Lawrence Wright (composer)
Encyclopedia
Lawrence Wright was a British popular music composer and publisher. He was born in Leicester
and opened a music shop in the city in 1906. A short time later his first song, Down By The Stream, was published, and by 1912 he had established the Lawrence Wright Music Co in Denmark Street
, London
.
Wright went on to write (or co-write) over 600 songs under his own name and as Horatio Nicholls, including the World War I propaganda song Are We Downhearted? No!, and would receive an Ivor Novello Award
in 1962 for Outstanding Contribution to British Popular Music. He was one of the very rare composers of popular music in this period to make a substantial amount of money - it had not been unusual to see composers who had written dozens of hits die in poverty.
In 1927, Wright appeared in a short film made in the DeForest Phonofilm
with excerpts of his revue Sensations of 1927.
His 1927 collaboration with Edgar Leslie
, Among My Souvenirs, has been covered by artists including Frank Sinatra
, Louis Armstrong
, Judy Garland
, and Connie Francis
.
Wright founded Melody Maker
magazine in 1926. He moved to Blackpool
in the early 1920s and became a show promoter. Running "On With The Show" on the North Pier
for a record-breaking 32 years (1924 - 1956). He lived in a mock castle house, later called the Castle Casino, on Blackpool's North Promenade. After he began using a wheelchair, he moved to a bungalow in Carlin Gate. Upon being recently sold, much memorabilia was discovered at the address including posters, bills, letters, sheet music and musical scores.
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
and opened a music shop in the city in 1906. A short time later his first song, Down By The Stream, was published, and by 1912 he had established the Lawrence Wright Music Co in Denmark Street
Denmark Street
Denmark Street is a short narrow road in central London, notable for its connections with British popular music, and is known as the British Tin Pan Alley. The road connects Charing Cross Road at its western end with St Giles High Street at its eastern end. Denmark Street is in the London Borough...
, 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...
.
Wright went on to write (or co-write) over 600 songs under his own name and as Horatio Nicholls, including the World War I propaganda song Are We Downhearted? No!, and would receive an Ivor Novello Award
Ivor Novello Awards
The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Cardiff born entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They are presented annually in London by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors and were first introduced in 1955.Nicknamed The Ivors, the awards take place...
in 1962 for Outstanding Contribution to British Popular Music. He was one of the very rare composers of popular music in this period to make a substantial amount of money - it had not been unusual to see composers who had written dozens of hits die in poverty.
In 1927, Wright appeared in a short film made in the DeForest Phonofilm
Phonofilm
In 1919, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patent on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofilm, which recorded sound directly onto film as parallel lines. These parallel lines photographically recorded electrical waveforms from a microphone, which were translated back...
with excerpts of his revue Sensations of 1927.
His 1927 collaboration with Edgar Leslie
Edgar Leslie
Edgar Leslie was an American songwriter. His first song Lonesome in 1909 was an immediate success, recorded by the Haydn Quartet and again by Byron G. Harlan. Other notable artists he worked with are:...
, Among My Souvenirs, has been covered by artists including Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
, and Connie Francis
Connie Francis
Connie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
.
Wright founded Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
magazine in 1926. He moved to Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
in the early 1920s and became a show promoter. Running "On With The Show" on the North Pier
North Pier, Blackpool
North Pier is the oldest and largest of the three coastal piers in Blackpool, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.-Location:...
for a record-breaking 32 years (1924 - 1956). He lived in a mock castle house, later called the Castle Casino, on Blackpool's North Promenade. After he began using a wheelchair, he moved to a bungalow in Carlin Gate. Upon being recently sold, much memorabilia was discovered at the address including posters, bills, letters, sheet music and musical scores.