The Organ, Dance Band and Me (Billy Thorburn's Band) - 1939

The Organ, The Dance Band and Me (Billy Thorburn's Band, with Vocal Refrain (uncredited) - To Mother With Love, Odeon 1939 (Polish pressing)
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Billy THORBURN (1900-1971) British pianist and dance band leader. He learnt piano and organ at an early age with a view to a career in serious music, but service in WW1 introduced him to jazz and changed all that, and he became hooked on popular music. Billy began working in concert parties and eventually became a dance band musician with Jack Hylton's Queens Hall Roof Orchestra from 1922 to 1924. Following this he became involved with many groups including the Savoy Orpheans directed by Debroy Somers in 1926, Sydney Kyte's Piccadilly Hotel Band in 1930, and had recorded with Jay Wilbur's Orchestra, as well as spending three years or so with Jack Payne from 1932 to 1936 - when he formed his own band, Billy Thorburn and His Music. He had made several records with Parlophone between 1936 and 1938.

From 1938 what had been Billy Thorburn and His Music became a new aggregation known asThe Organ, The Dance Band and Me(which made the assumption that everyone would know who 'me' was - Billy, of course). It was a studio dance band featuring Billy Thorburn on piano and various instrumentalists and vocalists (Chick Henderson, Alan Kane, Helen Raymond, Julie Dawn, Terry Devon, Kay Harding, Helen Clare, Don Adams, George Barclay, Harry Kaye and Bob Dale). A number of famous organists were used, starting with Reginald Foort, but mainly using H. Robinson Cleaver. The organ was EMI's three manual Compton unit. The blend of the organ solo with a dance band was a novel concept that produced many fascinating records in which the organ was skilfully accompanied by the rest of the band. They recorded several hundred sides from 1939 until the early 1950s, almost exclusively for the Parlophone.
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NOTE: The first recordings of British theatre organs were made in 1926, using the Christie organ at the Elite Theatre, Wimbledon, with Jack Courtnay at the console. These were soon followed by recordings of Reginald Foort at the Wurlitzer organ of the New Gallery Theatre in Regent Street, Quentin Maclean at the Compton organ at The Pavilion, Shepherd's Bush, Al Bollington in Paramount Theatre, Tottenham Court Rd., Jesse Crawford in Empire Theatre, Leicester Sq, Stuart Barrie, born in Canada - brilliant but eccentric organist, who came to England from the USA in the late 1930s and played at Granada Theatre, Tooting, or Robinson Cleaver at Regal Theatre, Compton.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• 1930s
• Billy
• Thorburn
• London
• swing
• Thirties
• British
• dance
• band
• Robbie
• Cleaver
• cinema
• theatre
• organ
• music
• 78rpm

[Dondoubleu3]

Is this the one that has "When You Dance with an Old Sweetheart" on it? If so, could you PLEASE post? It's written by my grandfather. Thank you so much!

[MissMarilyn1962]

Lovely...old memories...

Thanks 'for sharing'...

With Love,

Marilyn

[jazzboyfin]

The organ console picture shown at 1:47 is NOT of the Compton organ in the recording. It is the Wurlitzer organ console from the Granada Tooting and is nothing to do with this record.

The organ used for the recording was at the EMI studios and was indeed a Compton.

[dzheger]

Relaxing music with such moving lyrics, beautiful orchestration and engaging singing. Some exquisite posters.

[Victrolaman1]

I didn't mean it in a critical way.Just the start was a little noisy.

[Victrolaman1]

A bit noisy,but very pretty