Black was born as Solomon Schwartz on 14 June 1913 in Whitechapel, England. His parents were Polish and Romanian Jews. He began piano lessons at the age of seven. He was aged only 12 when his first composition was broadcast on BBC Radio and continued his early success by winning a Melody Maker arranging competition aged 15.
In the early 1930s he was employed as a jazz player and composer and had worked with Howard Jacobs, Joe Orlando, Lew Stone, Maurice Winnick and Teddy Joyce by the time he joined Harry Roy in 1936. He had also broadcast and recorded with several American musicians, including jazz saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, who had first heard Black on late night radio shows with Lew Stone's band. When the two eventually met in London, the reviewer Edgar Jackson suggested they record together, and a notable collaboration is a duet version of Honeysuckle Rose.
During World War II, Black joined the Royal Air Force, and became involved in managing the entertainment of servicemen based at Wolverhampton. In 1944 he was appointed conductor of the BBC Dance Orchestra, and remained in the job for almost nine years, broadcasting as many as six nights a week.
By this time he had also begun recording under his own name for Decca. Now well involved with the film industry, he went on to compose, arrange and direct music for about 200 more films, notably after being appointed music director at Elstree Studios in 1958. He was also principal conductor of the Associated British Picture Corporation Orchestra and musical director composer of that organisation from 1958-1963.
Stanley Black's radio work kept him in contact with a large listening audience through his incidental music for shows such as Much Binding in the Marsh and the first two series of The Goon Show. He later presented his own programmes on radio and television, including Black Magic and The Marvellous World of Stanley Black.
In the early 1950s he regularly topped the Melody Maker lists of the most-heard musicians on radio. He was chosen to be included on Decca's first release of long-playing records in the UK in June 1950. This enabled him to continue his conducting, arranging and performing and resulted in a large number of albums. He was particularly popular in United States, as evidenced by his inclusion in the Billboard best-sellers lists.
During his life, he conducted many of Britain's major orchestras, and until the 1990s he was still directing regular broadcast sessions at the BBC studios, despite the onset of deafness in later life.
Stanley Black is remembered for writing numerous scores for radio, television and cinema, including the theme-tune for The Goon Show.
Other films he composed scores for include Laughter in Paradise (1951), The Naked Truth (1957), Blood of the Vampire (1958), Too Many Crooks (1958), The Long and the Short and the Tall (1961), West 11 (1963), The System (1964), Crossplot (1969), and the Cliff Richard musicals The Young Ones (1961) and his orchestral backing for Richard's follow up, Summer Holiday (1962), which won him an Ivor Novello Award. His work also became familiar to millions of cinema audiences as a consequence of his theme tune and music library for Pathé News, written in 1960.
He also recorded many classical works, including collections of Tchaikovsky and George Gershwin. In 1965 he won a Gramophone Award for his version of Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol. In addition, he arranged and conducted many commercially successful albums on LP and later CD like Tropical Moonlight, Cuban Moonlight, Black Magic, and series of Film Spectacular and Broadway Spectacular for Decca Records.
Embraceable You
Stanley Black Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Embrace me, you irreplaceable you!
Just one look at you
My heart grew tipsy in me,
You and you alone
Bring out the gypsy in me!
Above all, I want my arms about you!
Don't be a naughty baby,
Come to papa, come to papa, do!
My sweet embraceable you!
The lyrics of “Embraceable You” composed by George Gershwin are a declaration of love. The beginning of the song invites the listener to embrace the singer, expressing how irreplaceable and valuable the person is to them. The singer acknowledges that one simple glance from the person causes their heart to skip a beat, admitting that the person brings out their wild and adventurous side. The singer continues to profess their love, stating they love every bit of the person and most importantly, they want to be around them all the time.
The lyrics take on a playful tone further making evident the fondness the singer has for the person. The singer pleads for the person to come to them, asking them not to be obstinate. The lyrics, therefore, express love in its rawest and most sincere form, and the song remains relevant to date. The lyrics of “Embraceable You” serve as a reminder to cherish love and to express it in the simplest of ways.
Line by Line Meaning
Embrace me, my sweet embraceable you!
I long for your embrace, my dear and lovable partner.
Embrace me, you irreplaceable you!
I desire your embrace, for no one can replace you.
Just one look at you
At the sight of you, my heart became dizzy with excitement.
My heart grew tipsy in me,
I felt a surge of love and passion in my heart.
You and you alone
Only you, and no one else.
Bring out the gypsy in me!
You awaken my wild and adventurous spirit.
I love all, the many charms about you!
I adore all of the wonderful aspects of your character.
Above all, I want my arms about you!
More than anything else, I desire to hold you in my arms.
Don't be a naughty baby,
Please don't be difficult or stubborn.
Come to papa, come to papa, do!
Come to me, my dear, and let us be close together.
My sweet embraceable you!
You are my beloved and affectionate partner.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GEORGE GERSHWIN, IRA GERSHWIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MadredeAgua9
Great seeing Keely breaking character and enjoying herself while still singing with those great pipes of hers.
@Dobie_Gillis
This was the best of live TV including ad libs. Louie Prima carried the whole act.
@brocstarr
I'm 38 and i'm on a binge of Louis. Thanks AEW and MJF for singing Pennies from Heaven and opening my ears.
@thomasstoll5844
Never scene or heard this before. This is great! I'm 52 now and my Poppy Joe when i was a kid would play his 78's for me. All of which i still have and listen to sometimes....
@mefirstplease3676
Keely’s voice was always special.
@SandraMaria-go9hh
wonderful, awesome duo! Thanks.
@kensmith8546
Louis and Keely at there Jovial best - The band as tight as ever - easy to see why they were the King and Queen of Vegas !!!!!
@miata1492
*their
@glenndamckinnis9445
I'm 60, now an adult according to my husband 😆
I first saw Louis Prima & Keely Smith on Ed Sullivan Show reruns. They are grest!!
@MrCoursair77
I like how he breaks into the song