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.
Love is a Many Splendoured Thing
Stanley Black Lyrics
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It's the April rose that only grows in the early Spring
Love is nature's way of giving a reason to be living
The golden crown that makes a man a king
Once on a high and windy hill, In the morning mist
Two lovers kissed and the world stood still
Then your fingers touched my silent heart and taught it how to sing
Yes, true love's a many splendored thing
Love is a many splendored thing
It's the April rose that only grows in the early Spring
Love is nature's way of giving a reason to be living
The golden crown that makes a man a king
Once on a high and windy hill, In the morning mist
Two lovers kissed and the world stood still
Then your fingers touched my silent heart and taught it how to sing
Yes, true love's a many splendored thing
The song Love Is A Many Splendoured Thing by Stanley Black talks about the beauty of love and how it gives a reason to live. It compares love to the April rose that grows only in early spring, which is not only beautiful, but also rare. Love is nature's way of giving a person the feeling of being crowned like a king. The song narrates a story of two lovers who share a moment that freezes time. It talks about how the touch of the loved one can teach someone how to sing, and how true love is indeed exquisite.
Line by Line Meaning
Love is a many splendored thing
Love is a complex and multifaceted emotion that brings joy and happiness in life
It's the April rose that only grows in the early Spring
Love is like a beautiful flower which blooms only in the right season, when everything is perfect and aligned
Love is nature's way of giving a reason to be living
Love is a part of the natural order of things and is necessary to have a fulfilling life
The golden crown that makes a man a king
Love is a symbol of greatness that elevates a person's status and makes them feel powerful and important
Once on a high and windy hill, In the morning mist
This line sets the scene for a romantic moment and creates a sense of atmosphere and ambiance
Two lovers kissed and the world stood still
Their love was so intense that it made everything else fade away, leaving only them in the moment
Then your fingers touched my silent heart and taught it how to sing
This line suggests that the person's love has awakened deep emotions within the singer's heart, bringing it to life and filling it with joy and happiness.
Yes, true love's a many splendored thing
The artist confirms that true love is indeed a wonderful and amazing feeling that brings light and happiness into people's lives.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: SAMMY FAIN, PAUL WEBSTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind