Ian Timothy Whitcomb (10 July 1941 – 19 April 2020) was an English entertainer, singer-songwriter, record producer, writer, broadcaster and actor. As part of the
British Invasion
The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on b ...
, his
hit
Hit means to strike someone or something.
Hit or HIT may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super''
* Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...
song "
You Turn Me On
''You Turn Me On'' is the sixth and final album by the American band Beat Happening, released in 1992. The band supported the album with a North American tour.
Production
The album was produced by Stuart Moxham, of Young Marble Giants, and Steve ...
" reached number 8 on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
chart
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...
in 1965.
He wrote several books on
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...
(United States) in 1972. He accompanied his singing by playing the
ukulele
The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings.
The tone and volume of the instrumen ...
and, through his records, concerts, and film work, helped to stimulate the revival of interest in the instrument. His re-creation of the music played aboard the in the film of that name won a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
in 1998 for package design and a nomination for Whitcomb's liner notes (''Titanic: Music as Heard on the Fateful Voyage'').
Early life
Whitcomb was born in
Woking
Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...
, Surrey, England to Patrick and Eileen (née Burningham). He was the second child of three children. He spent his childhood years in
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...
, Thorpeness and Putney. Ian Whitcomb Biography, ''Picklehead.com'' Retrieved 20 April 2020 His father worked for Whitcomb's grandfather's film company British Screen Classics in the 1920s, eventually co-starring in ''Mr. Nobody'' (released by Fox in 1929). His father was a trained pianist and encouraged Whitcomb to also play piano. Growing up, Whitcomb's chief musical inspirations were Phil Harris,
Johnnie Ray
John Alvin Ray (January 10, 1927 – February 24, 1990) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Highly popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor to what became rock and roll, for his jazz and blu ...
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
, and George Formby. He was sent away to boarding school in 1949 (Newlands, Seaford,
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
At Bryanston, a public school in Dorset, England, Whitcomb began writing comic and other songs. He started a skiffle group in 1957 and then a rock and roll band in 1959. After leaving school, he worked at
Harrods
Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...
and then as an assistant at film studios. With his younger brother Robin on drums, he formed a band, The Ragtime Suwanee Six, that played at parties in the Surrey area and was managed by Denny Cordell, later to produce records by Procol Harum and
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...
Trinity College, Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
, Ian Whitcomb became a founding member and lead vocalist of Dublin's early rhythm and blues band, Bluesville. After some unreleased early recordings, Whitcomb travelled to Seattle, where he performed and was signed to record for
Jerden Records
Jerden Records was an independent record label which operated from May 1960 through April 1971.
It was based in Seattle and majority owned by Jerry Dennon and Bonnie Guitar, both of whom had been involved with Dolton Records and the careers of Th ...
. After returning to Dublin, he recorded "This Sporting Life", written by Brownie McGhee and previously recorded as a skiffle number by Chas McDevitt. Whitcomb's recording was then licensed to the Tower label, a subsidiary of
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
, for release in the US. It reached number 100 for one week on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
You Turn Me On
''You Turn Me On'' is the sixth and final album by the American band Beat Happening, released in 1992. The band supported the album with a North American tour.
Production
The album was produced by Stuart Moxham, of Young Marble Giants, and Steve ...
", was largely improvised at the end of a recording session in Dublin. Released as a single on the Tower label, it reached Billboard's number 8 spot in July 1965 – it was the first Irish-produced record to reach the US charts – but did not chart in Britain. During his summer vacation in 1965, Whitcomb went to America to appear on such television programs as '' Shindig'', '' Hollywood A Go-Go'' and ''
American Bandstand
''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...
''. Whitcomb played the
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018.
The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...
with The Beach Boys in 1965 and then toured with The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, and Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs.
"N-E-R-V-O-U-S!", Whitcomb's next release, was recorded in Hollywood and reached No. 59 in Billboard and No. 47 in Cash Box. He returned to Dublin for his history finals and received a BA degree. In 1966 he turned to early popular song: his version of a 1916 Al Jolson comedy number, "Where Did Robinson Crusoe Go with Friday on Saturday Night?" was a West Coast hit, reviving the ukulele before the emergence of Tiny Tim.
After making four albums for the Tower label, Whitcomb retired as a pop performer, later writing that he "wanted no part of the growing pretentiousness of rock with its mandatory drugs and wishy-washy spiritualism and its increasing loud and metallic guitar sounds." However, in 1969 he produced Mae West on her album called '' Great Balls of Fire'' for
MGM Records
MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...
. Whitcomb then returned to the UK and was commissioned by
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.After the Ball'', published in 1972. He appeared on several BBC TV show and was an early presenter of the BBC TV show '' The Old Grey Whistle Test'' in 1971.
Whitcomb settled in California in the late 1970s. He starred in and wrote ''L.A.–My Home Town'' (BBC TV; 1976) and ''Tin Pan Alley'' (PBS; 1974). He wrote ''Tin Pan Alley, A Pictorial History'' (1919–1939) and a novel, ''Lotusland: A Story of Southern California'', published in 1979. He also provided the music for a documentary film, ''Bugs Bunny: Superstar'' (UA), which was narrated by Orson Welles. For Play-Rite Music he cut 18 piano rolls that were included in an album, ''Pianomelt''. His other albums reflected his research into the genres of ragtime, Tin Pan Alley, vaudeville, and
music hall
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...
Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
. During that time he also wrote and produced singles for Warner Bros.' country division, most notably "Hands", a massage parlour story, and "A Friend of a Friend of Mine".
In the 1980s Whitcomb published ''Rock Odyssey: A Chronicle of the Sixties: Ian Whitcomb'', a memoir of the 1960s and described by '' The New York Times'' as the best personal account of this period. He also published ''Ragtime America'' (Limelight Editions, 1988), followed by a memoir of life as a British expatriate living in Los Angeles, ''Resident Alien'' (Century, 1990). He wrote extensively on music, culture, and books for a diverse range of magazines including ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
'', the '' Los Angeles Times'', '' The Daily Telegraph'', '' The London Magazine''. He produced a British documentary on black music, ''Legends of Rhythm and Blues'' (part of the series ''Repercussions'', made by Third Eye Productions for Channel Four in 1984). During this time he also hosted a
radio show
A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode.
Radio networ ...
in Los Angeles for fifteen years, taking the program from
KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock").
The stat ...
to KCRW and finally to KPCC-FM.
He continued to make recordings, producing a series of CD collections: ''Treasures of Tin Pan Alley'', Al Jolson songs, and ''Titanic- Music As Heard On The Fateful Voyage''. Whitcomb's liner notes were nominated for a
Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
. His songs are heard in the films ''Bloody Movie'' (1987), '' Cold Sassy Tree'' (1989), '' Encino Man'' (1992), '' Grass'' (1999), '' Man of the Century'' (1999), ''Stanley's Gig'' (2000), ''After the Storm'' (2001), '' The Cat's Meow'' (2002), '' Last Call'' (2002), ''Sleep Easy, Hutch Rimes'' (2002), '' Lonesome Jim'' (2005), and '' Fido'' (2006).
Later life
Whitcomb lived in Southern California with his wife, Regina (née Enzer), and their dog, Toby. He performed, on
accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
as well as ukulele, at music festivals and major venues throughout America, often with his ragtime band, The Bungalow Boys, as well as with a larger orchestra. He continued to write, and he made frequent guest appearances. He notably performed live and on recordings as a special guest of ukulele chanteuse Janet Klein's Parlour Boys. He was a regular performer at Cantalini's Restaurant in Playa del Rey, California. He appeared as Grand Marshal in the 24th Occasional Pasadena Doo Dah Parade on November 19, 1999.
From November 2007, Whitcomb had an internet radio program on Wednesday evenings from 8:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m.(PST) at Luxuria Music. He signed with Premiere Radio Networks in September 2010 to launch ''The Ian Whitcomb Show'' on XM satellite radio, Channel 24. He was named as a BEST OF L.A. in 2008 by '' Los Angeles'' magazine.
In 2009 Whitcomb wrote and, with his Bungalow Boys, performed original music for the West Coast Premiere of ''The Jazz Age'', a play by Allan Knee, at the Blank Theater Company's 2nd Stage Theater in Los Angeles. For his work on ''The Jazz Age'', Whitcomb was nominated for an L.A. Theater Award.
Ian was an educator as well as an entertainer. He lectured on early American popular song (and composers) throughout the California library system. He was a favorite speaker at the annual Oregon Festival of American Music and the Workman and Temple Families Homestead Museum.
Illness and death
Whitcomb died in
Pasadena, California
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
I ...
at a care facility on 19 April 2020, from complications of a
stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
he had suffered in 2012. He was 78.
Selected discography
Singles
Albums
*1965 ''You Turn Me On'' (Billboard #125—Tower T (Mono)/ST (Stereo) 5004)
*1966 ''Ian Whitcomb's Mod, Mod Music Hall'' (Tower T/ST 5042)
*1967 ''Yellow Underground'' (Tower T/ST 5071)
*1968 ''Sock Me Some Rock'' (Tower SDT 5100)
*1970 ''On the Pier'' (World Record Club/EMI ST 1010)
*1972 ''Under the Ragtime Moon'' (United Artists UAS 29403)
*1972 '' Great Balls of Fire (Mae West album)''UK (MGM 235207):(Liner notes credits:"Piano/conceived/produced/directed by Ian Whitcomb in Hollywood").
*1973 ''You Turn Me On'' (Ember Records NR 5065)
*1974 ''Hip Hooray for Neville Chamberlain!'' (Argo/Decca 2DA 162)
*1976 ''Crooner Tunes'' (First American 7704)
*1976 ''Treasures of Tin Pan Alley'' (Audiophile AP 115)
*1977 ''Ian Whitcomb's Red Hot Blue Heaven'' (Warner Bros. K56347)
*1979 ''Ian Whitcomb: The Rock & Roll Years'' (First American FA 7729)
*1980 ''At The Ragtime Ball'' (Audiophile AP 147)
*1980 ''Instrumentals'' (First American FA 7751)
*1980 ''Pianomelt'' (Sierra Briar SRAS 8708)
*1981 ''In Hollywood!'' (First American FA 7789)
*1982 ''Don’t Say Goodbye, Miss Ragtime'' (with Dick Zimmerman) (Stomp Off SOS 1017)
*1983 ''My Wife is Dancing Mad'' (with Dick Zimmerman) (Stomp Off SOS 1049)
*1983 ''The Boogie Woogie Jungle Snake'' (ITW Records 01)
*1984 ''Rag Odyssey'' (Meteor Records MTM-006)
*1984 ''On The Street of Dreams'' (ITW Records 03)
*1986 ''The Best of Ian Whitcomb'' (Rhino Records RNLP 127)
*1986 ''Oceans of Love'' (ITW Records 04)
*1987 ''Steppin’ Out'' (Audiophile AP 225)
*1987 ''Ian Whitcomb's Ragtime America'' (Premier PMP 1017)
*1990 ''All the Hits Plus More'' (Prestige/BBC PRST 005)
Compact discs
*1988 ''Happy Days Are Here Again'' (Audiophile ACD 242)
*1992 ''Ian Whitcomb’s Ragtime America'' (ITW 009)
*1995 ''Lotusland—A New Kind of Old-Fashioned Musical Comedy'' (Audiophile ACD 283)
*1996 ''Let the Rest of the World Go By'' (Audiophile ACD 267)
*1997 ''The Golden Age of Lounge'' (Varèse Sarabande VSD 5821)
*1997 ''Ian Whitcomb: You Turn Me On!/Mod Mod Music Hall'' (Sundazed SC 11044)
*1997 ''Titanic: Music as Heard on the Fateful Voyage'' (Rhino R2 72821)
*1998 ''Spread a Little Happiness'' (Audiophile ACD 249)
*1998 ''Titanic Tunes—A Sing-A-Long in Steerage'' (The Musical Murrays Conducted by Ian Whitcomb) (Varèse Sarabande 5965)
*1998 ''Songs from the Titanic Era'' (The New White Star Orchestra) (Varèse Sarabande VSF 5966)
*1999 ''Comedy Songs'' (Audiophile ACD 163)
*2001 ''Sentimentally Yours'' (Woodpecker Records)
*2002 ''Dance Hall Days'' (ITW Records)
*2003 ''Under the Ragtime Moon'' (Vivid Sound B00008WD18)
*2005 ''Old Chestnuts & Rare Treats'' (ITW Records)
*2005 ''Words & Music'' (ITW Records)
*2006 ''Lone Pine Blues'' (Vivid Sound NACD3229; Japanese import only)
*2011 ''Now and Then'' (Cayenne Music)
*2011 ''I Love A Piano'' (Rivermont BSW-2218) with Adam Swanson
*2012 ''Songs Without Words'' (Rivermont BSW-3136) 2-CD set
*2014 ''The Golden Age of Tin Pan Alley'' (Rivermont BSW-3137) 2-CD set
Books
*1972 '' After the Ball: Pop Music from Rag to Rock'' (Allen Lane/Penguin) .
*1973 ''20th Century Fun'' Essex Music
*1975 ''Tin Pan Alley: A Pictorial History'' (Paddington Press) ASIN: B000RC8WOC
*1979 ''Lotusland: A Story of Southern California'' (Wildwood House)
*1982 ''Whole Lotta Shakin’: A Rock ‘n’ Roll Scrapbook'' (Arrow) ASIN: B000OHDDPI
*1983 ''Rock Odyssey: A Chronicle of the Sixties'' (Doubleday/Anchor)
*1986 ''Irving Berlin & Ragtime America'' (Arrow)
*1990 ''Resident Alien'' (Century)
*1994 ''The Beckoning Fairground: Notes of a British Exile'' (California Classics)
*1994 ''Treasures of Tin Pan Alley'' (Mel Bay)
*1995 ''Vaudeville Favorites'' (Mel Bay)
*1996 ''The Best of Vintage Dance'' (Mel Bay)
*1997 ''Songs of the Ragtime Era'' (Mel Bay)
*1998 ''The Titanic Songbook'' (Mel Bay)
*1998 ''Titanic Tunes'' (Mel Bay)
*1998 ''Songs of the Jazz Age'' (Mel Bay)
*1999 ''Ukulele Heaven'' (Mel Bay)
*2001 ''Uke Ballads'' (Mel Bay)
*2003 ''The Cat's Meow'' (Mel Bay)
*2007 ''The Ian Whitcomb Songbook'' (Mel Bay)
*2009 ''Letters From Lotusland'' (Wild Shore Press)
*2011 ''Ian Whitcomb's Ukulele Sing-Along'' (Alfred Music Publishing) (Book & CD)
*2012 ''Ukulele Heroes: The Golden Age'' (Hal Leonard)
The Late Late Show
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...
''
*1977 ''L.A–My Home Town''
*1979 ''Tomorrow''
*1985 ''Don't Say Good Bye, Miss Ragtime''
*1997 ''The Weird Al Show''
*2010 ''Ave 43''
Notes
#''The New York Times'', 26 April 1998.
#''The New York Times'', 22 January 1984