THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

443-Ray Noble and his Orchestra with Al Bowlly on vocals-The Very Thought of You.

1934-It has never charted in the UK, there was no UK chart until 1952.

Best Bit-At 2.45. Back in the old days I used to get a little embarrassed playing well worn vinyl on my turntable in public, with the sound of static crackling through the speakers, but I must admit in these days of sterile clear audio, I do miss it a bit (but only a bit.)

In the 1920’s, and 1930’s the ‘real’ Pop stars were the ‘Dance Band’ leaders, and one of the major stars of the era was Ray Noble, who was born Raymond Stanley Noble on December 17th, 1903, in Brighton, Sussex, England, he died on April 2nd, 1978, from cancer, at the age of 74. Noble was a bandleader, composer, arranger, radio host, comedian, and an actor, he wrote both the lyrics and the music for many popular songs during the ‘British dance band era,’ which is known as the ‘Golden Age of British music.’ Five of his recordings reached Number 1 on the American music charts between 1933-1935, just prior to the advent of Billboard. Among the best remembered songs he wrote, or co-wrote are, ‘Goodnight Sweetheart,’ (1931) ‘Love Is the Sweetest Thing,’ (1932) and ‘I Hadn’t Anyone Till You’ (1938.) After moving to America in 1934, Ray Noble also carved out a career as a radio comedian opposite the American ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, (1903-1978) and the American comedy duo of George Burns, (1896-1996) and his wife Gracie Allen, (1895-1964) later transferring these roles from radio to TV and popular films.

Al Bowlly was born Albert Allick Bowlly, on January 7th, 1899, in Lourenco Marquues, Portuguese Mozambique, but was brought up in his youth by his parents in Johannesburg, South Africa. He made his first vocal recording in 1927, a cover version of ‘Blue Skies,’ by Irving Berlin, (1888-1989) (see also best songs 731-457-385 and 100) which he recorded in Germany. It was in 1930 that he signed a recording contract with Ray Noble, and over the course of the next four years he recorded over 500 songs. In 1933 Al Bowlly also began working with the band leader Lew Stone (1898-1969) (see also best songs 288) splitting his time between Nobel and Stone. Bowlly was one of the the most sought after vocalists of the period recording approximately 1000 songs, he is considered to be a pioneer of the art of ‘crooning’ (see also best songs 457.) Al Bowlly recorded his last song two weeks before his death, a satirical song written by Irving Berlin about Adolf Hitler called ‘When That Man Is Dead and Gone.’ On April 17th, 1941, Al Bowlly was killed by a Luftwaffe parachute mine that detonated outside his flat at 32 Duke Street, Duke’s Court, St James, London, at 3.10.am, his body was unmarked, but the mine had blown his bedroom doors off it’s hinges, and the impact against his head was fatal. Al Bowlly recorded hundreds of 78 rpm singles between 1926-1941, but on his first two recordings in 1926, ‘House Where the Shutters Are Green,’ and ‘Soho Blues,’ he played the banjo, but provided no vocals.

‘The Very Thought of You’ which can be filed under ‘Traditional Pop,’ also known as ‘Classic Pop,’ and ‘Pre-Rock and Roll Pop,’ is Western Pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of ‘Rock and Roll’ in the mid 1950’s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as ‘Pop Standards,’ or ‘American Standards.’ The works of these songwriters and composers are usually considered part of the canon known as the ‘Great American Songbook’ (see also best songs 281.) ‘Traditional Pop’ includes the song output of the ‘Broadway,’ ‘Tin Pan Alley,’ and Hollywood show tune writers from approximately World War I (1914) to the 1950’s, by artists including Harold Arlen, (1905-1986) (see also best songs 934-634-281 and 68) George Geshwin, (1898-1937) (see also best songs 286 and 231) Oscar Hammerstein, (1895-1960) (see also best songs 842 82 and 60) and many more who also feature in the ‘1000 Best Songs’ list. With the growing popularity of ‘Rock and Roll’ in the 1950’s, ‘Traditional Pop’ had to take a backseat as the teenagers of the day pushed aside the music of their parents in favour of the new sound. All throughout the history of ‘Popular Music’ each new generation has felt the need to discover their own new ‘music,’ which generally the previous generation will call inferior to theirs.

‘The Very Thought of You’ was written by Ray Noble, and first recorded in 1934, with Al Bowlly providing the vocals, it went on to become an American Number 1 single the same year. The song has become a ‘Pop Standard,’ and has been covered by hundreds of artists through the years. In 2005 the song received the ‘Grammy Hall of Fame’ award, which honours musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance.

‘I see your face in every flower, your eyes in stars above. It’s just the thought of you, the very thought of you, my love.’