It is rare indeed that the talent of any one artist is held in the high esteem that has been awarded to Al Bowlly. This vocalist, who became the most popular and sought after entertainer of the 1930’s, rivalled the great Bing Crosby in stature. Al Bowlly is regarded as a form of phenomenon in his field. His reputation as a singer not only placed him as one of the most famous ‘Crooners’ in his own lifetime, but appeared to grow and mellow long after his ‘Good-night Sweetheart’ days became a part of popular music history. The merits of Al Bowlly continue to gain strength and importance as each generation strives to find the ‘roots’ for it’s particular form of musical identification.
The warmth, spontaneity and unabashed love for life that Al contained in his vocal interpretations of such modern classics as ‘Love Is The Sweetest Thing’, ‘All Is Forgotten Now’ and his signature tune ‘Goodnight Sweetheart’ has endeared him to generation after generation of music fans. It is no wonder that Al has commanded such respect from music critics the world over. The concentrated ‘romanticism’ that one could quite appropriately call ‘his style’ has become one of the most imitated vocal deliveries to emerge from the pre-war depression days of the 20’s and early 30’s. Even today, the honey-smooth, wholesomeness that people identified with Al has once again entered into a new revivalist period. Indeed, the number of vocalists who have quite blatantly employed this effect, reads like the who’s who of our current batch of budding balladeers! Al specialised in the ‘Romantics’. He achieved the ultimate success with this ‘Formula’. The songs contained the sweet, dramatic and love-lorn pinings that fills the vast majority of both writers and vocalists’ waking hours. However, Al has one precious, priceless asset that placed him far above his competitors, he imbued his material with a flair for communication. He had the qualities that made people believe and react to the lyrics. He could lift a banal lyric line into an emotional experience, without falling into ‘Unreasonable dramatics’, to force the message across. This was Al Bowlly, and as far as most critics are concerned, still is.
— Michael Delaney
Side One
WITH ALL MY LOVE AND KISSES (Gottler-Nicholls)
I’M GLAD I WAITED (Youmans)
YOU’RE MINE, YOU! (Green)
MIDNIGHT, THE STARS AND YOU (Woods-Campbell-Connelly)
The Al Bowlly Archive 