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Remembering George
26 September 2009
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I picked up two CD sets of George Formby Jr.'s music this past month. Easily the most comprehensive collection of Formby music ever compiled, the two sets comprise five CDs each, with almost 250 songs on both. Arranged chronologically, the music takes us from Formby's earliest recording (mid-late 1920s) to the effective end of his career, in 1951. For both ukulele players and Formby fans, it's the ultimate set.
The sets, published by JSP Records, in the UK, are divided into two eras: pre-war (1926-39) and war/post-war (1939-51).
While there have been many other Formby collections released in the past, this one is by far the largest - it comes from the largest and most complete Formby archive, collected by fan Kevin Daly. Daly was not merely an avid fan; he became a recording engineer and producer at Decca, in 1960, so he was acutely aware of the need to preserve old 78s for optimum reproduction on more modern technologies.
The quality of the reproductions in this set is excellent. The only previous collection of this calibre was Decca's 2-LP reissues, The World of George Formby, which also used the Daly collection as the source. That Decca set is long out-of-print and contained some different versions of songs not in this series. But this new JSP set has considerably more material, including rarities, several outtakes and alternate versions in the second series.
I knew Formby was an active performer, but had not realized just how prolific he was before this. Formby was, of course, also a movie star, and this set gives us a few entertaining pieces that include some of the movie dialogue as well as the music. I remember a couple of them from seeing his movies - I even had a VHS version of his TT Races film a few years ago when I was collecting motorcycle memorabilia.
I knew George's music as a child. My father used to sing his songs, and we listened to a lot of British music, British performers and British radio shows when I was growing up. I learned songs like Leaning on a Lampost and Henry the Eighth singing along with my father as we drove to the cottage - singing was a way to keep a couple of children amused and occupied, and we eagerly sang along. It has a certain nostalgia for me today.
Formby's career basically ended after he suffered his first heart attack, in 1952. He had a second heart attack died in hospital on 6 March 1961. In the interim, he was not very active in the rapidly changing and increasingly youth-oriented culture of the post-war years.
Although some of Formby's music was covered for a new audience by Herman and the Hermits in the 1960s, he hasn't had a lot of airplay since either as covers or originals. It wasn't until I started playing the uke that I personally started to listen to him again, and to gain a fresh appreciation of his skills as a musician, not merely as a comic songster.
His "split-stroke" style is still being used by today's uke players and is both difficult and complex, not to mention faster than I'm comfortable playing. As Wikipedia notes:
In the growing number of young ukulele players, Formby has a mixed reputation. Many don't seem to know him at all, and others know only a handful of his hits. He's from an era as distant to the younger players as Bach or Mozart, so they find little or no connection with his music or his times.
That's understandable, but also lamentable. Thanks in great part to the Internet and community forums, Formby hasn't been forgotten as many of his contemporaries have been (when is the last time you listened to or even heard anyone speak of the once-great Rudy Vallee?) For some, like Formby, there are still fan clubs and appreciation societies- able to thrive thanks to the Net. But others are simply forgotten. That's not simply one generation ignoring the art, style and culture of previous generations; it's a larger cultural and historical loss.[/indent]
The sets, published by JSP Records, in the UK, are divided into two eras: pre-war (1926-39) and war/post-war (1939-51).
While there have been many other Formby collections released in the past, this one is by far the largest - it comes from the largest and most complete Formby archive, collected by fan Kevin Daly. Daly was not merely an avid fan; he became a recording engineer and producer at Decca, in 1960, so he was acutely aware of the need to preserve old 78s for optimum reproduction on more modern technologies.
The quality of the reproductions in this set is excellent. The only previous collection of this calibre was Decca's 2-LP reissues, The World of George Formby, which also used the Daly collection as the source. That Decca set is long out-of-print and contained some different versions of songs not in this series. But this new JSP set has considerably more material, including rarities, several outtakes and alternate versions in the second series.
I knew Formby was an active performer, but had not realized just how prolific he was before this. Formby was, of course, also a movie star, and this set gives us a few entertaining pieces that include some of the movie dialogue as well as the music. I remember a couple of them from seeing his movies - I even had a VHS version of his TT Races film a few years ago when I was collecting motorcycle memorabilia.
Formby's career basically ended after he suffered his first heart attack, in 1952. He had a second heart attack died in hospital on 6 March 1961. In the interim, he was not very active in the rapidly changing and increasingly youth-oriented culture of the post-war years.
Although some of Formby's music was covered for a new audience by Herman and the Hermits in the 1960s, he hasn't had a lot of airplay since either as covers or originals. It wasn't until I started playing the uke that I personally started to listen to him again, and to gain a fresh appreciation of his skills as a musician, not merely as a comic songster.
His "split-stroke" style is still being used by today's uke players and is both difficult and complex, not to mention faster than I'm comfortable playing. As Wikipedia notes:
Quote
Formby's trademark was playing the ukulele-banjo in a highly syncopated style, collectively referred to as the 'Formby style'.
Among the several syncopation techniques that he used, the most commonly emulated stroke of Formby's is a clever rhythmic technique, called the "Split stroke", a technique which produces a musical rhythm, that is easily recognised as Formby. He sang in his own Lancashire accent. Other strokes that are included in Formby's repertoire include the triple, the circle, the fan, and the shake. In his act, George often had many ukuleles on stage tuned in different keys, as in some solos it requires an open string to be sounded - which is not possible when using Barre chords.
On George's last TV appearance 'The Friday Show', he modestly told the audience that he could only play in one key. Research has shown that this statement is false, as George himself plays transposed solos on songs such as 'On the HMS Cowheel', a melodic solo on 'I Told my Baby with the Ukulele', and many more.
Among the several syncopation techniques that he used, the most commonly emulated stroke of Formby's is a clever rhythmic technique, called the "Split stroke", a technique which produces a musical rhythm, that is easily recognised as Formby. He sang in his own Lancashire accent. Other strokes that are included in Formby's repertoire include the triple, the circle, the fan, and the shake. In his act, George often had many ukuleles on stage tuned in different keys, as in some solos it requires an open string to be sounded - which is not possible when using Barre chords.
On George's last TV appearance 'The Friday Show', he modestly told the audience that he could only play in one key. Research has shown that this statement is false, as George himself plays transposed solos on songs such as 'On the HMS Cowheel', a melodic solo on 'I Told my Baby with the Ukulele', and many more.
In the growing number of young ukulele players, Formby has a mixed reputation. Many don't seem to know him at all, and others know only a handful of his hits. He's from an era as distant to the younger players as Bach or Mozart, so they find little or no connection with his music or his times.
That's understandable, but also lamentable. Thanks in great part to the Internet and community forums, Formby hasn't been forgotten as many of his contemporaries have been (when is the last time you listened to or even heard anyone speak of the once-great Rudy Vallee?) For some, like Formby, there are still fan clubs and appreciation societies- able to thrive thanks to the Net. But others are simply forgotten. That's not simply one generation ignoring the art, style and culture of previous generations; it's a larger cultural and historical loss.[/indent]
