Paul Rich
In 1942 he began his long association with the Lou Preager Band at London’s Hammersmith Palais. He became Lou's longest serving singer staying with the band over thirteen years. On many occasions, after all the dancers at the Palais had gone home, Paul would head back into town to perform his guitar-vocal solo act in West End nightspots. He also appeared in two films: 1) In the 1950 thriller Pool of London, for which the Preager band supplied the music and Paul was in a pub scene and 2) in Counter Spy a few years later where he sang a specially written song (by Eric Spear) Slightly Mad in Mexico in a music hall scene, accompanying himself on guitar. One of the records he made was Cruising Down the River, recorded in 1946. The fast waltz was written by two elderly ladies, Nellie Tollerton and Eily Beadell as part of a ‘Write a Song and Win £1000' competition sponsored by the BBC. Paul was contracted to sing the winning entry and it became the country’s second biggest sheet music seller ever (second only to Doing the Lambeth Walk). Paul married Marion White at Bayswater Synagogue on 24 June 1952 one son, Clive.
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The company also had an enviable reputation as a successful sub-publisher of US artistes and catalogues. It represented Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5, Dolly Parton and the Osmonds and the entire Tamla Motown catalogue during Motown’s most successful years in which it produced hits by Four Tops, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and many more. After several decades in the music publishing business Paul ended up running the Music Publishers Association. He retired in 1996 after 54 years in the business. Paul Rich was initiated into Chelsea Lodge in January, 1960. He was WM on two occasions - 1979 and 1999. He attained LGR. He died 23 February 2000, aged 78 years. The BRIT school’s ‘Paul Rich Award for Musical Composition’ is dedicated to his memory. |
Singer,
musician and music publisher. Born 20 August 1921, London the son of Russian immigrants.
Although the family were poor his mother had a great passion for music and, despite the
family’s limited means, Paul’s elder brothers Boris and Joe were given classical
music lessons and became professional classical musicians. Paul was originally earmarked
to follow in his father’s footsteps as a tailor, but possessed a fine singing voice
and a yearning to be an entertainer. He studied guitar under Ivor Mairants and went on to
play in the bands of Harry Leader, Eddie Carroll, Ronnie Munro and Oscar Rabin
before finally joining Lou Preager. By now he was just as likely to be singing as playing
guitar and provided the vocal on over fifty of the band’s recordings on Regal
Zonophone, Parlophone and Columbia Records.
