Ronnie Aldrich

Ronnie Aldrich

Ronnie Aldrich 1969

Aldrich in 1969.
Background information
Born February 15, 1916
Erith, Kent (England)
Died September 30, 1993 (age 77)
Isle Of Man
Occupation(s) pianist, arranger, conductor, composer
Instruments piano
Labels Decca, London
Associated acts The London Festival Orchestra, BBC, The Ladybirds, Benny Hill

Ronnie Aldrich, born Ronald Frank Aldrich (15 February 1916, Erith, Kent, England – 30 September 1993, Isle of Man) was a British easy listening and jazz pianist, arranger, conductor, and composer. The only son of a store manager, he was three years old when he started playing the piano. He was educated at The Harvey Grammar School, Folkestone, and taught violin at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Before World War II, Aldrich went to India to play jazz and first gained fame in the 1940s as leader of The Squadronaires, up until their disbanding in 1964.[1]

He was noteworthy for the recording development of playing two pianos in his recordings (the Decca Phase 4 Stereo series). He recorded for The Decca Record Company Ltd in the 1960s and 1970s, moving to Seaward Ltd (his own company) licensed to EMI in the 1980s. He also regularly broadcast on BBC Radio 2 with his own orchestra as well as with the BBC Radio Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Radio Orchestra, based in BBC Glasgow. He also recorded special tracks that were released by Reader's Digest. Recently, all the Decca recordings were released in CD format by Vocalion. Many of his sessions for radio stations have been released by Apple iTunes in m4a format.

He was appointed musical director at Thames Television[2] and thus was widely known as the musical director for the television programme The Benny Hill Show.[3] He was married twice and had a daughter from his first marriage. At the time of his death he was married to E. Mary Aldrich, his wife for more than 30 years. He died of prostate cancer at age 77 in the Isle Of Man.

Discography

His work has been released in different formats: LP(vinyl), single(vinyl), cassette, 8-track, open reel (stereo & quadraphonic), CD and recently digital (mp3, m4a).

Decca Discography "Ronnie Aldrich And His Two Pianos"

(PFS is the Decca (UK) original catalogue number; SP is the London label (USA) version) (**) Togetherness (UK double-disc set) was issued as two separate albums in the USA

Decca (Polygram) Discography (One Piano)

Amberjack Discography (One Piano)

Seaward Music recordings licenced to EMI (One Piano)

Seaward also issued a vinyl LP, The Wonderful World of Man, which contained recordings of the sounds of the Isle of Man, where Ronnie Aldrich lived from the 1960s onwards. This record was sold in the island to tourists.

Decca Discography "The New Big Band"

Themes Recorded by Album

Melody and Percussion for Two Pianos

Ronnie Aldrich and His Two Pianos

The Magnificent Pianos of Ronnie Aldrich

The Romantic Pianos of Ronnie Aldrich

Christmas with Ronnie Aldrich

The Magic Mood of Ronnie Aldrich

That Aldrich Feeling

All Time Piano Hits

Two Pianos in Hollywood

Two Pianos Today!

For Young Lovers

This Way “In”

It’s Happening Now

Destination Love

Togetherness

Released as two separate albums in US: Here Come The Hits! (+) and Close to You (++)

Love Story

Great Themes to Remember

Invitation to Love

Come to Where The Love Is

Soft and Wicked

Top of The World

The Way We Were

In The Gentle Hours

Love

Reflections

Webb Country

With Love and Understanding

Released as "Evergreen" in US. (*)not included in American release.

Melodies from The Classics

Emotions

Tomorrow´s Yesterdays

For The One You Love

One Fine Day

Jingle Bells / Winter Wonderland

Imagine

Night Birds

Sea Dreams

For All Seasons

Today in the Old Fashioned Way

References

  1. ↑ "Ronnie Aldrich". Spaceagepop.com. Retrieved 2014-08-23.
  2. ↑ The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin
  3. ↑ "The Benny Hill Show (Comedy)". Webcitation.org. Retrieved 2014-08-23.