Johnny Douglas

To call British composer, arranger, and conductor Johnny Douglas prolific would be an understatement. In the four decades between his first professional appearance, as pianist for the Neville Hughes Sextet, in 1939 and his recording of two original symphonic poems -- "The Conquest" and "The Aftermath" -- in 1999, Douglas applied his musical vision to hundreds of recordings. In addition to furnishing the soundtracks for 36 films, including The Day of the Triffids, Circus of Fear, and Run Like a Thief, his music was heard in countless television shows, including The Incredible Hulk, Dungeons and Dragons, The Transformers, and GI Joe. His score for the Lionel Jeffries-directed 1970 flick The Railway Children was nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award. The many artists for whom he wrote and arranged material include Shirley Bassey, June Bronhill, Max Bygraves, Vera Lynn, Frankie Vaughan, Barbra Streisand, Harry Secombe, Kenneth McKellar, Al Martino, Mantovani, Anne Shelton, and Billy Cotton. He recorded more than 80 albums as arranger/conductor of the easy listening ensemble Living Strings, including Feelings, released in 1977, which sold more than one million copies. A native of the East London village of Hackney, Douglas displayed musical talent from an extremely young age. By the age of two, he was able to re-create tunes that he heard his uncle play on piano, and he began formal lessons two years later. He spent much of his childhood studying scores and band parts while listening to recordings. After studying music at St. Olave's and St. Saviour's Grammar School in Bermondsey, he formed his first dance band with schoolmates in the mid-'30s. Launching his professional career with the Neville Hughes Sextet in 1939, he formed a dance band while serving in the RAF during World War II. When an arm injury prevented him from playing the piano, Douglas turned to arranging and composing material for such British bandleaders as Bert Ambrose, Ted Heath, Edmundo Ros, and Cyril Stapleton, for whom he also played piano. His first hit came in 1952 when he provided background music for Tex Ritter's recording of "High Noon." Beginning in 1955, when he conducted his own orchestra for the BBC radio show In the Still of the Night, Douglas made his presence felt on the British airwaves. He appeared on the radio show Swing Song in the 1960s, and conducted orchestras for such BBC Radio 2 programs as the Terry Wogan Show and Charlie Chester's Sunday Soapbox in the 1970s. Douglas established an easy listening record label, Dulcima, in 1983. ~ Craig Harris