Matt Munro

Matt Monro (1 December 1930, Shoreditch, London – 7 February 1985, Ealing) was an English ballad singer of the 1960s and one of the international post-World War II entertainers. Throughout his 30-year career, he filled cabarets, nightclubs, music halls and stadiums, from Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and Hong Kong to Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. He sold more than 100 million records during his lifetime.

Early career

He was born Terence Edward Parsons in Shoreditch, London [1]. Affectionately nicknamed "the singing bus driver" (because one of his many occupations prior to achieving fame was driving the Number 27 bus from Highgate to Teddington), he got his first break in 1956 when he became a featured vocalist with the BBC Show Band. An important influence on his early career was the pianist Winifred Atwell, who became his mentor, provided him with his stage name, and helped him sign with Decca Records.

In 1957 Monro released Blue and Sentimental, a collection of standards. Despite the album's critical acclaim, Monro languished among the young male singers trying to break through at the end of the 1950s, many of them emulating Frankie Vaughan by recording cover versions of American hits. For example, Monro recorded his version of "Garden of Eden". A short recording contract with Fontana Records followed.

By the end of the 1950s, Monro's mid-decade fame had evaporated, and he returned to relative obscurity. He and his wife Mickie lived from her wages as a song plugger and his royalties from a TV advertising jingle for Camay soap. In 1959 he recorded a country pastiche song, "Bound for Texas", for The Chaplin Revue, a feature-length film released by Charlie Chaplin, compiling three of his old First National shorts. It would be the first of many Monro soundtrack themes.

International success

In 1960, George Martin was looking for a singer to record a Frank Sinatra styled ditty that would open the album, Songs For Swinging Sellers, to be used strictly as a guide for Peter Sellers to imitate. Martin offered it to Monro, and when Sellers heard the recording he decided to use it, but billed Monro as "Fred Flange". Though it was a demoralizing experience at the time, the incident developed into a lifelong friendship with Martin, who subsequently asked Monro to begin recording with him for EMI's Parlophone record label. Their second single, "Portrait of My Love", reached number two in the UK Singles Chart.

The following year, he was named Top International Act by Billboard magazine. His follow-up hits included "My Kind of Girl" (1961), "Softly as I Leave You" (1962) and the secondary title song from the James Bond film, From Russia with Love (1963). In 1964, he represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest, singing "I Love the Little Things". He finished second behind Italy's 16-year-old Gigliola Cinquetti), despite what author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor describes in his book The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History as an "excellent performance of the only English language song of the night".[2]. The Austrian entry "Warum Nur Warum" caught Monro's ear, despite finishing in sixth place, as he recorded the English version "Walk Away", earning him another hit single. He also had a hit with the The Beatles' "Yesterday" in 1965, releasing the first UK version of the most recorded song of all time. The following year Monro sang the Oscar winning title song for the film, Born Free, which became his signature tune. Plus the opening scene for the film, The Italian Job, featured Monro singing "On Days Like These".

Monro achieved fame in the U.S. when "My Kind of Girl" (1961) and "Walk Away" (1964) hit the Top 40. In 1966, following the death of Nat King Cole, EMI moved Monro from Parlophone to Capitol. After relocating to California and recording several albums with American arrangers, Monro returned to the UK and began appearing on EMI's Columbia label, his final U.S. album release being Close To You in 1970.

He continued touring and recording until just before his death, releasing a single and promoting it throughout the UK and Australia in 1984. In one of his final appearances he praised Boy George, noting the importance of quality recordings in all musical genres.

Death and legacy

Monro died from liver cancer in 1985 at the Cromwell Hospital, London, The twentieth anniversary of Monro's passing spotlighted the continuing interest in his music, with a Top 10 tribute compilation CD (UK), a No. 1 concert DVD (UK), a BBC TV documentary, and an official website all appearing in 2005. A 2007 compilation CD entitled From Matt With Love reached the Top 40 of the UK Albums Chart during its first week of release.

In Autumn 2005 Matt Monro Jr. toured the United Kingdom with a tribute concert commemorating the anniversary. Also, EMI re-released Matt Sings Monro, a 1995 duet album that combined his voice with the senior Monro's. Another posthumous Matt Monro duet, with Cliff Richard, appeared on Richard's duets CD, Two's Company, in 2007.

In recent years, many singers riding the resurging wave of retro-pop have cited Matt Monro as a strong influence, including Michael Buble, Monica Mancini and Rick Astley. Musicians' biographies regularly note his stylistic influence on their subjects, including Cass Elliot and Karen Carpenter.

His music

Most of Monro's recordings were produced or overseen by George Martin. Unlike his contemporaries, Monro sang very few of the Tin Pan Alley standards. Instead, he and Martin searched for material written by promising newcomers and commissioned English lyrics for melodies by European composers. He also covered many of the most popular stage and screen songs of the 1950s and 1960s. Over the years, his recordings featured arrangements by Johnnie Spence, Sid Feller, Billy May, John Barry, Buddy Bregman, Kenny Clayton, Colin Keyes, and Martin himself. Monro also teamed up with Nelson Riddle and Billy May for BBC concerts.

Website: www.mattmonro.com

Source/ Wikipedia