Johnny Douglas (conductor)

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Johnny Douglas
Birth nameJohn Henry Douglas
Born19 June 1920
Hackney, London, England
Died20 April 2003(2003-04-20) (aged 82)
Bognor Regis, West Sussex, England
GenresEasy listening
Instrument(s)Piano
Years active1939–2003
LabelsDulcima Records
RCA Records
Capitol Records

Johnny Douglas (19 June 1920 – 20 April 2003) was an English composer, pianist,

arranger primarily working with film scores and orchestras.[1][2] He recorded more 500 tracks for Decca Records, over 80 albums for RCA Records, and provided music for 36 films during his career.[1][3][4] He was nominated for a BAFTA for his soundtrack for the 1970 film The Railway Children[5] and led RCA'S Living Strings for many years.[1][6][2] In addition to films, Douglas composed and conducted music for television series including Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends,[7][8] Dungeons & Dragons,[9] The Incredible Hulk,[10] G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero,[11][12] and The Transformers.[5]

Early years

John Henry Douglas was born in the Hackney district of London, England on 19 June 1920, the eldest of two sons.[13] In Douglas' early years, the family moved to Bermondsey, another district of London, where his mother May was a housewife and his father John was later an alderman for the West Bermondsey Council.[10] He showed an innate talent for music at a very young age; by two and a half, he could play a song he had heard on one of his father's records on the piano.[4] At four, he started taking piano lessons and by 10, he was studying instruments and transpositions.[1][13][6] By 12, he was arranging and writing music.[13][6]

Douglas attended

St. Olaves & St. Saviours on a government scholarship.[1][6] At 13, he formed a dance band with his school friends which gained enough local reputation to win several awards.[1] Following school, he worked as an accounts clerk and continued playing with his band.[13][6] He joined the Royal Air Force, where he formed his own dance band.[1][6] An arm injury prevented him from playing piano for about two years following the war, during which he concentrated on arranging and composing.[6][1]

Career

Douglas' first professional appearance as with the Neville Hughes Sextet in 1939 as a pianist in

Cyril Stapleton Band.[1][6] Douglas won a Jazz Jamboree Award from Melody Maker magazine in 1944 for "best arrangement/composition for [a] dance band."[6]

He joined a

gold disc for Feelings, a Living Strings record.[1][6][2]

Douglas' broadcasting career began in 1955 with

The Terry Wogan Show, and Charlie Chester's Sunday Soapbox.[14][1][5]

In 1983, Douglas started

1971 film of the same title for which he had written the score.[1] By the end of 1999, he had written and conducted his first two symphonic poems, The Conquest and The Aftermath, both recorded by an orchestra composed of his friends and colleagues.[1][14][13]

Death and legacy

Douglas died at his home in Bognor Regis on 20 April 2003 after several years of battling prostate cancer.[14] He was survived by his wife, Marion, and two daughters, Norma and Martine, and three grandchildren; his son Martin preceded him in death in 1988.[1][10][5] Douglas was married four times during his life.[10]

Following his death, Dulcima Records licensed past recordings Douglas worked on throughout his career, the ninth of which was music from The Railway Children.[13] In 2008, Dulcima acquired the rights from Sony Music and began releasing his Living Strings albums.[13]

Filmography

Douglas composed, arranged and conducted for the following selected films:

Films released postmortem include: A Cinderella Story (2004),[12] Laws of Attraction (2004),[12] Trick 'r Treat, (2009)[12] and Playing for Keeps (2012).[12]

Collaborators

During his career, Douglas worked with a range of musical artists, including

Jimmy Young[13]

External links

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au McDonald, Tim (23 April 2003). "Johnny Douglas". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Musical Kaleidoscope – Volume 1". Robert Farnon Society. 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Timeless talent. Sensational scores. Magical music". Dulcima Records. n.d. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "Composer and musical arranger who worked with the biggest names in light entertainment". The Times. 25 April 2003. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Railway Children composer dies". The Argus. 21 April 2003. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Spiderman And His Amazing Friends". Dulcima Records. 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Spider-Man/Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends Music". Cartoonopolis. n.d. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  8. ^ Doody, Declan (8 September 2018). "Dungeons And Dragons Theme – Johnny Douglas". The Arcade. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d "Johnny Douglas". The Independent. 24 April 2003. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  10. ^ "'G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero' Soundtrack Album Released". Film Music Reporter. 21 November 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y "Johnny Douglas". Turner Classic Movies. n.d. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac Camby, Norma (2009). "JOHNNY DOUGLAS BIOGRAPHY". Percy Faith. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g "Composer Johnny Douglas dies". BBC. 21 April 2003. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  14. ^ McArdle, Terence (12 April 2021). "Ethel Gabriel, trailblazing producer and executive at RCA Records, dies at 99". Washington Post. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g "Keeping Track - Dateline March 2005". Robert Farnon Society. 2005. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Johnny Douglas". BFI Filmography. n.d. Archived from the original on 21 February 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Johnny Douglas [GB1]". Secondhand Songs. n.d. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  18. ^ "Moira in Love". Dulcina Records. n.d. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  19. ^ "Carl Gresham's unbelivable singles collection". Carl Gresham. n.d. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  20. ^ a b "Noël Coward Collection" (PDF). University of Birmingham. 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  21. ^ "The Railway Children – (Music from the Motion Picture)". Vince Hill. n.d. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Ken Mackintosh (1925–2014)". National Jazz Archive. n.d. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  23. ^ "David Whitfield - Accompaniment directed by Johnny Douglas". Secondhand Songs. n.d. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  24. ^ "Gossip" (PDF). World Radio History. 1956. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
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