''Sing Something Simple'' was a half-hour
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
programme, which featured
Cliff Adams
The Cliff Adams Singers were a British male/female vocal group, known for ballads and novelty songs, and especially their regular performances on BBC Radio from the 1950s onwards. The ensemble was established in 1954 by Clifford William Adams ( ...
and The Cliff Adams Singers, with
Jack Emblow
Jack Alexander Emblow (born 27 June 1930) is a British jazz accordionist who is best known for his musical work accompanying the Cliff Adams Singers on BBC Radio.
Biography
Emblow was born on 27 June 1930 in Lincoln, England. His father sang a ...
on accordion. The programme ran for 42 years from 1959 until 2001, initially on the
BBC Light Programme and later on
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
, and earning itself the title of the longest-running continuous music programme in the world.
Cliff Adams
/ref>
Format
The lyrics to its main theme began as follows:
''Sing something simple''
''As cares go by''
''Sing something simple''
''Just you and I''
When ''Sing Something Simple'' was broadcast by Radio 2, this song would be followed by an announcer (in latter years, Alan Dedicoat) who would say:
"''We invite you to Sing Something Simple, a collection of favourite songs, old and new, sung by The Cliff Adams Singers, accompanied by Jack Emblow.''"
and alternately 'We invite you to Sing Something Simple, not only listening, but joining in we hope, with all these songs you know so well'.
The pianist, Semprini, introduced his own show with "Old ones, new ones, loved ones, neglected ones" but the effect was similar on "Sing Something Simple".
The tune would then continue:
''We'll sing the old songs''
''like you used to do,''
''We'll sing something simple for you,''
''something for you.''
Ten minutes in, Cliff Adams
The Cliff Adams Singers were a British male/female vocal group, known for ballads and novelty songs, and especially their regular performances on BBC Radio from the 1950s onwards. The ensemble was established in 1954 by Clifford William Adams ( ...
would perform a piano solo, which he would introduce, after which the singers would continue with a selection of popular songs of varying vintage.
In the 1960s it was broadcast at 7pm, following on from ' Pick of the Pops' introduced by Alan Freeman.
In later years - particularly in the 1980s - in the days when Radio 2's FM frequencies were sometimes leased to Radio 1, the programme would be broadcast directly before the Top 40.
End
The last broadcast was on 25 November 2001. The programme ended partly because Cliff Adams
The Cliff Adams Singers were a British male/female vocal group, known for ballads and novelty songs, and especially their regular performances on BBC Radio from the 1950s onwards. The ensemble was established in 1954 by Clifford William Adams ( ...
died that year and partly because of Radio 2's repositioning to appeal to the former Radio 1 audience.
References
External links
Theme tuneSing Something Simple at The Cockpit Theatre
British music radio programmes
1959 radio programme debuts
2001 radio programme endings
BBC Light Programme programmes
BBC Radio 2 programmes
{{UK-radio-show-stub