Tommy Reilly (harmonica player)
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Tommy Reilly | |
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Birth name | Thomas Rundle Reilly |
Born | Guelph, Ontario, Canada | August 21, 1919
Died | September 25, 2000 Frensham, Surrey, England | (aged 81)
Genres | Jazz, classical, popular |
Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, teacher |
Instrument(s) | Harmonica |
Years active | 1940s–1990s |
Thomas Rundle Reilly
Early life
Born in Guelph, Ontario, he studied violin at eight and began playing harmonica at aged eleven as a member of his father's band.[citation needed]
In 1935 the family moved to
Career
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2017) |
Returning to London in 1945, Reilly began championing the cause of the harmonica as a serious solo concert instrument. He began parallel careers as a concert soloist and recitalist, a popular
More than 30 concert works were composed for Reilly, including Michael Spivakovsky's Harmonica Concerto of 1951 and fellow Canadian
Reilly worked with many composers to get more original music written for the instrument, and his recordings also include original harmonica works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Malcolm Arnold, Arthur Benjamin, and Villa-Lobos.[3]
He was signed to Parlophone in 1951 where his recordings were produced by George Martin. He performed music for the soundtracks of many US and European films and television series, including British comedy The Navy Lark (1959) and the TV theme tune for Dixon of Dock Green.[4] In 1967, Reilly initiated the development of the first Hohner silver harmonica. He and James Moody have recorded many musical scores for the harmonica under the pen names "Dwight Barker" and "Max Martin".[5] His song Double March was also the theme song for Bobino on Ici Radio-Canada Télé.
Honours
In 1992 he was awarded the MBE for his services to music.[6]
Death
Tommy Reilly died aged 81 in Frensham, Surrey. His granddaughter Georgina Reilly is an English-born Canadian film and television actor.[7] Larry Adler admitted in The Guardian obituary of Tommy that "He never even had a close second".
Bibliography
- Reilly, Tommy (1952). Play Like the Stars. London: ASIN B0011DD1U6.
- Reilly, Tommy (1959). Studies for the Chromatic Harmonica. London: John E. Dallas & Sons. ASIN B0000D23RF.
- Reilly, Tommy; ASIN B0036MNBJ6.
References
- ^ "Tommy Reilly biography". Historica Canada. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ^ White, Robert (27 September 2000). "Tommy Reilly obituary". The Guardian.
- ^ "Tommy Reilly obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 29 September 2000.
- ^ Age, Feeling My (3 March 2012). "Dixon Of Dock Green Theme Tune". Vimeo.com. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ "Tommy Reilly Production Music Recordings". Tommyreilly.co.uk.
- ^ "Raised harmonica playing to 'highbrow' levels". Irishtimes.com.
- ^ "Georgina Reilly - Cast - Murdoch Mysteries". Cbc.ca.
External links
- Tommy Reilly at AllMusic
- Tommy Reilly discography at Discogs
- Tommy Reilly at IMDb
- A Life in Music: Vintage Tommy Reilly. Notes to Chandos 20143 (August, 2019) by Sigmund Groven and David Reilly