Harry Lewis (born Harris Copperman; 11 January 1915 – 29 April 1998) was an English saxophonist and clarinettist, who was best known as the husband of singer

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 191718 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is honorifically known as the " Forces' Sweetheart", having giv ...

Early life

He was born to a Jewish family in

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

, in the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

on 11 January 1915, and originally named Harris Copperman; his parents were Jack "Jacob" Copperman and Rachel "Ray" Cohen. Harris, who would be professionally known as Harry Lewis, had three sisters; Minnie, Betty and Lily. His father was also a musician, and the family lived in Hackney.

Dance band career

In April 1937, Lewis took part in a broadcast on

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

as part of Bram Martin's Dance Orchestra. Lewis made his earliest recordings with a dance band as part of

George Elrick George Elrick (29 December 1903 – 15 December 1999), 'The Smiling Voice of Radio', was a British musician, impresario and radio presenter, probably best known for presenting the popular record request show ''Housewives' Choice'' during the 1950 ...

's group that year, playing clarinet and alto saxophone on Elrick's recordings for Columbia from August 1937 to April 1938. Lewis subsequently joined

Jack Harris Jack Harris may refer to: Entertainment * Jack Harris (film editor) (1905–1971), English film editor * Jack H. Harris (1918–2017), American film producer * Jack Harris (broadcaster) (born 1941), American radio personality based in Tampa, Flor ...

and his Orchestra, and played alto saxophone on their

Ciro's Ciro's (later known as Ciro's Le Disc) was a nightclub on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, California owned by William Wilkerson. Opened in 1940, Ciro's became a popular nightspot for celebrities. The nightclub closed in 1957 and was reopened ...

Club sessions for

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...

from January to March 1939. In August 1939, Lewis met

, when he joined

Bert Ambrose Benjamin Baruch Ambrose (11 September 1896 – 11 June 1971), known professionally as Ambrose or Bert Ambrose, was an English bandleader and violinist. Ambrose became the leader of a highly acclaimed British dance band, ''Bert Ambrose & His Or ...

's eponymous orchestra, with whom she was a vocalist. Together with eight other members of the Ambrose orchestra, Lewis joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

at the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and they subsequently formed a new band, The Royal Air Force Dance Orchestra (who were known as The Squadronaires after the war). The musicians had presented themselves at

RAF Uxbridge RAF Uxbridge was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Uxbridge, within the London Borough of Hillingdon, occupying a site that originally belonged to the Hillingdon House estate. The British Government purchased the estate in 1915, three years ...

, and having signed up, went to leave as they had an engagement with Ambrose that night. The commanding officer had to immediately give them a week's emergency leave, and they arrived just before the start of the evening's show. Though they were one of the country's top dance bands, they were only paid five shillings a day in the RAF. From September to November 1939, Lewis played clarinet and tenor saxophone on the

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

recordings by Ambrose, including those with vocals by Lynn; she cut her last recording as a dance band vocalist with Ambrose on 11 July 1940. During this period, Lewis provided clarinet and alto saxophone for Jack Jackson and his Band's final recording session in November 1939, released by HMV. Lewis played clarinet and alto saxophone on The RAF Dance Orchestra's Decca recordings from their inaugural session in May 1940 to July 1945. After a long courtship, Lewis and Lynn married in

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...

in August 1941. The RAF Dance Orchestra performed all over the United Kingdom during the war, and were occasionally accompanied by Lynn on vocals. In November 1943, he took part in a Tribute to Swing concert at Cheltenham Town Hall, playing clarinet and saxophone with Alec Cave and his BBC Quintet, billed as "Ace Swing Stylists from the Coconut Grove". Lewis was billed as "Clarinet and Sax Jive Virtuoso". Towards the end of the war, Lewis re-joined Ambrose's band, playing alto saxophone on their recordings in 1945.

Post-war career

Lewis worked as Lynn's manager after the war, and accompanied her on her international concerts, overseeing lighting and production of her shows. Lewis also worked as a music publisher, and composed music. He wrote "This Perfect Day", which was recorded by his wife and released as a single in 1949. Together with

Barry Gray Barry Gray (born John Livesey Eccles; 18 July 1908 – 26 April 1984) was a British musician and composer best known for his collaborations with television and film producer Gerry Anderson. Life and career Born into a musical family in Blackburn ...

, Lewis co-wrote "The Little Swiss Waltz", which was recorded by

Mantovani Annunzio Paolo Mantovani (; 15 November 1905 – 29 March 1980) was an Anglo-Italian conductor, composer and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature. The book ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' stat ...

and his Orchestra and released by Decca in 1954. Lewis (under the pseudonym Charles Rogers) and Gray also wrote "To Love, To Love is Wonderful", which was published in 1956. The song was recorded by Don Rennie and released on

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

. From 1965 to 1968, Lewis was general manager of

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

's in-house publishing firm Ardmore and Beechwood. Lynn's 1967 singles " It Hurts to Say Goodbye" (which made No. 7 on the ''Billboard''

Adult Contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

) and "Santa Maria" were produced by Lewis. Her last studio album, ''Vera Lynn Remembers'', issued in 1984, was also produced by Lewis.

Personal life and death

After the war, Lynn and Lewis moved to

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...

, north London. The couple lived in

Ditchling Ditchling is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is contained within the boundaries of the South Downs National Park; the order confirming the establishment of the park was signed in Ditchling. ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

, from the early 1960s onwards, living next door to their daughter, Virginia. Lewis died peacefully in hospital in

Haywards Heath Haywards Heath is a town in West Sussex, England, south of London, north of Brighton, south of Gatwick Airport and northeast of the county town, Chichester. Nearby towns include Burgess Hill to the southwest, Horsham to the northwest, Crawl ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

, on 29 April 1998, aged 83.

General Register Office General Register Office or General Registry Office (GRO) is the name given to the civil registry in the United Kingdom, many other Commonwealth nations and Ireland. The GRO is the government agency responsible for the recording of vital record ...

; United Kingdom. ''England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007'' atabase on-line A private funeral service for Lewis was held in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

."Star Vera's husband dies at 83." ''East Sussex County Publications (England)'', May 12, 1998. ''

NewsBank NewsBank is a news database resource that provides archives of media publications as reference materials to libraries. History John Naisbitt, the author of the book ''Megatrends'', founded NewsBank.Andrews 1998, p. 17. The company was launched i ...

: Access Global NewsBank''. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWGLNB&docref=news/10D875E326BEFC95. Lewis' and Lynn's ashes are buried at St. Margaret's Churchyard in Ditchling (Section C, Row 1, Grave 14C).

Early life

Dance band career

Post-war career

Personal life and death

References

Further reading