George Elrick

George Elrick – Bandleader & Broadcaster

A Profile by Jimmy Brown
Billed as the Smiling Voice of Radio, musician, entertainer and agent, George Elrick was 95 when he died in a London nursing home.

Born 29th December in Aberdeen in 1910 the eldest of a family of 9, George dreamed of becoming a Surgeon and even won a Bursary to Robert Gordon’s College. In 1925 he worked in a Chemical Laboratory but lack of funds forced him to leave school and take a job as a Traveller in stationery and fancy goods. In his spare time he played drums in local Dance Bands and after winning the Best Drummer award in the All-Scottish Dance Band Championship for 1929 run by Percy Brown, the Editor of the music trade weekly Melody Maker, at the Marie Gordon Ballroom, and Elrick’s Embassy Band won all the individual gold medals. The Chief Judge, none other than Carroll Gibbons, leader of the famous Savoy Hotel Orpheans, gave the bright young Scotsman some sound advice. “You should spread your wings, son, and go to London,” he drawled, in his dark brown Canadian voice. He went Professional to take his Embassy Band into Aberdeen’s Beach Ballroom.  Two years later, he followed the good advice and took his 1st trip to London.

He left Aberdeen to seek fame and fortune in London. Initially, he found it difficult to break into London’s clique of highly skilled Session Musicians but then he got his first break.  Elrick’s lucky day was Friday the 13th of January 1931, when he landed his 1st big town job, “on spec”, playing drums in a small night-club, of which there were many at that time.  By 1932, he was mixing with the many dance band notables of the day, and fondly recalled his visit to the premiere of Bing Crosby’s star-studded musical The Big Broadcast.  Among the specially invited crowd he rubbed shoulders (not easy for a small-built man!) with the crooner Al Bowlly, the comedy drummer Max Bacon, from the Ambrose Orchestra, and Carroll Gibbons once again. Elrick and Bowlly became sporting pals and would frequently spend their off-peak hours playing Snooker at the Ascot Club in Charing Cross Road.  He was engaged as the 2nd percussionist to Max Bacon in Ambrose’s Orchestra for a Nationwide Tour.  Elrick cut his first record in February 1935, playing the drums for Billy Mason and his Orchestra. The tunes were “St Louis Blues” and the Eddie Cantor hit, “If You Knew Susie“.

Later that year he was invited to join Henry Hall and his BBC Dance Orchestra as a replacement for Len Bermon Broadcasting nightly at 5.15 pm. Bermon had been drumming and occasionally vocalising for Hall since 1932; his big hit was “Leave the Pretty Girls Alone”.  The chirpy, always smiling Elrick was soon given the chance to sing a song or two, George Elrick’s happy voice soon turned him into a household name, with such chart-toppers of the day.  He had his first hit in November 1935 with his record of “When the Guardsman Started Crooning on Parade“. But that was nothing when compared to Elrick’s January 1936 release.  This was “The Music Goes Round and Around” with its catchy chorus of “Who-ho-ho-ho and it comes out here!” Radio Listeners, and there were many for Hall in those hard-up 30’s, went wild. Elrick was suddenly a star. Somebody coined him a catchline that suited the cheery chap perfectly: “The Smiling Voice of Radio”.  Elrick’s regular records now traded in on his hearty but ever Scots-accented happiness. Among the many were “There’s a Song they Sing at a Singsong in Sing-Sing”, a double-sided selection entitled Favourite Comedy Songs which included “A Thick Thick Fog in London”, “I Laughed So Hard I Nearly Died” and “I’m Just Nuts on Screwy Music”. When Hall conducted the Dance Band on the Maiden Voyage of the Queen Mary, Elrick stayed behind to sing “I Like Bananas Because They Have No Bones”.

In 1937 Elrick, ambitious from the earliest years, left Hall to form his own band once again and, billed as George Elrick and his Goofy Swing was booked for a Variety Tour as Top of the Bill. Radio dates for the new combo came in thick and fast, and a new recording contract with Columbia spun off to a splendid start with a double-sided disc of 6 of his hits. The title was George Elrick Encores.  To keep in with the Public taste, the name of the band was changed to George Elrick and his Swing Music Makers; they made their record debut with “Oh They’re Tough Mighty Tough in the West”. In August 1937 came another recorded medley of 6 George Elrick Successes which included “The Cross-eyed Cowboy on the Cross-eyed Horse”. By 1939 Elrick had disbanded his Music Makers and become a Solo Star. As such he recorded 4 sides with Jack Payne and his Band. Released not long after the declaration of WW2, the songs included the topical hit, “Oh Ain’t It Grand to Be in the Navy”.  Sadly British films failed to make anything of Elrick, and it was left to the minor newsreel company of Pathe to bring his talents to the Cinema screen. “Run Adolf Run”, using the popular comedy song by Noel Gay, a satirical variation of “Run Rabbit Run”, formed an uproarious finale to the January edition of Pathe Gazette. It was an animated cartoon by Joe Noble, which meant only Elrick’s voice was used. However, the singer did star in person in 3 editions of the magazine short Pathe Pictorial, the best being his version of the early war hit “We’re Gonna Hang Out the Washing on the Siegfried Line”.

 

He was a regular visitor to Glasgow in those days, playing in the Dennistoun Palais, Barrowland and Green’s Playhouse Ballroom, where he was billed as “Mrs Elrick’s Wee Son George.”  He was appearing at Dennistoun Palais in 1940 when the BBC started their Music While You Work programmes. He secured a Broadcast from the BBC’s Glasgow studios and the Band was all set, with just minutes to go, when the Producer suddenly asked: “What about the Signature Tune?” There was a bit of a panic at this since no one had told them about the sig tune and they had no parts.  Piano player John McCormack and trumpeter Duncan Whyte were the only ones who thought they knew the tune so they went on the air busking the Signature Tune on Trumpet and Piano for a few bars before launching into their programme.  John McCormack suspects that the producer did not like George Elrick and deliberately dropped him in it.

The Elrick Piano Chair was John McCormack’s first full-time pro job, although he went on to play with many of the other Bandleaders of the day such as Lew Stone and Carl Barriteau.  Son of Glasgow accordionist and music shop proprietor, Neilly McCormack, John was only 18 at the time and before he left home he had been sternly warned by his dad against the hazards of Band touring such as predatory groupies and excessive drinking.  George Elrick was already tiring of the stresses of band-leading in Wartime and when he suddenly gave the Band notice to quit, citing their drinking habits as his reason, John was naturally concerned about what his dad would say, particularly since he was still a tee-totaller at the time. John complained to Elrick about this unjustified slur on his character and George withdrew his notice just as suddenly.

Competent musicians willing to tour in Wartime were scarce and when 14-year-old Edinburgh Trumpet player Freddy Clayton applied for an audition in 1942 Elrick decided to hear him despite his youth. The Band was resident in Glasgow’s Green’s Playhouse at the time and when young Freddy turned up George broke out a new Orchestration just up from London. But unknown to him Freddy had already been playing this particular piece for a fortnight in his brother’s band in Edinburgh so he sailed through his Test and was duly signed up to start a career that took him onwards and upwards through the Lew Stone and Geraldo bands to become a Star Session Man in the London Studios.  Freddy told me that when he joined Elrick he was approached by the Playhouse’s legendary bouncer, Big Adam, who put the bite on him for the price of a drink.  Fred coughed up to the extent of 5 bob (25p), quite a sum in 1942, and Big Adam was touched at this generosity. The rest of the Band were spilling out of the Hall at the time and Big Adam nodded over to them, asking Freddy: “Any of them you want thumped?” Young Clayton hastened to assure Big Adam that no such action would not be necessary, while thanking him for the kind offer which he said he would bear in mind.

Bandleader George Elrick introduces the band as they play ‘All Those In Favour Of Swing Say “Aye”‘. He sings his intro “as President of the Elrick Swingaroos” and introduces ‘Miss Conway‘, a glamorous blonde who sings a solo spot.  Various solo band members are introduced and perform. Finally, Johnny Hudson, a 13 yr old young boy in short trousers is introduced and plays a trumpet solo. He was in fact John McLevy – Born in Dundee, Scotland in 1927, John played in Europe in the Benny Goodman Orchestra in the 1970’s and also worked often with Jack Emblow. The whole band then finishes with a loud finale.

During the war, Elrick formed a new band and in 1944 recorded once again, this time for the somewhat cheaper label of Rex. There was one other war song, this time from the United States: “We Don’t Know Where We’re Going Until We’re There”, and for the first time on record his signature song, “When You’re Smiling, the Whole World Smiles With You”.  This song, perfect for the Smiling Voice of Radio, became the title of his first self-promoted touring revue, When You’re Smiling, which travelled around the Moss Empires in 1948, traded on his new career as the Housewives’ Choice favourite disc-jockey and, although a rather economical production (it co-starred 2 double acts, Al Gold & Lola Cordell, and Billy Whittaker & Mimi Law, plus the Gordon Ray Girls), it did very well at the box office. “A star- showered show,” Elrick called it, perhaps hoping for a new catchphrase.

George Elrick signed a record contract with EMI and enjoyed reasonable success with his band, grooming such promising musicians as trumpeter Archie Craig and Sax man Harry Lewis, both of whom later became featured players with the famous wartime Number One RAF Dance Orchestra, “The Squadronairs.” But the rigours of Wartime touring eventually forced George to give up Bandleading and he became an Agent for such as Mantovani of Charmaine fame and Scotlands own Lena Martell. He still retained some links with the entertainment world, however, appearing as a Disc Jockey on programmes such as the very popular Housewives Choice where he accidentally coined one of the very first gimmicks one day when he hummed along with the going out music at the end of the broadcast. He thought he was humming to himself but his mike had been left open by mistake and his cheerful chortling went out over the air.  Listeners’ reaction was so favourable that he had to keep the gimmick in his act for the rest of his time on Housewives Choice.  The following year, Elrick visited America and did a turn on the Radio as a visiting Disc-jockey from England.

Always very active as King Rat in the Show Business Charity Organisation, The Water Rats, George Elrick was in line for the award of the OBE in recognition of this when he died. His wife, Alice, a former model, died in 1992 at the age of 82 while their only child, Ian, was tragically killed in an Accident in 1954 at the age of 20. He was survived by his sisters, Peggy, who lives in Aberdeen, Winnie of Montrose and Bessie of Plymouth.