Reg Owen (3 February 1921 – 23 May 1978) was an English conductor and

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

. Owen was born George Owen Smith in Hackney, London,Thedeadrockstarsclub.com
- accessed March 2011 and began playing the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

at the age of 15. He played in local groups such as

Teddy Joyce Teddy is an English language given name, usually a hypocorism of Edward or Theodore. It may refer to: People Nickname * Teddy Atlas (born 1956), boxing trainer and fight commentator * Teddy Bourne (born 1948), British Olympic epee fencer * Teddy ...

's Juveniles and the Royal Kiltie Juniors, before founding his own

ensemble Ensemble may refer to: Art * Architectural ensemble * ''Ensemble'' (album), Kendji Girac 2015 album * Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary * Ensemble cast (drama, comedy) * Ensemble (musical theatre), also known as the chorus * ''En ...

whilst still in his teens. He studied with Benny Glassman and then attended the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

. During World War II he played in the Bomber Command Band of the

RAF 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 ...

, then arranged for

Ted Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...

and

Cyril Stapleton Cyril Stapleton (31 December 1914 – 25 February 1974) was an English violinist and jazz bandleader. Biography Born Horace Cyril Stapleton in Mapperley, Nottingham, England, Stapleton began playing violin at the age of seven, and played on lo ...

after 1945. In 1954, he had his name legally changed to Reginald Owen. He published a book, the ''Reg Owen Arranging Method'', in 1956, and began writing

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

scores in 1957, including the scores to ''

Date with Disaster ''Date with Disaster'' is a 1957 British crime film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Tom Drake, William Hartnell and Shirley Eaton. It was made at Southall Studios in London. Location shooting took place around Southall and Chiswick ...

'', (1957), ''

There's Always a Thursday ''There's Always a Thursday'' is a 1957 British crime film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Charles Victor, Jill Ireland, Lloyd Lamble and Robert Raglan. Much of the film was shot at Southall Studios. Premise Comedy about a down-trodde ...

, '' (1957), ''

Payroll A payroll is the list of employees of some company that is entitled to receive payments as well as other work benefits and the amounts that each should receive. Along with the amounts that each employee should receive for time worked or tasks pe ...

'' (1961) and ''

Very Important Person A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples incl ...

'' (1961). In 1959, he even scored a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

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 the U.S. with "

Manhattan Spiritual "Manhattan Spiritual" is an instrumental musical piece written by Billy Maxted and first performed by the Reg Owen Orchestra. It reached #10 on the US pop chart and #20 on the UK Singles Chart in 1959. It was featured on their 1958 album ''Man ...

", which peaked at #10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The same track reached #20 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in March 1959. A further track, "Obsession", peaked at #43 in the UK in October 1960. In 1961 Owen moved to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, working as a composer, conductor, and arranger throughout continental Europe. He moved to Spain in the 1970s, and died at the Clinica Limonar in

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

, on 23 May 1978 at the age of 57.

Recordings

Owens recorded several records under 'Reg Owen' and the 'Reg Owen Orchestra.' Most of his LP albums were with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

, from 1957 to 1962.

References

External links

* * 1921 births 1978 deaths English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) English film score composers English male film score composers 20th-century British conductors (music) 20th-century English composers 20th-century British male musicians 20th-century British musicians {{england-bio-stub