Аннотация: Англ. язык. Биографические сведения о композиторе.
Frank Chacksfield was born Francis Charles Chacksfield on the 9th May 1914 in Battle, Sussex, England. He was the only child of Charles and Alice Chacksfield. Frank died on the 9th of June 1995 after at hard fought battle with Parkinson's disease. He was 81 years old.
Frank was most famous as being one of Britain's most accomplished Orchestra leaders and Composers from the 1950's onwards.
He started playing piano and the organ at the young age of 7 years old. Frank had already appeared at the Hastings Music Festival as a soloist by the time he had turned 14 years old. He was also an assistant organist at the Salehurt Parish Church.
Frank left school at the age of 15 years, his parents did not approve of his choice in a career in music, so Frank tried working in a Solicitors office. He never lost his interest in music and by the time he was 22 years old he turned professional in the music industry.
With the outbreak of the Second World War he was posted with the Royal Signals, but he took ill and while recovering he made his first radio broadcast for BBC radio.
Once Frank recovered from his illness, he was posted to the Army's entertainments section at Sailbury and became staff arranger for the Stars in Battledess unit. He held the rank of Corporal.
Frank married Jeanne Lehmann in 1946. They never had any children, but their marriage lasted until the day they died.
After the war, Frank supported Charlie Chester's comedy group, Stand Easy. The connection with Chester led to Frank's first recording, as the accompanist for Frederick Ferrari, one of Chester's lead singers. During this time, he was formed his own group, the Tunesmiths, and conducted orchestras for Henry Hall and Geraldo.
Frank Chacksfield signed with Decca and made his recorded solo debut in the early '50s. Soon, he scored a novelty hit single with "Little Red Monkey," which climbed to number three on the British charts in the spring of 1953. That summer, he had a Top 10 hit on both sides of the Atlantic with the "Theme from Limelight," which featured a lush, sweeping orchestra. The next year, Frank followed with "Ebb Tide," which replicated the arrangement for "Limelight" and was equally successful. It was his first US hit single, peaking at number two.
For the rest of the '50s, Frank released a series of popular instrumental singles, as well as accompanying albums. In the '60s, he had a weekly program on British radio; as he got older, he made the occasional appearance on UK radio shows.
Frank Chacksfield continued to record into the '90s; his last album was Thanks for the Memories.
Early in his career he was fortunate to have several big sellers in the United States, which firmly established his reputation worldwide. During his recording career with Decca alone, it is estimated that he sold 20 million copies.
Frank Chacksfield and his Band/Orchestra released over 25 Albums and Singles over his career.
Research: Roman Lutsenko, 2017