Goodnight Sweetheart - Al Bowlly: A Voice That Could Make Itself Cry

In this episode of The A to Z of Wartime Song, Lili Redman and Tom Carradine turn to one of the most beloved songs of the era - "Goodnight Sweetheart," written in 1931 by Ray Noble, Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly, and made immortal by the voice of Al Bowlly. They trace the remarkable career of Ray Noble - Brighton-born bandleader, composer and arranger who assembled one of the most star-studded orchestras in American history, with Glenn Miller on trombone and a residency at the Rainbow Room atop the Rockefeller Center - before turning to the extraordinary and often overlooked partnership of Campbell and Connelly, the odd couple behind some of the era's biggest hits, from "Show Me the Way to Go Home" to "Try a Little Tenderness." But at the heart of this episode is Al Bowlly himself - born in Mozambique, fired from a band in the Dutch East Indies, and eventually becoming Britain's most popular singer of the 1930s, recording over a thousand songs and beating Bing Crosby in a nationwide American popularity poll. His story ends on the night of 16th April 1941 - one of the worst nights of the Blitz - when a Luftwaffe parachute mine detonated outside his St James's flat, leaving his body unmarked but his brilliant career silenced forever. Tender, nostalgic and quietly heartbreaking, this is an episode about a voice that could make itself cry - and a song that still does the same to us. SPOTIFY PLAYLIST You can listen to ALL of the songs that Tom and Lili talk about in the episode on their Spotify playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1FQDrBphYqYLAuN6Jm01PN?si=b777dc33a703408a REFERENCES Melton Mowbray 1940s Festival http://1940smeltonmowbray.co.uk/ Didcot Steam into the Forties https://didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/ Goodnight Sweetheart - Theme Tune (sung by Nick Curtis) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFZxbIG4thw&list=RDOFZxbIG4thw&start_radio=1 Goodnight Sweetheart - Sitcom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodnight_Sweetheart_(TV_series) Goodnight Sweetheart - 1931 recordings https://secondhandsongs.com/work/135389/versions Ray Noble looks back on his career https://youtu.be/XQup9s58AS8?si=0yTb-7pDxbA3C3xo The Very Thought of You - Ray Noble (Al Bowlly vocal) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi4hPIQ8WGs Love is the Sweetest Thing - Ray Noble (Al Bowlly vocal) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUXv0ezazXg&list=RDhUXv0ezazXg&start_radio=1 New Mayfair Dance Orchestra https://peel.fandom.com/wiki/New_Mayfair_Dance_Orchestra Campbell and Connelly Music https://www.wisemusic.com/brands/ Show Me the Way to Go Home (1925) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Show_Me_the_Way_to_Go_Home https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27BYUcnabr0&list=RD27BYUcnabr0&start_radio=1 Chick Chick Chick Chick Chicken (Jack Hylton 1925) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoHz4s3VzDY Try a Little Tenderness - Ray Noble's Mayfair Dance Orchestra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIlw3VIEVHU When the Poppies Bloom Again - Don Pelosi (Vera Lynn vocal) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKR0-wq3JeA Al Bowlly https://www.memorylane.org.uk/al-bowlly.html Monseigneur Restaurant https://www.superstock.com/asset/evening-monseigneur-fashionable-london-restaurant-diners-watching-cabaret-performance-monseigneur/4220-20399329?srsltid=AfmBOool34LfUi5MhkBrSPUVtyYr507i10mi_dgFqzAUXcwL0FgJOUCK Al Bowlly's Love Life https://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2012/04/bowled-over-by-love.html Ken Snake Hips Johnson and the Bombing of the Cafe De Paris https://alanmalcher.com/2021/09/08/the-british-homefront-during-ww2-the-cafe-de-paris-bombed-during-the-london-blitz/ https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Melody-Maker/40s/1941/Melody-Maker-1941-03-15-S-OCR.pdf Al Bowlly's Death https://flashbak.com/the-wednesday-and-the-death-of-the-crooner-al-bowlly-414748/ Sheet Music - 1930s Cover https://ebay.us/m/hkERke Sheet Music - Rudy Vallee Version https://www.sheetmusicsinger.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Good-Night-Sweetheart-1931.pdf Goodnight Sweetheart - Al Bowlly (1931) https://youtu.be/syn51Vu-js8?si=GZlmhUMrL2IH_Zzj Goodnight Sweetheart - Rudy Vallée (1942) https://youtu.be/Rpaq3U78fag?si=87ewbTK3Sn4ON-WX Goodnight Sweetheart - Kenny Baker (1943) https://youtu.be/yzd01kDbukE?si=nKerv-DvdQgKl3lF Goodnight Sweetheart - Kitty Carlisle (1944) https://youtu.be/COXFsgMgK2o?si=v1Sxffjcqi5djHFs Goodnight Campers - Hi-de-Hi (1982) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-1byQtuR3E Falling in Love Again - Al Bowlly (1930) https://youtu.be/-UYtDm1g7Y0?si=9FnK1NTrD4GhQSIV https://www.albowlly.club/78s/falling-in-love-again.html Tell Me Are You From Georgia? - Al Bowlly (1931) https://youtu.be/eUsl5qp3Ex0?si=PHaT537h8uf-ogqR https://www.albowlly.club/78s/tell-me-are-you-from-georgia.html When That Man Is Dead and Gone - Al Bowlly (1941) https://youtu.be/WJYCh8Sqzsw?si=UnYwyO5ktC56X04k https://www.albowlly.club/78s/when-that-man-is-dead-and-gone.html Al Bowlly Club Website www.albowlly.club Al Bowlly Facebook Pages https://www.facebook.com/groups/albowlly https://www.facebook.com/groups/426854338673569 CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 00:49 Catch Up 02:11 G = Goodnight Sweetheart 04:51 Ray Noble 08:46 Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connolly 12:10 Al Bowlly 27:59 Discussing the Sheet Music 29:24 Discussing the Lyrics 31:17 Discussing the Music 33:54 Discussing the Versions: Al Bowlly 34:40 Rudy Vallée 35:30 Kenny Baker 35:52 Kitty Carlisle 36:41 Hi-de-Hi 37:53 Which Is Our Favourite? 39:44 If You Liked That You'll Like This 46:07 Mentioned in Dispatches 47:33 Teaser for Next Week 48:15 Outro SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS You can follow the podcast on social media: http://instagram.com/warsongspod https://www.facebook.com/warsongspod Find more information about Lili Redman here: https://liliredman.com/ https://www.instagram.com/lili__redman/ https://www.facebook.com/ScalaLil Or Tom Carradine here: https://www.tomcarradine.com/ https://www.instagram.com/tomcarradine https://www.facebook.com/mrtomcarradine CONTACT THE PODCAST If there's a wartime song that you think they should discuss, or if you have a personal or family story connected to one, drop them a line at [email protected] to be "Mentioned in Dispatches". LISTENING LINKS Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7ktQ4nyudmPRLcCNyNxEfv?si=ac9e1babe6834f2b Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-a-to-z-of-wartime-song/id1806037318 If you've enjoyed this episode Lili and Tom would be grateful if you'd leave a review and make sure you've subscribed and turned on notifications so you'll never miss an episode.