Ray Noble | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Ray Noble (1935) | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Raymond Stanley Noble |
| Born | (1903-12-17)17 December 1903 Brighton,Sussex, England |
| Origin | Royal Academy of Music |
| Died | 2 April 1978(1978-04-02) (aged 74) London, England |
| Genres | Jazz,british dance band |
| Occupations |
|
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1929-? |
| Labels | His Master's Voice,RCA Victor |
Raymond Stanley Noble (17 December 1903 – 3 April 1978) was an Englishjazz andbig band musician, who was a bandleader, composer and arranger, as well as a radio host, television and film comedian and actor; he also performed in the United States. He is best known for his signature tune, "The Very Thought of You" and "Cherokee".
Noble wrote both lyrics and music for many popular songs during theBritish dance band era, known as the "Golden Age of British music", notably for his longtime friend and associateAl Bowlly. His most iconic musical numbers included songs such as "Love Is the Sweetest Thing", "Cherokee", "The Touch of Your Lips", "I Hadn't Anyone Till You",Goodnight, Sweetheart,What More Can I Ask?, andThe Very Thought of You.[1] Noble played a radio comedian opposite American ventriloquistEdgar Bergen's stage act ofMortimer Snerd andCharlie McCarthy, and American comedy duoBurns and Allen, later transferring these roles from radio to TV and popular films.
Noble was born at 1 Montpelier Terrace in theMontpelier area ofBrighton, England. Ablue plaque on the house commemorates him.[2] He was the nephew of theAnglican church music composerT. Tertius Noble (1867–1953).[3]
Noble studied at theRoyal Academy of Music and in 1927 won a competition for the best British dance band orchestrator that was advertised inMelody Maker. In 1929, he became leader of the New Mayfair Dance Orchestra, aHis Master's Voice studio band that featured members of many of the top hotel orchestras of the day. Noble recorded prolifically during this time[4] and US Victor released several of hisHis Master's Voice recordings, including "Butterflies in the Rain", "Mademoiselle", "My Hat's on the Side of My Head" and "The Very Thought of You".
The most popular vocalist with Noble's studio band wasAl Bowlly, who joined in 1930.[5] During this time, Noble co-wrote "Turkish Delight", "By the Fireside" and"Goodnight, Sweetheart". The latter song was a number one hit forGuy Lombardo in the American charts. It was also used (with vocals by Al Bowlly) on the originalStar Trek television series episode "The City on the Edge of Forever".[6]
Noble moved to New York City in 1934. The Bowlly/Noble recordings with the British New Mayfair Dance Orchestra onHis Master's Voice had achieved popularity in the United States and Noble had successes there.
Noble tookAl Bowlly and his drummerBill Harty to the US and asked trombonistGlenn Miller to recruit American musicians to complete the band. Miller played theTrombone in the Ray Noble orchestra, which performed Glenn Miller's composition "Dese Dem Dose" as part of the medley "Dese Dem Dose/An Hour Ago This Minute/Solitude" during a performance at theRainbow Room in 1935. The American Ray Noble band had a successful run at the Rainbow Room in New York City with Bowlly as principal vocalist.
Although Noble was not a singer, he did appear twice as an upper-class Englishman on two of his more popular New York records, 1935's "Top Hat" and 1937's "Slumming on Park Avenue". Noble was also an arranger who scored many record hits in the 1930s:"Goodnight, Sweetheart" (1931), "Mad About the Boy" (1932), "Paris in the Spring" (1935), "Blue Danube" (1932), "The Very Thought of You" (1934), "Love Is the Sweetest Thing" (1932), "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" (1937), "I've Got You Under My Skin" (1936), "Easy to Love" (1936), and "Isle of Capri" (1934).[7][8]
Noble and his orchestra appeared in the 1937 filmA Damsel in Distress withFred Astaire,[9]Joan Fontaine,George Burns andGracie Allen. Noble played a somewhat "dense" character who was in love withGracie Allen. Bowlly returned to England in January 1937, but Noble continued to lead bands in America, moving into an acting career, often portraying a stereotypical upper-class English character.[10]
Noble played the piano, but seldom did so with his orchestra. In a movie short from the 1940s featuring Ray Noble andBuddy Clark (one of his most popular band singers), Noble is asked by the announcer to play one of his most popular hits. He sits down at the piano and plays "Goodnight, Sweetheart".[citation needed]
Noble provided music for many radio shows such asThe Chase and Sanborn Hour,The Charlie McCarthy Show,Burns and Allen andOn Stage with Cathy and Elliott Lewis and also guest-appeared in some of their films. He worked with Bergen for nearly fifteen years, playing the foil to McCarthy and the slow-witted Mortimer Snerd, and his orchestra appeared with Edgar Bergen in the 1942 filmHere We Go Again. He also provided the orchestration for the 1942Lou Gehrig biopicThe Pride of the Yankees starringGary Cooper. Noble's last major successes as a bandleader came withBuddy Clark in the late 1940s.
The ventriloquist TV show ended in the mid-1950s, and Noble retired toSanta Barbara, California. In the late 1960s, Noble relocated toJersey in the Channel Islands. In March 1978, he flew to London for treatment of cancer, and later died of the disease at a London hospital.[11][12]
Specialist dance band radio stations continue to play his records. Noble has also featured regularly on theManx Radio programmeSweet & Swing, presented by Howard Caine.
