Ray Noble enjoyed a lot of success both in England and The United States during the Big Band Era. In 1929, he became leader of the New Mayfair Dance Orchestra, an HMV Records studio band that featured members of many of the top hotel orchestras of the day. In the early 1930's, Noble had many hits that charted in England including "Turkish Delight", "By the Fireside" and "Goodnight, Sweetheart".
By 1934, Noble was ready to better establish himself in America. He took Al Bowlly (vocalist) and his drummer Bill Harty to the United States. He then asked Glenn Miller to recruit American musicians to complete the band. This was before Miller was leading his own orchestra. The American version of Ray Noble's band had a successful run at the Rainbow Room in New York City with Bowlly as principal vocalist.
Noble and his orchestra appeared in the 1937 film A Damsel in Distress staring Fred Astaire, Joan Fontaine, George Burns and Gracie Allen. Ray himself also had a role in the film. He would later go on to act in many different roles on radio, film and television.
In the 1940's, Ray found a steady home on the radio and provided music for many shows such as "The Chase and Sanborn Hour", "The Charlie McCarthy Show", "Burns and Allen"" and "On Stage with Cathy and Elliott Lewis".
In the late 1940's he became very popular again when he teamed up with vocalist Buddy Clark. They had a string of hits together up until Clark's untimely death in 1949 due to a plane crash.
Listen to: "Cherokee" - Ray Noble's Original Version from 1938
You can hear the great music of Ray Noble right here on Swing City Radio.
