Kenny Ball
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Biography
Essex boy Kenny Ball was in the vanguard of the trad jazz revival which swept the UK in sixties. Along with contemporaries Chris Barber and Acker Bilk, Ball became a household name making regular appearances on UK TV light entertainment programmes such as the BBC's popular Morecambe And Wise Show and the Black And White Minstrel Show. Ball and his band, Kenny Ball And His Jazzmen rose to fame when their rendition of Cole Porter's song Samantha reached number two in the UK Charts. The single's follow up, the 1962 release Midnight In Moscow, sold over a million copies and set the scene for a long successful career in the UK with 14 top 50 singles. Ball And His Jazzmen also enjoyed a brief period of success across the Atlantic with three consecutive chart entries in the US Charts. An honorary citizen of America's jazz capital New Orleans, Ball and his band were invited to to appear with Louis Armstrong during his final European tour. A measure of his popularity in the UK can be gauged by the fact he was booked to play at the wedding reception of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. He continued to tour along with his Jazzmen until shortly before his death in 2013. He died from pneumonia aged 82.
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Albums
Top Tracks
- Track Popularity
- Midnight in Moscow by Kenny Ball
- 1919 Rag by Kenny Ball
- Black and Tan Fantasy
- Yes She Do, No She Don't
- American Patrol
- Samantha by Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen
- Sophie's Rag by Tony Tape
- Oh Mary Don't You Weep
- Alexanders Ragtime Band by Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen
- Saturday Night Function by Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen
- Clarinet and Muckel by Kenny Ball
- Original Dixieland Onestep by Kenny Ball
- Kansas City Stomp by Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen
- Lili Marlene
- Whistling Cow Blues by Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen
- Old Miss Rag by Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen
- Ole Miss Rag by Kenny Ball
- Someday (You'll Be Sorry) by Chris Barber
- I Still Love You by Chris Barber
- March of the Siamese Children by Chris Barber
- My Mother's Eyes by Chris Barber
- Sukiyaki by Chris Barber
- Rondo
- Casablanca by Chris Barber
