Al Bowlly
The most popular vocalist in Britain during the 1930s, Al Bowlly showcased a range of material unsurpassed by any contemporary other than Bing Crosby. He was also a true international recording artist: born in Mozambique to Greek and Lebanese parents, he was raised in Johannesburg, but gained his musical experience singing for a dance band led by Jimmy Liquime in India and Singapore during the mid-'20s. Just one year after his 1927 debut recording date in Berlin, Bowlly arrived in London for the first time, as part of Fred Elizalde's orchestra. That year, "If I Had You" became one of the first popular songs by an English jazz band to become renowned in America as well, and Bowlly had gone out on his own by the dawn of the '30s. During the next three years, he recorded over 500 songs and appeared with orchestras led by Ray Noble and Lew Stone. A visit to New York in 1934 with Noble resulted in more success; he appeared at the head of an orchestra handpicked for him and Noble by Glenn Miller (the band included Claude Thornhill, Charlie Spivak, and Bud Freeman, among others).
During the mid-'30s, such songs as "Blue Moon," "Easy to Love," "I've Got You Under My Skin," and "My Melancholy Baby" were sizable American successes -- so much so that Bowlly gained his own radio series on NBC and traveled to Hollywood to film The Big Broadcast of 1936, which also starred one of his biggest competitors, Bing Crosby. He was back in England that same year, appearing with his own band, the Radio City Rhythm Makers, as well as the orchestras of Sydney Lipton, Geraldo and Ken Johnson. Partnered with Jimmy Messini, Bowlly also branched out onto the London stage during the early '40s with an act called Radio Stars with Two Guitars. It was his last venture before his death in 1941, the victim of a German bomb exploded outside his apartment. Fifty years after his death, a British musical named Melancholy Baby toured the country with much success.
© John Bush /TiVo
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1930s Classics
Pop - Released by Master Classics Records on 1 Aug 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Thought Of You
Pop - Released by Parlophone UK on 28 Nov 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Greatest Hits (2022 Remaster)
Lounge - Released by In Vinyl We Trust on 3 Jun 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The HMV Sessions 1930 - 1934 Volume One
Ray Noble Orchestra, Al Bowlly
Jazz - Released by MVE on 16 Aug 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Fabulous British Dance Bands: Ray Noble, Vol.1 (Recordings 1931-1935) Featuring Al Bowlly
Classical - Released by Jube on 4 Jun 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Big Bands Of The 30s, Vol. 2
Al Bowlly, The Ray Noble Orchestra
Traditional Jazz & New Orleans - Released by Planet Blue Records on 1 Jul 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Al Bowlly Collection 1927-40, Vol. 1
Pop - Released by ACROBAT on 16 Dec 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Al Bowlly - ХX Век Ретропанорама
Jazz - Released by RDS Records on 1 Dec 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Greatest Hits
Vocal Jazz - Released by Master Classics Records on 1 Mar 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Centenary Celebrations
Pop - Released by Parlophone UK on 28 Nov 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Al Bowlly: Love Is the Sweetest Thing
Jazz - Released by Retrospective on 1 Jan 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Al Bowlly Story
Pop - Released by Avid Entertainment on 7 Jun 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Best of Al Bowlly
Vocal Jazz - Released by Past Classics on 26 Jul 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Melancholy Mr Bowly
Vocal Jazz - Released by Excess Music on 4 Jun 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
My Funny Valentine
Lounge - Released by Retrospective on 1 Jan 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Love Is the Sweetest Thing: Magic Of
Miscellaneous - Released by Warner Music Group - X5 Music Group on 21 Feb 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Al Bowlly Sings Again
Jazz - Released by Al Bowlly on 12 Dec 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ray Noble & Al Bowlly, Vol. 2
Jazz - Released by CoolNote on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Simpler Time: 1940s Collection
Pop - Released by Music Today Records on 23 Jun 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo