Stanley Robert Butcher (26 January 1920,

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 ...

– 1987) was a British pianist, composer, arranger and bandleader in the fields of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

easy-listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit ...

Life and work

Butcher served during the

Second World War 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 ...

in an infantry division and played in a

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind instrument, wind and percussion instruments. The conducting, conductor of a ...

. After the war, he led a band with trombonist

Don Lusher Gordon Douglas "Don" Lusher OBE (6 November 1923 – 5 July 2006) was an English jazz and big band trombonist best known for his association with the Ted Heath Big Band. In a career spanning more than 60 years, he played trombone with a numbe ...

in Pembroke Bay; he then worked in the orchestras of Joe Daniels (1947–48),

Freddy Randall Frederick James 'Freddy' Randall (6 May 1921 – 18 May 1999) was an English jazz trumpeter and bandleader born in Clapton, East London. Biography Born in Clapton, East London at the age of just 18 Randall led the St. Louis Four in 1939, ...

(1951), Bernie Stanton(1951), Geoff Sowden (1953), Jack Newman (1954) and in the 1970s with Stan Reynolds. In 1949-50 and again in 1952 he led his own groups and wrote arrangements for

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

bands. With songwriter Syd Cordell he composed the song "Sing, Little Birdie" for the 1959

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

A recording by duo

Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson Pearl Lavinia Carr (2 November 1921 – 16 February 2020) and Edward Victor "Teddy" Johnson (4 September 1919 – 6 June 2018) were English husband-and-wife entertainers who were best-known during the 1950s and early 1960s. They were the UK's Eu ...

reached number 2 in the charts. In 1962 he composed, again with Cordell, for

Ronnie Carroll Ronnie Carroll (born Ronald Cleghorn; 18 August 1934 – 13 April 2015) was a Northern Irish singer, entertainer and political candidate. Music career Carroll was born Ronald Cleghorn in 116 Roslyn Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1934, th ...

, the British Eurovision entry "Ring-A-Ding Girl", which came fourth. In the 1960s he led the

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

His Birds and Brass and recorded easy-listening albums for Columbia and

Fontana Fontana may refer to: Places Italy *Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone *Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone * Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino *Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindisi ...

. In 1979 he issued the fusion album ''Magician'', on the Hobo label, in which Barbara Thompson and

Ray Russell Ray Russell (September 4, 1924 – March 15, 1999) was an American editor and writer of short stories, novels, and screenplays. Russell is best known for his horror fiction, although he also wrote mystery and science fiction stories. His most ...

participated. His instrumental version of

The Seekers The Seekers were an Australian folk music, folk-influenced pop music, pop group originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the Unit ...

' "

Morningtown Ride "Morningtown Ride" is a lullaby, written and performed by American singer Malvina Reynolds. It was covered by the Australian pop group the Seekers and their recording reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The song tells the comforting story of ...

", from his 1966 album ''His Birds and Brass'', was used as the theme tune for the weekly Saturday morning

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

programme ''

Junior Choice ''Junior Choice'' is a BBC Radio programme originally broadcast from 1954 until 1982 with Christmas specials from 2007 to present, with the exception of 2016. Originally broadcast on the BBC Light Programme on Saturday mornings from 9.10 to 9.55 ...

'' presented by

Leslie Crowther Leslie Douglas Sargent Crowther (6 February 1933 – 28 September 1996) was an English comedian, actor, TV presenter, and game show host. Biography Leslie Crowther was born on Monday 6 February 1933 in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, son of L ...

and

Ed Stewart Edward Stewart Mainwaring (23 April 1941 – 9 January 2016), known as Ed "Stewpot" Stewart, was an English radio broadcaster and TV presenter. He was principally known for his work as a DJ on BBC Radio 1 (particularly the Saturday morning ' ...

Discography

*''At Home With ..'',

Bridie Gallagher Bridget "Bridie" Gallagher (7 September 1924 – 9 January 2012) was an Irish singer, affectionately known as "The Girl from Donegal". She has been described as "Ireland's first international pop star". Gallagher shot to fame in 1956 with her r ...

and Stan Butcher'' (

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

, 1962) *''Stan Butcher - His Birds & Brass'', ( Columbia, 1966) *'' Sayin 'Somethin' Stupid and Other Things'', Stan Butcher & His Birds and Brass (Columbia, 1967) *''Big Band Blowout'', Stan Butcher Orchestra (

, 1970), with

Bill Le Sage William A. Le Sage (20 January 1927 – 31 October 2001) was a British pianist, vibraphonist, arranger, composer and bandleader. Early life Le Sage was born in London on 20 January 1927. His father, William (1899-1951) was a drummer and his tw ...

*''Chaplin'', The Hot Strings of Stan Butcher (Fontana, 1970) *'' A Garland for Judy'', The Hot Strings, arranged and conducted by Stan Butcher (Fontana, 1970) *''Wrappin It Up'', Stan Butcher and His Orchestra (Columbia, 1971) *''Magician'' (1978)

Other sources

John Chilton John James Chilton (16 July 1932 – 25 February 2016) was a British jazz trumpeter and writer. During the 1960s, he also worked with pop bands, including The Swinging Blue Jeans and The Escorts. He won a Grammy Award for Best Album Notes in ...

: ''Who's Who of British jazz'', Continuum International Publishing Group, 2004,

References

External links

*
Stan Butcher
at AllMusic
Stan Butcher
at Discogs {{DEFAULTSORT:Butcher, Stan 1920 births 1987 deaths British jazz pianists British big band bandleaders Musicians from London 20th-century British pianists British male jazz composers 20th-century British male musicians 20th-century British jazz composers