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.
Secret Love
Stanley Black Lyrics
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That lived within the heart of me
All too soon my secret love,
Became impatient to be free
So I told a friendly star,
The way that dreamers often do
Just how wonderful you are,
Now, I shout it from the highest hills
Even told the golden daffodils
At last my hearts an open door,
And my secret love's
No secret anymore.
The lyrics of Stanley Black's song Secret Love speak of a once hidden and silent love that longs to be free and be known. The song talks about how the singer had a secret love that has been kept within the heart for so long. But as it becomes impatient to be free, the singer confides to a "friendly star," telling it "just how wonderful you are, and why I'm so in love with you." And so finally, the singer reveals the once-secret love to the world, shouting it from the highest hills and even telling the golden daffodils. The once-hidden love is now out in the open, and it's no secret anymore.
The song Secret Love is a song that describes the euphoria of when a once-hidden love becomes known. It tells of the freedom that comes when one is honest and reveals their true feelings. The singer's story is a relatable one for many, and the song's melody and lyrics beautifully capture the emotions that come with having a secret love and finally setting it free.
Line by Line Meaning
Once I had a secret love,
I used to have a secret love that nobody knew about.
That lived within the heart of me
This love was only felt by me and no one else.
All too soon my secret love,
But then I realized my love shouldn't be kept in secret any longer.
Became impatient to be free
It wanted to be expressed and shared with others.
So I told a friendly star,
I confided in a friend, symbolized by a star, as if talking to the night sky.
The way that dreamers often do
I revealed my feelings in a poetic and romantic way.
Just how wonderful you are,
I explained how amazing and special the object of my love was.
And why I'm so in love with you
I shared the reasons why I was so deeply in love.
Now, I shout it from the highest hills
I am now so open that I declare my love proudly to everyone from the highest point I can find.
Even told the golden daffodils
I expressed my love even to nature, symbolized by the golden daffodils.
At last my hearts an open door,
My heart is now open and receptive, no longer closed.
And my secret love's
The love I used to hide in my heart's
No secret anymore.
is not a secret anymore; it is now expressed for all to see and hear.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: PAUL FRANCIS WEBSTER, SAMMY FAIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind