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.
temptation
Stanley Black Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I should have known you were temptation
You smiled, luring me on
My heart was gone, you were temptation
It would be thrilling
If you were willing
If it can never be
Pity me for you are temptation and I am yours
Here is my heart, take it and say
We'll never part
I'm just a slave
Only a slave to you, temptation
You were born to be kissed
I can't resist.
You are temptation and I am yours
Here is my heart, take it and say
We'll never part
I'm just a slave
Only a slave to you, temptation
The lyrics to Stanley Black's "Temptation" describe a scenario in which the singer encounters a person who is seductive and alluring, and who they cannot resist. The opening lines "You came, I was alone, I should have known you were temptation" suggest that the singer is aware of the danger of this seductive person, but also acknowledges their own desire for them. The lyrics continue with "You smiled, luring me on, my heart was gone, you were temptation," which reinforces the idea that this person has a magnetic, captivating pull on the singer, causing them to lose control.
The lyrics also explore the idea that the temptation may not be a healthy or wise choice, with phrases such as "it would be thrilling if you were willing, if it can never be pity me, for you are temptation and I am yours." The singer recognizes that giving in to temptation may have negative consequences, but cannot help themselves from being drawn in. The final lines "Here is my heart, take it and say we'll never part, I'm just a slave, only a slave to you, temptation" bring the theme of submission and surrender to the forefront; the singer is willing to give themselves over completely to this person, despite the risks.
Line by Line Meaning
You came, I was alone
I was by myself when you arrived
I should have known you were temptation
I should have realized that you were going to tempt me
You smiled, luring me on
Your smile enticed me to come closer to you
My heart was gone, you were temptation
My heart was captured by you because you tempted me
It would be thrilling
It would be exciting
If you were willing
If you were open to the idea
If it can never be
If it's impossible
Pity me for you are temptation and I am yours
I am under your spell and you are the one tempting me
Here is my heart, take it and say
I am offering you my heart, please respond
We'll never part
Let's never separate
I'm just a slave
I am completely devoted to you
Only a slave to you, temptation
I am completely under your control, temptation
You were born to be kissed
You were created to be kissed
I can't resist.
I cannot refuse
You are temptation and I am yours
You are the one leading me astray and I belong to you
Lyrics © ANTHEM ENTERTAINMENT LP, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: LARRY JOHNSON, LARRY CURTIS JOHNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind