Kenny Ball

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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