Neville Marshall-Corbin (1936 – 31 March 2006) was a Guyanese

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

singer, composer and recording artist who moved to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the 1960s and originally studied acting, performing with the English Stage Company. He was born in

Christianburg, Guyana Linden is the second largest city in Guyana after Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown, and capital of the Upper Demerara-Berbice region, located at , altitude . It was declared a town in 1970, and includes the communities of MacKenzie, Christianburg, ...

. Raye came to England to learn acting, studying at the

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...

John Hawkins
Sol Raye Obituary
/ref> His singing style was reflective of

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

. A nine-time winner of the British TV talent contest '' Opportunity Knocks'', he recorded such popular songs as "

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...

", "How Sweet It Is", and "Come Home Love" and toured widely with his cabaret tribute show to Cole. He also starred in, produced and directed a television tribute to Cole, ''A Nightingale Sang'', in 1985, in which he sang alongside the likes of

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

, Will Gaines and Danny Williams. He was also an opening act for such performers as

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

and

Eartha Kitt Eartha Mae Kitt (née Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress. She was known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Baby" ...

. He was best known for the semi-regular role of Burt in the

Black British Black British people or Black Britons"Black Briton, N." ''Oxford English Dictionary''. Oxford UP. December 2024. https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/1136579918. are a multi-ethnic group of British people of List of ethnic groups of Africa, Sub-Saharan ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

Desmond's ''Desmond's'' is a British television sitcom broadcast by Channel 4 from 5 January 1989 to 19 December 1994. Conceived and co-written by Trix Worrell, and produced by Charlie Hanson and Humphrey Barclay, ''Desmond's'' stars Norman Beaton as b ...

'', as a member of The Georgetown Dreamers, a band that featured Desmond (

Norman Beaton Norman Lugard Beaton (31 October 1934 – 13 December 1994) was a Guyana, Guyanese actor long resident in the United Kingdom. He became best known for his role as Desmond Ambrose in the Channel Four television comedy series ''Desmond's''. The wr ...

) and Raye's fellow real-life musicians Porkpie ( Ram John Holder) and Vince ( Count Prince Miller). Other television roles included an appearance in '' Runaway Bay'', whilst also acted in a number of theatre productions. Sol Raye was also the President of New Target Records, headquartered at 47c Queens Gate, London SW7 5JN. His younger brother, Robert Corbin, is the current leader of the

People's National Congress Reform The People's National Congress Reform (PNCR) is a social-democratic and democratic socialist political party in Guyana led by Aubrey Norton. The party currently holds 31 of the 65 seats in the National Assembly. In Guyana's ethnically divided ...

(PNCR), the main Guyanese opposition political party. Raye died in London on Friday, 31 March 2006 of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

following a ten-year battle with the disease. His brother Robert Corbin delivered the eulogy at his funeral.Sol Raye Laid To Rest To The Sound Of His Own Music
/ref>

References

External links

Biography of Sol Raye
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raye, Sole 1946 births 2006 deaths Crooners 20th-century Guyanese male singers English people of Guyanese descent Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art 20th-century Guyanese male actors People from Linden, Guyana