Sam Browne (26 March 1898 – 2 March 1972) was an English dance band singer, who became one of the most popular

British dance band British dance band is a genre of popular jazz and dance music that developed in British dance halls and hotel ballrooms during the 1920s and 1930s, often called a Golden Age of British music, prior to the Second World War. Thousands of miles awa ...

vocalists of the 1930s. He is remembered for singing with

Jack Hylton Jack Hylton (born John Greenhalgh Hilton; 2 July 1892 – 29 January 1965) was an English pianist, composer, band leader and impresario. Hylton rose to prominence during the British dance band era, being referred as the "British King of Jazz ...

and with

Ambrose Ambrose of Milan (; 4 April 397), venerated as Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Ari ...

and his orchestra, at the Mayfair Hotel and Embassy Club, with whom he made many recordings from 1930 to 1942. Browne also worked with several other popular dance bands from the time, such as those led by

Lew Stone Louis Stone known professionally as Lew Stone (28 May 1898 – 13 February 1969) was a British bandleader and arranger of the British dance band era, and was well known in Britain during the 1930s. He was known as a skillful, innovative an ...

and

Billy Cotton William Edward Cotton (6 May 1899 – 25 March 1969) was an English band leader and entertainer, one of the few whose orchestras survived the British dance band era. Cotton is now mainly remembered as a 1950s and 1960s radio and television ...

. Browne was most famous for his duets and variety performances with the singer

Elsie Carlisle Elizabeth 'Elsie' Carlisle (28 January 1896 – 5 September 1977) was an English female singer both before and during the British dance band era of the 1920s and 1930s, nicknamed "Radio Sweetheart Number One"; according to AllMusic, she was "bey ...

Early life

Sam Browne was born in 1898 to East London Lithuanian Jewish parents and was one of eleven children. His introduction to singing came at the local Synagogue as a chorister. After leaving school, he had several jobs before reaching the age of 18 during the First World War, when he joined the Merchant Navy. Some of the voyages took him to New York and it was there that he discovered "jazz". After leaving the Merchant Navy, Browne bought a drum kit and with two friends who played piano and guitar, they formed the Tottenham Dance Band. After some success as their vocalist, Browne went solo and found work mainly around various London clubs, including a brief spell in 1921 with Jack Hylton`s Queen`s Roof Orchestra. In 1928, when Hylton was looking for a new singer he remembered Browne and offered him a job.

Career

His first recording was made with the Jack Hylton band on 23 August 1928, "

That's My Weakness Now "That's My Weakness Now" is a song written by Sam H. Stept and Bud Green (words and music) in 1928. This became their first hit song together, having been made popular by singer Helen Kane that same year. Another recording in 1928 was by Paul Whit ...

", issued on

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

B5520. The band at that time included Jack Jackson (trumpet), Lew Davis and Leo Vauchant (trombone), Chappie D'Amato, E.O. Pogson, Billy Ternent (reeds) and Hugo Rignold (vn). Over approximately a year and a half, Browne made over 100 records with Hylton, including sessions in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, and was to return to the studios with the Hylton band between 1938 and 1940. Browne first recorded with

Bert Ambrose Benjamin Baruch Ambrose (11 September 1896 – 11 June 1971), known professionally as Ambrose, was an English bandleader and violinist. Ambrose became the leader of a highly acclaimed British dance band, Ambrose & His Orchestra, in the 1930s. ...

's band on 8 February 1930, the titles, on the

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

, were "A Little Kiss Each Morning" and " Body And Soul". It was recorded again on 22 February with a violin solo by Eric Siday. By March 1930, Ambrose had switched to the

label, and more Browne recordings began to appear such as "Moanin' For You" (B5813) "Cryin' For the Carolines" (B5814), "A Bench in the Park" (B5842) and "Leven Thirty Saturday Night" (B5847). Browne's work with Ambrose took him to

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...

and

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; also spelled ; ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. It is a luxu ...

, coupled with regular radio broadcasts from the May Fair Hotel. Browne and

became a popular singing pair with Ambrose. Popular duets with Elsie include "What Wouldja Like for Breakfast?" and "I'm Gonna Wash My Hands of You". They appeared together in the Royal Variety Performance in 1935. Browne also appeared in the 1950 Royal Variety Performance as part of a presentation titled "The Band That Jack Built" and in the 1951 show as "Sam Browne and His Singers". A reader of music, Browne's confident and warm delivery made him popular with

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

s and record buyers. With the publication of a full discography it is now clear that Browne made over 2,000 recordings. Some of the other bands that featured him included Alfredo (on Edison), Bertini (on Eclipse),

Harry Bidgood Henry Bidgood (28 August 1898 – 15 November 1957), was an English composer, dance band leader and musical director for films. Born in West Ham,1911 Census London, England in 1898,. his father was music teacher and composer Thomas Bidgood. T ...

(on Broadcast), Harry Hudson (also on Edison) and

(Decca). Sam Browne was often featured in radio broadcasts and he had his own 15-minute programme called "Sing with Sam" in 1947 on the BBC Light programme. Browne was featured in several British films, including '' Calling All Stars'', ''

Variety Parade ''Variety Parade'' is a 1936 British musical revue film directed by Oswald Mitchell. It was shot at Cricklewood Studios Cricklewood Studios, also known as the Stoll Film Studios, were British film studios located in Cricklewood, London ...

'' and '' Hi Gang'', as well as on numerous film shorts. He also worked with

Bebe Daniels Phyllis Virginia "Bebe" () Daniels (January 14, 1901 – March 16, 1971) was an American actress, singer, dancer, writer, and producer. She began her career in Hollywood during the silent film era as a child actress, became a star in musicals s ...

and

Ben Lyon Ben Lyon (February 6, 1901 – March 22, 1979) was an American film actor and a studio executive at 20th Century-Fox who later acted in British radio, films and TV. Early life and career Lyon was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Alvine W ...

: before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...

's ''Rinso Radio Revue'', and during the war in the '' Hi Gang!'' radio series. After the war, he continued to tour and record. In 1948, with the American musicians on strike, Decca issued a number of its records on a "

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

" label and Browne's recording of " A Tree in the Meadow" reached No. 22 in the Billboard charts during a 5-week stay.

Personal life

Little is known about his personal life but it is understood that Browne’s first wife, Terry, died at an early age in 1931. He remarried a few years later but his second marriage broke up in 1954 as his career waned. He had two daughters, Myrna and Carole.

Miscellaneous

On November 3, 1941, Browne was travelling by train to fulfil an engagement at the Hippodrome, Bristol, when something crashed through the window and he fell to the floor. It was found that he had been shot in the jaw and neck. When the train reached Bath, Browne was taken to hospital and an operation was performed to remove a bullet. In 1952, Browne, trading as Sam Browne, set up an employment agency and training school for theatrical artists at 11a St. James's Place, London SW1 known as Sam Browne Studios.

References

*''Sam Browne Discography'', by Barry Wolsey (2nd ed. 2004)

External links

*
Vintage Dance Band and Jazz on 78rpm Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, Sam 1898 births 1972 deaths English male singers Big band singers 20th-century English singers 20th-century English male singers English male jazz musicians London Records artists Jewish English musicians