Don Black (lyricist)
Don Black CBE | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Donald Blackstone |
Born | South Hackney, London, England | 21 June 1938
Genres | Popular music |
Occupation(s) | Songwriter, lyricist |
Years active | 1960s–present |
Website | Official Don Black website |
Donald Blackstone
AllMusic stated that "Black is perhaps best-known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, and for the James Bond theme songs he co-wrote with composer John Barry: Thunderball, Diamonds Are Forever and The Man with the Golden Gun."[2]
Early life
... And "Born Free".
He was born Donald Blackstone in London,
Career
This section of a poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. )Find sources: "Don Black" lyricist – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2023) |
Early career
He began his music industry career as an office boy with a music publishing firm, and later worked as a
He was personal manager to the singer Matt Monro for many years and also provided songs for him (usually writing English language lyrics to continental songs).[11] These included "Walk Away" and "If I Never Sing Another Song" (music: Udo Jürgens) and "For Mamma" (music: Charles Aznavour).[5]
Film work
Black's first film work was the lyrics for the theme of the James Bond entry Thunderball (1965).[11] His association with the Bond series continued over several decades, with Diamonds Are Forever and The Man with the Golden Gun, in collaboration with John Barry, and Surrender for Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough, in collaboration with David Arnold.[11]
Black's film work culminated when he collaborated with Barry on the
Black later collaborated with Barry on The Tamarind Seed, Out of Africa, Dances with Wolves, and an ill-fated Broadway musical, The Little Prince and the Aviator. In 1967, Lulu took the Black-Mark London title song of the film To Sir, with Love to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2] Black received his second Oscar nomination for Best Song with the title theme, written with Elmer Bernstein, of the 1969 John Wayne western, True Grit. That same year, he partnered with Quincy Jones for the theme song of the Michael Caine film, The Italian Job, "On Days Like These". He received a third Oscar nomination for the title song of the 1972 film Ben, a US No. 1 hit for Michael Jackson, which Black had written with Walter Scharf.[5] Further Oscar nominations came for "Wherever Love Takes Me" (music: Elmer Bernstein), from 1974 film Gold, and "Come to Me" (music: Henry Mancini) from 1976's The Pink Panther Strikes Again.
In addition, Black teamed with Charles Strouse on the songs "Growing Up Isn't Easy" and "Anything Can Happen on Halloween" for the 1986
In July 2023, it was announced that Black would collaborate with film composer David Arnold and singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor for the track to Channel 4 and Universal Pictures film, "Mog's Christmas", based upon the children's book series by Judith Kerr. The track, titled "As Long As I Belong", is about "the importance of belonging".[12]
Musical theatre
Black's stage credits include the musicals
Tell Me on a Sunday was incorporated into Song and Dance.[5] This was later adapted for a Broadway production starring Bernadette Peters, for which she won a Tony award as Best Actress in a Musical. Sarah Brightman performed for a video recording of the show at the end of its West End run and also released "Unexpected Song", from that musical, as a single.
With Geoff Stephens he produced a concept album of a "revuesical" entitled Off The Wall.[13]
In 2002, he worked with the
In 2011, Black wrote the lyrics alongside composer Frank Wildhorn for the 2011 Broadway production of
In 2013, he again worked with
In 2020, he was reported to be working on a musical version of The Third Man, and reworking the show Feather Boy.[18]
Radio broadcasting
Black presented a Sunday night show on BBC Radio 2 from 2013 to 2020, which featured classic songs and songwriters of the 20th century, paid a weekly tribute to Matt Monro, whom he managed, and included many of his showbiz encounter stories. He took over this slot from David Jacobs.[19]
Honours and recognition
In 1993, Play It Again released Born Free – The Don Black Songbook, which remains the only album to date which consists solely of songs co-written by the lyricist.[20]
In 2007, Black was inducted into the
On 17 August 2008, the tribute concert Lyrics by Don Black was held at the London Palladium, featuring performances of Black's songs by a selection of guest artists.[5] The evening, hosted by Michael Parkinson and recorded for broadcast by BBC Radio 2, included an exclusive performance of two songs from Black's new musical, The Count of Monte Cristo. The concert included contributions from Lee Mead, Gary Barlow, Elkie Brooks, Craig David, Maria Friedman, Joe Longthorne, Lulu, Peter Grant, Raza Jaffrey, Matt Rawle, Ryan Molloy, Marti Webb, Jonathan Ansell, Hayley Westenra, Phil Campbell and Mica Paris.[22] The singers were accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Mike Dixon and with guest conductors Michel Legrand and David Arnold.
In October 2013, a special concert to celebrate Black's work was held at London's
Black was appointed
Personal life
Black lives in London, England.[19] His wife of nearly 60 years, Shirley, died in March 2018.[27][28] In May 2020, he was treated in hospital for COVID-19.[18]
Black's elder brother, Michael Black, a showbusiness booking agent, was married to singer Julie Rogers until his death in November 2018.[29]
See also
Musical theatre credits
Title | Year | Composer | Book | Co-lyricist |
---|---|---|---|---|
Maybe That's Your Problem[30] | 1971 | Walter Scharf | Lionel Chetwynd | |
Billy | 1974 | John Barry | Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais | |
Bar Mitzvah Boy | 1978 | Jule Styne | Jack Rosenthal | |
Tell Me on a Sunday | 1979 (Revised 1985 and 2003) | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Richard Maltby Jr. (1985 version) | |
Abbacadabra | 1983 | Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus | ||
Dear Anyone | 1983 | Geoff Stephens | Jack Rosenthal | |
Merlin | 1983 | Elmer Bernstein | ||
The Little Prince and the Aviator | 1983 | John Barry | Hugh Wheeler | |
Budgie | 1988 | Mort Shuman | Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall | |
Aspects of Love | 1989 | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Charles Hart | |
Starlight Express | 1993 | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Richard Stilgoe (principal lyricist; Black wrote one song) | |
Radio Times | 1992 | Noel Gay and Abi Grant | Chris Walker | |
Sunset Boulevard | 1993 | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Christopher Hampton; with contributions by Amy Powers | |
The Goodbye Girl | 1997 | Marvin Hamlisch | Neil Simon | David Zippel (Black added lyrics for the original British production) |
Dracula, the Musical | 2001 | Frank Wildhorn | Christopher Hampton | |
Bombay Dreams | 2002 | AR Rahman | Meera Syal and Thomas Meehan | |
Dance of the Vampires | 2002 | Jim Steinman | Jim Steinman, Michael Kunze and David Ives | Jim Steinman and Michael Kunze (Black contributed additional lyrics) |
Whistle Down the Wind | 2002 | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Patricia Knop | Jim Steinman (Black contributed additional lyrics) |
Romeo and Juliet - The Musical | 2002 | |||
Feather Boy | 2006 | Debbie Wiseman | ||
Bonnie & Clyde | 2011 | Frank Wildhorn | Ivan Menchell | |
Stephen Ward | 2013 | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Don Black and Christopher Hampton | Christopher Hampton |
Mrs Henderson Presents | 2015 | George Fenton and Simon Chamberlin | Terry Johnson |
Bibliography
- Wrestling with Elephants (The Authorized ISBN 1860744680[30]
References
- ^ "On making classical music appeal to younger audiences". BBC. 29 September 2008. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
- ^ a b c Layne, Joslyn (21 June 1938). "Don Black - Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
- ^ "FreeBMD Entry Info". .freebmd.org.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
- ^ "Don Black Discography". discogs. 21 June 1938. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Press Office - Network Radio Programme Information Week 34 Lyrics By Don Black Feature". BBC. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
- ^ ISBN 1860745776.
- ^ "Time & Place: From Russia with love to Hackney". The Times. 22 June 2003. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
- ^ London Magazine Celebrity Homes - Don Black Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
- ^ John Nathan, "Don Black: Star lyricist puts a productive life into words", The Jewish Chronicle, 2 September 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
- ^ "Don Black lyricist". Retrosellers.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
- ^ a b c Robertson, Peter (4 March 2016). "Don Black: I can't read music but I've written five James Bond songs". Daily Express. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ "Sophie Ellis-Bextor teams up with 007 theme writing team for Christmas ballad about 'importance of belonging'". Floyd County Chronicle. 24 July 2023. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- ^ The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Volume 1 - p. 426 1561591769 Colin Larkin - 1995: "renewed his partnership with Geoff Stephens for a concept album of a 'revuesical' entitled Off The Wall, the story of 'six characters determined ..."
- The Belfast Telegraph. 28 June 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
- ^ Shenton, Mark (17 October 2014). "Stage Version of Mrs. Henderson Presents Will Premiere in Summer 2015". Playbill. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
- ^ "Mrs Henderson Presents at Theatre Royal, Bath". The Times. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
- ^ "The Tiger Who Came to Tea: Interview with lyricist Don Black | Channel 4". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Don Black: Why he has you singing with the stars". BBC News. 19 July 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Don Black: Star lyricist puts a productive life into words". www.thejc.com. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ "Born Free: The Don Black Songbook - Don Black : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. 28 December 1995. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
- ^ "2007 Award and Induction Ceremony". Songwriters Hall of Fame. 7 June 2007. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
- ^ Shenton, Mark (17 August 2008). "Lyrics By Don Black, with Friedman, Mead, Webb and More, Plays London Palladium Aug. 17". Playbill. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ BWW News Desk. "Michael Ball To Guest In DON BLACK: A LIFE IN SONG, Royal Festival Hall, Oct 3". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ "Diamonds are Forever: The Don Black Songbook - BBC Four". BBC. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ "No. 55513". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 1999. p. 10.
- ^ "No. 64269". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2023. p. N9.
- ^ "Lyricist Don Black opens up following death of wife of 60 years". Express & Star. 4 August 2020.
- ^ "Interview: Don Black". www.prsformusic.com. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ "Obituary: Michael Black – effervescent booker with an unmatched portfolio of British and American stars". The Stage. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
- ^ ISBN 9781860744686. Retrieved 31 January 2013.