Oscar Rabin Band
Encyclopedia
The Oscar Rabin Band was a British
Jazz
dance band
that was one of the most successful bands of the 1950s. Band leader Oscar Rabin
played bass saxophone
, an unusual instrument then as now. His friend Harry Davis, tall, elegant and good-looking, acted as compère and conductor.
. Oscar played violin but over the next decade he formed a full size dance band in which he took up playing the bass saxophone They gradually expanded the band all the way through the tough times of the 1930s. During this period character actor
Sam Kydd
made his show-business start as M.C. for the band. By the time of World War II
, they had become one of the most widely known of British dance bands, touring throughout the country.
Oscar, short and fat, never did front his own band, nor was he regarded as anything more than a workaday musician. His role was to run the business side of the band. His partner Harry, who occasionally played guitar, was very good with audiences. (Harry's daughter Beryl became a professional singer, and moved to the USA.) However, the combination of the two men was a successful one and audiences took to them. Ex-band member Roy Bull has recalled: "My memories of the Oscar Rabin days are all very pleasant ones, as Oscar himself was one of the most kind people I have ever met, and certainly the best band leader
for whom I ever worked."
(Piano / Arranger); Kenny Clare (Drums); Cecil Pressling (Alto Sax). Band numbers were generally around 15, with 2 or 3 vocalists, mostly made up of constantly changing journeymen musicians.
However, occasionally better known instrumentalists joined the band, such as Don Rendell
(Tenor Sax); Jimmy Deuchar
(Trumpet); & Arthur Greenslade
(piano / arranger). Trombonist Ken Wray would later play with Ronnie Scott
's Big Band
. Vocalists over the years included Dennis Hale ( who died in a car accident in South Africa
after touring there with Jack Parnell
's band; Marjorie Daw (who married the band's drummer, Kenny Clare); Marion Davis, who, as Marion Keene
, had a successful television and show business career; Mel Gaynor
; Pattie Forbes; & Johnny Worth, who became a successful songwriter under the name Les Vandyke
;
, which residency eventually lasted over five years. A residency at the time involved six afternoon and six evening sessions a week.
, Colin Day and Lorie Mann, with Mike Redway taking over from Colin and Barbara Kay taking over from Lorie. This was the period of the Rabin Band's longest running BBC radio
series, the highly successful "Go Man Go
", which ran weekly for 4 years.
The band was disbanded in the mid-1960s after the untimely death of David Ede, who was drowned in a sailing accident off Blackpool. But the Rabin name in music was carried on with the Mike Rabin Band, led by Oscar's grandson.
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...
Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
dance band
Dance band
Dance band can be one of several kinds of musical ensemble:* British dance band* Dansband, a Swedish pop genre* A Eurodance band...
that was one of the most successful bands of the 1950s. Band leader Oscar Rabin
Oscar Rabin
Oscar Rabin was a Latvian born English bandleader and musician. He was notable for being the musical director of the Oscar Rabin Band....
played bass saxophone
Bass saxophone
The bass saxophone is the second largest member of the saxophone family. Its design is similar to that of the baritone saxophone, with a loop of tubing near the mouthpiece. It was the first type of saxophone presented to the public, when Adolphe Sax exhibited a bass saxophone in C at an exhibition...
, an unusual instrument then as now. His friend Harry Davis, tall, elegant and good-looking, acted as compère and conductor.
Formation
Oscar Rabin formed his first band with Harry Davis, The Romany Five, in 1922. They could be seen in those days at the Palais de Dance in Derby, EnglandDerby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
. Oscar played violin but over the next decade he formed a full size dance band in which he took up playing the bass saxophone They gradually expanded the band all the way through the tough times of the 1930s. During this period character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
Sam Kydd
Sam Kydd
Sam Kydd was an Ulster-born English actor. An army officer's son, he was born in Belfast, but moved to London, England when he was a child. He was educated at Dunstable Grammar School in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England....
made his show-business start as M.C. for the band. By the time 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...
, they had become one of the most widely known of British dance bands, touring throughout the country.
Oscar, short and fat, never did front his own band, nor was he regarded as anything more than a workaday musician. His role was to run the business side of the band. His partner Harry, who occasionally played guitar, was very good with audiences. (Harry's daughter Beryl became a professional singer, and moved to the USA.) However, the combination of the two men was a successful one and audiences took to them. Ex-band member Roy Bull has recalled: "My memories of the Oscar Rabin days are all very pleasant ones, as Oscar himself was one of the most kind people I have ever met, and certainly the best band leader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
for whom I ever worked."
Key players
The band always maintained a high standard, with a particularly strong saxophone section. A few good key players stayed with them for a long time. People such as: Ken Mackintosh (Alto Sax); Bobby Benstead (Trumpet); Ken Wray (Trombone); Eric JuppEric Jupp
Eric Jupp was a British-born musician, composer, arranger and conductor who gained wide popularity in Australia after settling there in the 1960s, hosting a long-running light music TV show and composing for film and TV...
(Piano / Arranger); Kenny Clare (Drums); Cecil Pressling (Alto Sax). Band numbers were generally around 15, with 2 or 3 vocalists, mostly made up of constantly changing journeymen musicians.
However, occasionally better known instrumentalists joined the band, such as Don Rendell
Don Rendell
Donald Percy 'Don' Rendell is an English jazz musician and arranger, specialising on tenor saxophone, but also playing soprano saxophone, flute, and clarinet....
(Tenor Sax); Jimmy Deuchar
Jimmy Deuchar
James "Jimmy" Deuchar was a jazz trumpeter and big band arranger, born in Dundee, Scotland. He found fame as a performer and arranger in the 1950s and 1960s...
(Trumpet); & Arthur Greenslade
Arthur Greenslade
Arthur Greenslade was a British conductor and arranger for films and television as well as for a number of performers. In the 1950s he was pianist and arranger with the Oscar Rabin Band. He has arranged for Jack Jones, Chris Farlowe, Serge Gainsbourg, Genesis, Cat Stevens, Diana Ross and Dusty...
(piano / arranger). Trombonist Ken Wray would later play with Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott was an English jazz tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner.-Life and career:Ronnie Scott was born in Aldgate, east London, into a family of Russian Jewish descent on his father's side, and Portuguese antecedents on his mother's. Scott began playing in small jazz clubs at the age of...
's Big Band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
. Vocalists over the years included Dennis Hale ( who died in a car accident in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
after touring there with Jack Parnell
Jack Parnell
John Russell Parnell was an English bandleader and musician.-Biography:Parnell was born into a theatrical family in London....
's band; Marjorie Daw (who married the band's drummer, Kenny Clare); Marion Davis, who, as Marion Keene
Marion Keene
Marion Keene was a big band singer in the early 1950s with British bands such as the Jack Parnell Orchestra and Oscar Rabin Band....
, had a successful television and show business career; Mel Gaynor
Mel Gaynor
Mel George Gaynor is a British musician. He is best known as the long time drummer for the rock band, Simple Minds...
; Pattie Forbes; & Johnny Worth, who became a successful songwriter under the name Les Vandyke
Les Vandyke
Les Vandyke was a popular music singer and later songwriter in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also known as Johnny Worth and John Worsley...
;
Departure of Davis
In 1953, Harry Davis left the Band, and the UK, breaking up a partnership that had lasted for 30 years, and went to live with his daughter and her husband in California. David Ede, who had been with the band for around five years and was a good alto and clarinet player, took over. He was a fine arranger and also formed a vocal quartet in the band. It was asked to do a three month stint at the Lyceum Ballroom on the Strand, in central LondonCentral London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
, which residency eventually lasted over five years. A residency at the time involved six afternoon and six evening sessions a week.
Later history
In the late 1950s through the early 1960s, the band was resident at the Wimbledon Palais under the direction of David Ede and the management of Oscar's son, Bernard. Personnel included Arthur Greenslade (piano), Sammy Stokes and then Ron Prentice (bass), Freddy Adamson (drums), Don Sandford (guitar), and the usual impeccable saxes line up included Cecil Pressling (alto), Rex Morris (tenor), David Ede (alto and tenor), and Don Honeywill (Baritone). The vocalists were Ray PilgrimRay Pilgrim
Ray Pilgrim was one of the most prolific big band singers, radio broadcasters, recording and session singers in Britain in the late 1950s/early 1960s.-Music Career:...
, Colin Day and Lorie Mann, with Mike Redway taking over from Colin and Barbara Kay taking over from Lorie. This was the period of the Rabin Band's longest running 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...
series, the highly successful "Go Man Go
Go Man Go (radio show)
Go Man Go, featuring David Ede and the Rabin Band, was one of British radio’s flagship lunchtime pop music shows during the late 1950s and early 1960s.-Background and evolution:...
", which ran weekly for 4 years.
The band was disbanded in the mid-1960s after the untimely death of David Ede, who was drowned in a sailing accident off Blackpool. But the Rabin name in music was carried on with the Mike Rabin Band, led by Oscar's grandson.