Emile Ford

Emile Ford (born Emile Sweetman, 16 October 1937, Castries, Saint Lucia, West Indies [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2091656/bio IMDb database @ imdb.com] ] ) is a musician and singer, who was popular in the United Kingdom in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Life and career

Ford was the son of a government official and an opera-singing mother, and he moved to Britain with his family at an early age.

He was educated at the Paddington Technical College in London.cite book
first= Joseph
last= Murrells
year= 1978
title= The Book of Golden Discs
edition= 2nd
publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd
location= London
pages= p. 114
id= ISBN 0-214-20512-6] It was during this time that Ford taught himself to play a number of musical instruments. These included the guitar, piano, violin, bass guitar and drums. His innate interest in music was fostered by his mother, and perhaps derived in part — according to annotator Roger Dopson and journalist Norman Jopling — in his synesthesia: he perceived sound as colours and patterns.

He teamed up with George Ford, Ken Street and John Cuffley as Emile Ford and the Checkmates, and their first self-produced recording "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?" went to number one in the UK Singles Chart at the end of 1959 and stayed there for six weeks. The track remains as having the longest question ever asked by a chart topping disc in the UK.cite book
first= Jo
last= Rice
year= 1982
title= The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits
edition= 1st
publisher= Guinness Superlatives Ltd
location= Enfield, Middlesex
pages= p. 47
id= ISBN 0-85112-250-7] Ford was also the first black British artist to sell one million copies of a 7" single.

Ford first entered show business at the age of twenty, and made his first public appearance at The Buttery, Kensington. This was immediately followed by appearances at (on a rota basis) The Breadbasket, Fitzroy Square; The Roebuck, corner of Tottenham Court Road and Warren Street tube station; The Macabre, Soho; and Chiquita’s, near Regent Street (then the Show Business Agents coffee bar).

Ford's first appearance with a backing group was at the Athenaeum Ballroom in Muswell Hill.

His TV appearances in 1958 included outings on 'The Music Shop', the 'Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson Show', 'Oh, Boy!', and Six-Five Special'. In 1959 the band appeared on the TV programme 'Sunday Serenade', which ran for six weeks.

But it was winning the Soho Fair talent contest in July 1959, that led to his Pye recording contract.cite book
first= John
last= Tobler
year= 1992
title= NME Rock 'N' Roll Years
edition= 1st
publisher= Reed International Books Ltd
location= London
pages= p. 75
id= CN 5585]

In January 1960, Ford signed a two year employment management contract with Leslie Grade. Emile Ford also scored a number one EP in 1960. His debut album was made up of covers, and he made several albums throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Most of his albums included new versions of "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?". In the late 1960s he moved to Sweden and while there his private recordings were stolen and bootlegged Fact|date=February 2007. These recordings were subsequently released on the Hallmark record label.

In 2001, Castle Communications released the double-CD set, "Counting Teardrops", covering Ford's complete Pye Records sides from 1959 through to 1963. [http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/ford_emile/bio.jhtml] A full track listing is available here [http://www.mmguide.musicmatch.com/album/album.cgi?ALBUMID=648470]

Further information

*The readers of the British music magazine, NME, voted Emile Ford and the Checkmates as the "Best New Act" in 1960.cite book
first= David
last= Roberts
year= 2001
title= British Hit Singles
edition= 14th
publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
location= London
pages= p. 211
id= ISBN 0-85156-156-X]

*"What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?" was originally recorded by Ada Jones and Billy Murray in 1911.
*"(I'd Like to Get You on a) Slow Boat to China" was composed by Frank Loesser, and originally recorded by Kay Kyser in 1948.
*"Counting Teardrops" was written by Barry Mann and Howard Greenfield.
*"Them There Eyes" was written in 1930, and first recorded by Louis Armstrong that same year and by Duke Ellington in 1931.
*His recordings included "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now". The melody was written by Joseph E. Howard and Harold Orlob, and the lyrics by Will M. Hough and Frank R. Adams. The song was published in 1909.

Discography

UK singles chart credits

*"What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?" / "Don't Tell Me Your Troubles" (Pye 7N15225) 1959 - No. 1
*"On a Slow Boat to China" / "That Lucky Old Sun" (Pye 7N15245) 1960 - No. 3
*"You'll Never Know What You're Missing ('Til You Try)" / "Still" (Pye 7N15268) 1960 - No. 12
*"Them There Eyes" / "Question" (Pye 7N15282) 1960 - No. 18 - α
*"Counting Teardrops" / "White Christmas" (Pye 7N15314) 1960 - No. 4
*"What am I Gonna Do" / "A Kiss to Build a Dream On" (Pye 7N15331) 1961 - No. 33
*"Half of my Heart" - 1961 - No. 42 - α
*"I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now" - 1962 - No. 43 - α(α - "Credited to Emile Ford. All other recordings credit Emile Ford and the Checkmates").

cite book
first= David
last= Roberts
year= 2006
title= British Hit Singles & Albums
edition= 19th
publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
location= London
pages= p. 207/8
id= ISBN 1-904994-10-5]

Albums

*"New Tracks" (Pye)
*"Emile" (Pye)
*"Emile Ford" (Hallmark Records)
*"What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?"
*"On a Slow Boat to China"
*"My Kind of Country"

Compilation album

*"Counting Teardrops" - 2001 - Castle Communications

ee also

*List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
*List of number-one singles from the 1950s (UK)
*UK No.1 Hits of 1959
*UK No.1 Hits of 1960
*List of Christmas number one singles (UK)
*List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1960s
*List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart

References

External links

* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:57ri28oi056a~T1 Emile Ford biography at the AMG website]
* [http://www.45-rpm.org.uk/dire/emilef.htm Emile Ford and the Checkmates story at the 45-rpm Website]
* [http://www.soundrevelation.co.uk/ Fansite including 2002 radio interview and excerpt from interview with Norman Joplin]