. She was born in Lancashire, England but moved with her family to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the age of six in 1879...
and Billy MurrayBilly Murray (singer)William Thomas "Billy" Murray was one of the most popular singers in the United States in the early decades of the 20th century...
in 1911. - "(I'd Like to Get You on a) Slow Boat to China(I'd Like to Get You on a) Slow Boat to China" Slow Boat to China" is a popular song by Frank Loesser, published in 1947.Hit recordings:The song is a well-known pop standard, recorded by many artists, including Rosemary Clooney, Ella Fitzgerald, Joni James, Jimmy Buffett, Fats Domino and Liza Minnelli.Bette Midler and Barry Manilow recorded...
" was composed by Frank LoesserFrank LoesserFrank Henry Loesser was an American songwriter who wrote the lyrics and scores to the Broadway hits Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won separate Tony Awards for the music and lyrics in both shows, as well as sharing the Pulitzer Prize for...
, and originally recorded by Kay KyserKay KyserJames Kern Kyser was a popular bandleader and radio personality of the 1930s and 1940s.-Early years:He was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, the son of pharmacists Paul Bynum Kyser and Emily Royster Kyser. Editor Vermont C. Royster was his cousin...
in 1948. - "Counting Teardrops" was written by Barry MannBarry MannBarry Mann is an American songwriter, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil.-Career:...
and Howard GreenfieldHoward GreenfieldHoward Greenfield was an American lyricist and songwriter, who for several years in the 1960s worked out of the famous Brill Building...
. - "Them There EyesThem There Eyes"Them There Eyes" is a jazz song written by Maceo Pinkard, Doris Tauber, and William Tracey. It was published in 1930. One of the early recorded versions was done by Louis Armstrong in 1931...
" was written in 1930, and first recorded by Louis ArmstrongLouis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
that same year and by Duke EllingtonDuke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
in 1931. - His recordings included "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her NowI Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now"I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now" is a popular song. The music was written by Joseph E. Howard and Harold Orlob, the lyrics by Will M. Hough and Frank R. Adams. The song was published in 1909...
". The melodyMelodyA melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
was written by Joseph E. Howard and Harold Orlob, and the lyricsLyricsLyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
by Will M. Hough and Frank R. Adams. The song was published in 1909.
UK singles chart credits
- "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?"What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?" is a song written by Joseph McCarthy, Howard Johnson and James V. Monaco in 1916. It was released in 1917 by Ada Jones and Billy Murray on Victor 18224....
" / "Don't Tell Me Your Troubles" (Pye 7N15225) 1959 - No. 1 - "On a Slow Boat to China(I'd Like to Get You on a) Slow Boat to China" Slow Boat to China" is a popular song by Frank Loesser, published in 1947.Hit recordings:The song is a well-known pop standard, recorded by many artists, including Rosemary Clooney, Ella Fitzgerald, Joni James, Jimmy Buffett, Fats Domino and Liza Minnelli.Bette Midler and Barry Manilow recorded...
" / "That Lucky Old SunThat Lucky Old Sun"That Lucky Old Sun" is a 1949 popular song with music by Beasley Smith and words by Haven Gillespie. Like "Ol' Man River", its lyrics contrast the toil and intense hardship of the singer's life with the obliviousness of the natural world.-1949 recordings:...
" (Pye 7N15245) 1960 - No. 3 - "You'll Never Know What You're Missing ('Til You Try)" / "Still" (Pye 7N15268) 1960 - No. 12
- "Them There EyesThem There Eyes"Them There Eyes" is a jazz song written by Maceo Pinkard, Doris Tauber, and William Tracey. It was published in 1930. One of the early recorded versions was done by Louis Armstrong in 1931...
" / "Question" (Pye 7N15282) 1960 - No. 18 - α - "Counting Teardrops" / "White ChristmasWhite Christmas (song)"White Christmas" is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the version sung by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single of all time, with estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide.Accounts vary as...
" (Pye 7N15314) 1960 - No. 4 - "What am I Gonna Do" / "A Kiss to Build a Dream On" (Pye 7N15331) 1961 - No. 33
- "Half of my Heart" - 1961 - No. 42 - α
- "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her NowI Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now"I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now" is a popular song. The music was written by Joseph E. Howard and Harold Orlob, the lyrics by Will M. Hough and Frank R. Adams. The song was published in 1909...
" - 1962 - No. 43 - α
(α - Credited to Emile Ford. All other recordings credit Emile Ford and the Checkmates).
Albums
- New Tracks (Pye)
- Emile (Pye)
- Emile Ford (Hallmark RecordsHallmark RecordsHallmark Records is a British record label. It was founded in the 1960s and recently revived. The revived company has since become a major publisher of budget CDs in the UK, issuing both public domain and copyrighted material. The company has also re-issued some of its albums from the 1960s and...
) - What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?
- On a Slow Boat to China
- My Kind of Country
See also
- List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
- List of number-one singles from the 1950s (UK)
- UK No.1 Hits of 1959
- UK No.1 Hits of 1960
- List of Christmas number one singles (UK)
- List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1960s
- List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart
External links
- [ Emile Ford biography at the AMG website]
- Emile Ford and the Checkmates story at the 45-rpm Website
- Fansite including 2002 radio interview and excerpt from interview with Norman Joplin