British music publisher and singer
Dick James
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Born
| Reginald Isaac Leon Vapnick
(
1920-12-12
)
12 December 1920
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Died
| 1 February 1986
(1986-02-01)
(aged 65)
London, England
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Occupations
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Years active
|
- 1937?1958
(singer)
- 1958?1986
(music publisher)
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Allegiance
| United Kingdom
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Service/
branch
|
British Army
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Years of service
| 1942?1945
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Unit
| King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
Parachute Regiment
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Battles/wars
| World War II
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|
Dick James
(born
Reginald Leon Isaac Vapnick
; 12 December 1920 ? 1 February 1986) was a British
music publisher
and singer. He and
Brian Epstein
established
the Beatles
' publisher
Northern Songs
. Later, with his son Stephen, James founded the
DJM
record label and recording studios, which signed
Elton John
and
Bernie Taupin
.
Early life
[
edit
]
James was born on 12 December 1920 in the
East End of London
, to Polish Jewish immigrants. His father was a kosher butcher.
[1]
[2]
He sang with North London dance bands in his early teens, and was a regular vocalist at the Cricklewood Palais by the age of seventeen. James joined the
Henry Hall
band, and made first radio broadcast in 1940, but joined the
Army
in 1942. After
World War II
he continued to sing with leading bands, including
Geraldo
's. Later still, James was also a part-time member of
The Stargazers
, a popular early 1950s vocal group.
[3]
In the 1950s he often appeared in the top ten
Melody Maker
vocal charts alongside the likes of Dickie Valentine and Frank Holder.
He was the singer of the
theme songs
of
The Adventures of Robin Hood
and
The Buccaneers
, from
British television
in the 1950s, and was a friend and associate of the record producer
George Martin
.
[4]
Switch to publishing
[
edit
]
James entered the
music publishing
business as his singing career tapered off. In 1958, he joined Sidney Bron Music as a song-plugger but decided to leave and open Dick James Music in 1961. In early 1963, he was contacted by
Brian Epstein
who was looking for a publisher for the second Beatles single, "
Please Please Me
". James called Philip Jones, producer of the TV show
Thank Your Lucky Stars
, played the record down the phone to him and secured the band's first nationwide television appearance.
[5]
The pair subsequently established
Northern Songs
Ltd., with
Beatles
John Lennon
and
Paul McCartney
, to publish Lennon and McCartney's original songs
[6]
(fellow Beatles
George Harrison
and
Ringo Starr
were also signed to Northern Songs as songwriters, but did not renew their contracts in 1968). James's company, Dick James Music, administered Northern Songs.
[7]
What initially began as an amicable working relationship between the Beatles and James disintegrated by the late 1960s: the Beatles considered that James had betrayed and taken advantage of them when he sold Northern Songs in 1969 without offering the band an opportunity to buy control of the publishing company. James profited handsomely from the sale of Northern Songs, but the Beatles never again had the rights to their own songs.
[8]
During the 1960s, James also handled
Billy J. Kramer
and
Gerry and the Pacemakers
. James lived in Anson Road,
Cricklewood
, north-west London, in the 1960s. He was involved, along with Brian Epstein, in offering
Bobby Willis
a singing contract which he turned down on his future wife,
Cilla Black
's, insistence. Willis was a backing singer on Cilla Black's "
You're My World
".
[
citation needed
]
Later days
[
edit
]
James signed
Elton John
(then known as Reginald Dwight) and his lyricist
Bernie Taupin
as untried unknowns in 1967 after his son, Stephen, who had been working with his father since 1963, found Dwight using their recording studios late at night without permission. Stephen, who had started the recording studios and opened a record production company called This Productions, formed
DJM Records
in 1969.
[
citation needed
]
Stephen instigated Dwight's adoption of the stage name "Elton John" and oversaw his first recording contract. All of John's releases up to 1976 were issued on the DJM record label. The label also carried
Jasper Carrott
,
RAH Band
,
Danny Kirwan
, and
John Inman
.
[
citation needed
]
John formed his own
Rocket
label in 1973, but in 1982 he was involved in a court case with James about
royalties
.
[9]
In June 1985, the British music magazine
NME
reported that John was suing James over the rights to his earlier material ? a case which John lost.
[10]
Death
[
edit
]
James died in London of a heart attack on 1 February 1986, at the age of 65. Dick James Music was acquired by
PolyGram
which was, in turn, bought by
Universal Music Group
. The Dick James catalog is currently part of
Universal Music Publishing Group
.
UK chart hits
[
edit
]
- "Robin Hood" / "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" (1956) ? number 14
- "Garden of Eden" (1957) ? number 18
[11]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Talevski, Nick (7 April 2010).
Rock Obituaries: Knocking On Heaven's Door
. Omnibus Press.
ISBN
9780857121172
. Retrieved
1 August
2020
– via Google Books.
- ^
Brown, Peter; Gaines, Steven (5 November 2002).
The Love You Make: An Insider's Story of the Beatles
. Penguin.
ISBN
9781440674075
. Retrieved
1 August
2020
– via Google Books.
- ^
"Stargazers"
.
CHARTWATCH
. Archived from
the original
on 18 April 2005.
- ^
Tobler, John (1992).
NME Rock 'N' Roll Years
(1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 23. CN 5585.
- ^
Coleman, Ray (1990).
Brian Epstein ? The Man Who Made The Beatles
. London: Penguin. p. 118.
- ^
Tobler, John (1992).
NME Rock 'N' Roll Years
(1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 117. CN 5585.
- ^
Spitz 2005. p. 365
- ^
Harry, Bill (2000). The Beatles Encyclopedia. p. 573
- ^
Schuster, Gary.
"Songwriters and Music Publishers: Partners in Rhyme?"
.
Jacobowitz and Gubits, LLP
. Archived from
the original
on 20 March 2006.
- ^
Tobler, John (1992).
NME Rock 'N' Roll Years
(1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 405. CN 5585.
- ^
Roberts, David (2006).
British Hit Singles & Albums
(19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 278.
ISBN
1-904994-10-5
.
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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History
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Lists
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Tours and
performances
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Personnel
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Associated
companies
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Associated
places
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Selected books
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Other topics
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Studio albums
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Live albums
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Soundtrack albums
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Compilation albums
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Extended plays
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Other albums
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Video albums
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Concert tours
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Concert residencies
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Miscellaneous
performances
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Musicals
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Related articles
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International
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National
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