Ray Noble

Raymond Stanley Noble (17 December 1903 – 3 April 1978) was an English jazz and big band musician, who was a bandleader, composer and arranger, as well as a radio host, television and film comedian and actor; he also performed in the United States.

Noble wrote both lyrics and music for many popular songs during the British dance band era, known as the "Golden Age of British music", notably for his longtime friend and associate Al Bowlly, including "Love Is the Sweetest Thing", "Cherokee", "The Touch of Your Lips", "I Hadn't Anyone Till You", and his signature tune, "The Very Thought of You". Noble played a radio comedian opposite American ventriloquist Edgar Bergen's stage act of Mortimer Snerd and Charlie McCarthy, and American comedy duo Burns and Allen, later transferring these roles from radio to TV and popular films.

Birth and Death Data: Born December 17, 1903 (Brighton), Died April 3, 1978 (London)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1925 - 1948

Roles Represented in DAHR: director, composer, songwriter, lyricist, conductor, arranger, vocalist

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 76-100 of 246 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BS-02159 10-in. 10/16/1936 Now Al Bowlly ; Ray Noble Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo director  
Victor BS-02160 10-in. 10/16/1936 Little old lady Al Bowlly ; Ray Noble Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo director  
Victor BS-02161 10-in. 10/16/1936 There's something in the air Al Bowlly ; Ray Noble Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo director  
Victor BS-02162 10-in. 10/16/1936 Where the lazy river goes by Al Bowlly ; Ray Noble Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and vocal ensemble director  
Victor BS-03886 10-in. 1/5/1937 To love you and to lose you Howard Barrie ; Ray Noble Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo director  
Victor BS-03887 10-in. 1/5/1937 Long as you have your health Merry Macs ; Ray Noble Orchestra Jazz dance band, with female vocal solo and male vocal trio director  
Victor BS-03888 10-in. 1/5/1937 Slumming on Park Avenue Merry Macs ; Ray Noble Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with mixed vocal ensemble and talk director  
Victor BS-03889 10-in. 1/5/1937 I've got my love to keep me warm Howard Barrie ; Ray Noble Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo director  
Victor BS-022921 10-in. 4/27/1938 I hadn't anyone 'til you Jack Leonard ; Tommy Dorsey Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer, lyricist  
Victor BS-023408 10-in. 5/18/1938 I hadn't anyone 'till you Blue Barron ; Russ Carlyle Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer, lyricist  
Victor BS-032924 10-in. 3/8/1939 You're so desirable Gray Gordon ; Cliff Grass ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer, lyricist  
Victor BS-032957 10-in. 3/12/1939 You're so desirable Bill Darnell ; Red Nichols Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer, lyricist  
Victor BS-038276 10-in. 7/17/1939 Cherokee Charlie Barnet Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BS-043923 10-in. 11/27/1939 Love is the sweetest thing Ziggy Elman Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BS-045784 10-in. 12/20/1939 I hadn't anyone till you Dolores Brown ; Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-046058 10-in. 1/3/1940 Comanche war dance Charlie Barnet Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BS-056485 10-in. 10/14/1940 Isola bella (that little Swiss isle) Bob Carroll ; Charlie Barnet Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer, lyricist  
Victor BS-057386 10-in. 11/12/1940 Isola bella Kaydets ; Tommy Ryan ; Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and mixed vocal trio composer, lyricist  
Victor BS-057657 10-in. 11/19/1940 The very thought of you Benny Carter Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor PBS-061918 10-in. 11/21/1941 Not a star in sight Alvino Rey Orchestra ; Alyce King Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo composer, lyricist  
Victor BS-063804 10-in. 4/23/1941 Cherokee Deep River Boys Male vocal quartet, with piano and drums composer  
Victor BS-064945 10-in. 9/29/1941 The very thought of you Joe Reichman Piano solo, with jazz/dance instrumental trio composer  
Victor D6VB-1877 10-in. 5/14/1946 Good night sweetheart Mel Henke Piano solo, with string bass songwriter  
Victor D6VB-3407 10-in. 12/11/1946 Cherokee Herbie Fields Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor D7VB-0077 10-in. 1/20/1947 Cherokee Art Tatum Piano solo composer  
(Results 76-100 of 246 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Noble, Ray," accessed May 1, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102805.

Noble, Ray. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved May 1, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102805.

"Noble, Ray." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102805

External Sources

Wikipedia: Ray Noble

Discogs: Ray Noble

Allmusic: Ray Noble

Grove: Ray Noble

IMDb: Ray Noble

Linked Open Data Sources

LCNAR: Noble, Ray, 1903-1978 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n80063207

Wikidata: Ray Noble - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q953019

VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/37102927

MusicBrainz: Ray Noble - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/716a01fc-da79-41b8-816c-4e98168f002f

FAST: http://id.worldcat.org/fast/55323

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

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