Frank Chacksfield
Encyclopedia
Frank Chacksfield was an English
pianist, organist, composer and conductor
of popular light orchestral easy listening
music, who had great success in Britain and internationally in the 1950s and early 1960s.
, East Sussex
, and as a child learned to play piano and organ. He appeared at Hastings
Music Festivals by the time he was 14, and then became deputy church organist at Salehurst
. After working for a short period in a solicitor's office he decided on a career in music, and by the late 1930s led a small band at Tonbridge
in Kent
. At the beginning of World War II
he joined the Royal Corps of Signals
, and, following a radio broadcast as a pianist, was posted to ENSA
at Salisbury
where he became the arranger for Stars In Battledress, an armed forces entertainment troupe, and shared an office with comedian Charlie Chester
.
After the war, he worked with Chester and on BBC Radio
as an arranger and conductor. He also worked as musical director for both Henry Hall
and Geraldo
, and began recording under his own name in 1951 as "Frank Chacksfield's Tunesmiths". In early 1953 he had his first top ten
hit, "Little Red Monkey", on the Parlophone
label. This was a novelty recording featuring Jack Jordan on the clavioline
, and reportedly the first record featuring an electronic instrument to feature on the UK pop chart. He signed a recording contract
with Decca Records
in 1953, and formed a 40-piece orchestra with a large string section
, the "Singing Strings". His first record release for Decca, Charlie Chaplin
's theme for his film Limelight, won him a gold disc
in the US
, and in the UK
, where it reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart
, and won him the NME
award as 'Record of the Year'. It spent eight weeks at #2 (an all-time UK chart record), and in all thirteen weeks in the top five chart positions, without dislodging Frankie Laine
's, "I Believe
". His next 78 single
, "Ebb Tide", became the first British instrumental recording to reach #1 in some American charts
, providing a second gold disc, and he was voted the most promising new orchestra of the year in the US.
He became one of Britain's most well known orchestra leaders internationally, and is estimated to have sold more than 20 million albums worldwide. His material was "mood music", similar to that of Mantovani
, including ballads, waltzes, and film themes. In 1954 he began presenting a series on BBC TV, which continued occasionally until the early 1960s. Chacksfield was responsible for the musical arrangement
of the first UK entry into the Eurovision Song Contest 1957
; "All
" by Patricia Bredin
. He continued to write music, release singles and albums through the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared regularly on BBC radio.
He continued to record occasionally until the 1990s, from the 1970s primarily on the Phase 4
label. He also developed business interests in publishing and recorded for Starborne Productions, a company supplying "canned music" for use by easy listening radio station
s and others. Many of these recordings were made commercially available in 2007. His last album was Thanks for the Memories (Academy Award Winners 1934-55), released in 1991. Chacksfield died in Kent in 1995, after having suffered for several years from Parkinson's Disease
.
The main theme from his Latin-American style track "Cuban Boy" was used as the theme music for some broadcast versions of the BBC Scotland
sitcom Still Game
.
His song, "Après Ski", was featured in the 2006 video game, Saint's Row, for the Xbox 360
.
Recently, Vocalion has been releasing some of the Phase4Stereo (Decca) albums in CD.
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...
pianist, organist, composer and conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
of popular light orchestral easy listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
music, who had great success in Britain and internationally in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Life and career
Francis Charles Chacksfield was born in BattleBattle, East Sussex
Battle is a small town and civil parish in the local government district of Rother in East Sussex, England. It lies south southeast of London, east of Brighton and east of the county town of Lewes...
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
, and as a child learned to play piano and organ. He appeared at Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
Music Festivals by the time he was 14, and then became deputy church organist at Salehurst
Salehurst
Salehurst is a village in the Rother District of East Sussex, England, within the civil parish of Salehurst and Robertsbridge. It lies immediately to the north-east of the larger village of Robertsbridge, on a minor road; it is approximately thirteen miles north of Hastings, just east of the A21...
. After working for a short period in a solicitor's office he decided on a career in music, and by the late 1930s led a small band at Tonbridge
Tonbridge
Tonbridge is a market town in the English county of Kent, with a population of 30,340 in 2007. It is located on the River Medway, approximately 4 miles north of Tunbridge Wells, 12 miles south west of Maidstone and 29 miles south east of London...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. At the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he joined the Royal Corps of Signals
Royal Corps of Signals
The Royal Corps of Signals is one of the combat support arms of the British Army...
, and, following a radio broadcast as a pianist, was posted to ENSA
Entertainments National Service Association
The Entertainments National Service Association or ENSA was an organisation set up in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War II. ENSA operated as part of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes...
at Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
where he became the arranger for Stars In Battledress, an armed forces entertainment troupe, and shared an office with comedian 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 :...
.
After the war, he worked with Chester and 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...
as an arranger and conductor. He also worked as musical director for both Henry Hall
Henry Hall (bandleader)
Henry Hall was a British bandleader. He played from the 1920s to the 1950s.-Biography:Henry Hall was born in Peckham, South London and served in both the Salvation Army and the British Army...
and Geraldo
Gerald Bright
Gerald Walcan Bright, better known as Geraldo was a British bandleader....
, and began recording under his own name in 1951 as "Frank Chacksfield's Tunesmiths". In early 1953 he had his first top ten
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 ...
hit, "Little Red Monkey", on the Parlophone
Parlophone
Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...
label. This was a novelty recording featuring Jack Jordan on the clavioline
Clavioline
The clavioline is an electronic keyboard instrument, a forerunner to the analog synthesizer.It was invented by Constant Martin in 1947. It consists of a keyboard and a separate amplifier and speaker unit. The keyboard usually covered three octaves, and had a number of switches to alter the tone of...
, and reportedly the first record featuring an electronic instrument to feature on the UK pop chart. He signed a 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...
with Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
in 1953, and formed a 40-piece orchestra with a large string section
String section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
, the "Singing Strings". His first record release for Decca, Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
's theme for his film Limelight, won him a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and 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...
, where it reached #2 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 ...
, and won him the NME
NME
The 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...
award as 'Record of the Year'. It spent eight weeks at #2 (an all-time UK chart record), and in all thirteen weeks in the top five chart positions, without dislodging Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
's, "I Believe
I Believe (1953 song)
"I Believe" is the name of a popular song written by Ervin Drake, Irvin Graham, Jimmy Shirl and Al Stillman in 1953.I Believe was commissioned and introduced by Jane Froman on her television show, and became the first hit song ever introduced on TV...
". His next 78 single
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...
, "Ebb Tide", became the first British instrumental recording to reach #1 in some American charts
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, providing a second gold disc, and he was voted the most promising new orchestra of the year in the US.
He became one of Britain's most well known orchestra leaders internationally, and is estimated to have sold more than 20 million albums worldwide. His material was "mood music", similar to that of Mantovani
Mantovani
Annunzio Paolo Mantovani known as Mantovani, was an Anglo-Italian conductor and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature. The book British Hit Singles & Albums states that he was "Britain's most successful album act before The Beatles .....
, including ballads, waltzes, and film themes. In 1954 he began presenting a series on BBC TV, which continued occasionally until the early 1960s. Chacksfield was responsible for the musical arrangement
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
of the first UK entry into the Eurovision Song Contest 1957
Eurovision Song Contest 1957
The Eurovision Song Contest 1957 was the 2nd Eurovision Song Contest. Like the first contest, this one was still mainly a radio programme, but there was a noticeable increase in the number of people with televisions....
; "All
All (song)
"All" was the United Kingdom entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1957 performed in English by Patricia Bredin. At a length of 1:52 minutes, it has the distinction of being the shortest entry in the history of the Contest as well as being the first song to be performed in English.The song was...
" by Patricia Bredin
Patricia Bredin
Patricia Bredin is a British actress and one-time singer from Hull, England, who was best known as the very first United Kingdom representative in the Eurovision Song Contest. She took part in the 1957 contest, held in Frankfurt, and finished in seventh place out of ten entries with the song All,...
. He continued to write music, release singles and albums through the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared regularly on BBC radio.
He continued to record occasionally until the 1990s, from the 1970s primarily on the Phase 4
Phase 4 Stereo
Phase 4 Stereo was a branch of London Records created in 1961. Phase 4 Stereo supposedly created better sound by being recorded on a 10-channel, and later 20-channel, recording console...
label. He also developed business interests in publishing and recorded for Starborne Productions, a company supplying "canned music" for use by easy listening radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s and others. Many of these recordings were made commercially available in 2007. His last album was Thanks for the Memories (Academy Award Winners 1934-55), released in 1991. Chacksfield died in Kent in 1995, after having suffered for several years from Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
.
The main theme from his Latin-American style track "Cuban Boy" was used as the theme music for some broadcast versions of the BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...
sitcom Still Game
Still Game
Still Game is a Scottish sitcom, produced by The Comedy Unit with the BBC. It was created by Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill, who play the lead characters - two Glaswegian pensioners, named Jack Jarvis and Victor McDade respectively....
.
His song, "Après Ski", was featured in the 2006 video game, Saint's Row, for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
.
Albums
- Ebb Tide, London LL 1408
- Velvet, London LL 1443
- Evening in Paris, Decca LK 4081
- Evening in Rome, Decca LK 4095
- If I Had a Talking Picture of You, Decca LK 4135
- Opera's Golden Moments, London Phase 4 21092
- The New Ebb Tide, London Phase 4 44053
- Globe-Trotting, London Phase 4 SP 44059
- The New Limelight, London Phase 4 SP 44066
- Hawaii, London Phase 4 SP 44087
- Foreign Film Festival, London Phase 4 SP 44112
- New York, London Phase 4 SP 44141
- Beatles Songbook, London Phase 4 44142
- Simon & Garfunkel & Jimmy Webb, London Phase 4 44151
- Plays Bacharach, London Phase 4 44158
- Plays Ebb Tide And Other Million Sellers, London Phase 4 44168
- Chacksfield Plays Rodgers & Hart, London Phase 4 SP 44223
- The Glory That Was Gershwin, London Phase 4 44254
- TV's Golden Hits, Compleat Records 671020-1
Singles
- "Little Red Monkey", Parlophone R3658, 1953, UK # 10
- "Terry's Theme from 'Limelight'", Decca F10106, 1953, UK # 2
- "Ebb Tide", Decca F10122, 1954, UK # 9, US # 2 (# 1 in some charts)
- "In Old Lisbon", Decca F19689, 1956, UK # 15
- "Port Au Prince" (with Winifred AtwellWinifred AtwellUna Winifred Atwell Una Winifred Atwell Una Winifred Atwell (27 February or April 1910 or 1914There is some uncertainty over her date and year of birth. Many sources suggest 27 February 1914, but there is a strong suggestion that her birthday was 27 April. Most sources give her year of birth as...
), Decca F10727, 1956, UK # 18 - "Donkey Cart", Decca F10743, 1956, UK # 26
- "On The Beach", (US) London 1901, 1960, US # 47
Recently, Vocalion has been releasing some of the Phase4Stereo (Decca) albums in CD.
External links
- The Frank Chacksfield Band in the 1930s
- The Decca Years 1953-75
- Frank Chacksfield Complete Discography
- Chacksfield's orchestra rendition of "Mighty Lak' a RoseMighty Lak' a RoseMighty Lak' a Rose is a 1901 song with lyrics by Frank Lebby Stanton and music by Ethelbert Nevin.The lyrics are written in an approximation of an African American accent; such "dialect songs" were common in the era. The title thus means "Mighty like a rose"; this assessment is addressed by a...
"