I almost cried at the end of this, and he way he said “I wish he were here now” with so much sorrow in his voice just broke my heart. I’m twelve and love Al Bowlly so much.
This is Ray himself. This particular piece was recorded with him reading from a script he had written. I interviewed him in the 1970s myself and I can vouch that is indeed him.
It's definitely him, having heard hisvoice before. He was in a Fred Astaire film, in about 1938, co starring Joan Fontaine the name of which I momentarily forget. Ray, I think, played himself.
There is no doubt about who is narrating this. The voice is recognisable. What I'd like would be to find your interview and listen to it. The one thing that jarred was his attempt at an American accent!! But you can't have everything, I suppose.
I have never been able to hear about Al Bowlly like this before. He sounds like a fairly nice guy. The legacy he was able to establish in his sort carrier is amazing.
I’m 40 and a music producer. This is all well before my time but like many was introduced due to “The Shining” and ever since have been obsessed with Al. Got his life story book and all his music. Something about him really breaks my heart and I worked for several years just doors away from the savoy in London where he used to sing. Kind Of blows my mind as I see him as a hero. I actually walked on the same concrete he did. Over the top maybe but I just have a mad deep love for him. I wish to god there was much more live footage of him on here cos he is just so great. One of my true heroes forever. Big up AL. You’re a legend bro
Ray Noble had such a fabulous speaking voice, and was a highly-talented musician and composer/lyricist (known particularly for "The Very Thought Of You" and "Cherokee"), with a great sense of humor, too.
Actually Al did smoke. I've seen many photos of him with a cigarette in his hand and read interviews he gave in old music magazines where he says he smoked like a chimney. Perhaps he went through periods of cutting down or not smoking to protect his voice, so when Ray knew him he wasn't smoking.
@@mabel8179 He still ended up with problems to his vocal chords...nodules, or some such, which needed surgery. Successful but at the time he was killed by a German parachute bomb, were deteriorating again.
@@petertaylor3600 I know. I've read his biography. Not long before the awful night Al is described as having a throat infection, so it may or may not have been another vocal nodule. Whatever it was may have been treatable like it was previously. Even so, his voice still sounded good.
@@mabel8179 To me he sounded better than before. He pitched his voice a little lower and it sounded far better. I read somewhere that the op. had been successful and you can hear it in recordings made with a US orchestra from the late 30s. But, this might be just me.
@@alternateunreleasedshellac505 Yes, I agree! Had Al not gone home that night, we would surely have today's copies of his great song versions. With even better sound! A sad loss.
One thing Ray didn't quite get was that Al WAS very good looking and this, with his singing voice and personal charm and charisma is what attracted women. I found that amusing that Ray didn't quite know why women found Al so attractive! Lew Stone's wife understood why- I have seen her talk about Al in a documentary and she said Al had a "magnetic" quality.
How amazing. Thank you for sharing this! It's unfortunate that there are no recorded interviews with Al Bowlly himself. Still, very fortunate for this! :)
What a lovely clip and brings a tear to the eye when RN said ''I wish he were here today''. Which decade was that recorded I wonder. RN does not sound old. Thanks
How very interesting! Ray Noble confirms that both he and Al Bowlly were both sincere to a fault in their musical expression. One can hear that in their music. It comes across unmistakably. That of course is why so many "moderns" hung up with "being cool" can't deal with the music style exemplified by Noble and Bowlly. Their loss.
I have an acetate disc of this interview, from the 1950s, which was owned by Brian Rust. It's a pity this video uses a poor transfer; the original is crystal clear. It was reissued on an HMV LP Box Set of Ray Noble with Al Bowlly, which is well worth getting.
Very nice talk of the great Al Bowlly. I am a relatively new fan of his, having recently "discovering" him on RU-vid. I am in awe of his great "Blue Moon". He needed a good break to have made it in America. Too bad.
The war was coming and he probably wished to go to where home was. He had a career in England prior to that, But, actually he should have stayed in the US because he'd have lived his full life span. Who was to know the future?
No, Noble's speaking voice, without a doubt. Recorded, maybe in the 50s perhaps because Bowlly was more or less forgotten by the 60s. Rediscovered now with RU-vid. I remember hearing him singing on the radio when I was knee high but nobody took much notice here. In London he did live performances which helped.
