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| Melody Maker Readers Poll (1952)... |
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For 74 years the "Melody Maker" was the weekly 'trade paper' for the dance band and jazz musician as well as all those interested in the modern music scene. One of it's continuing features and talking points were the annual Readers Polls where readers voted under different categories for individual musicians, singers, big bands and a host of other categories. The annual jazz polls were a major event in the jazz world but were also an important historical record of the state of British jazz through the years and preserve some of the historical perspective on British Jazz. This page carries the full results of the 1952 poll published on March 7th, 1953. |
This is the number one surprise in a Poll that has toppled established favourites and brought nine newcomers to the fore. Besides Parnell, newcomers include Vic Ash, Reg Owen, Johnny Hawksworth, and Bill McGuffie. Other new winners also appear under the various categories that were merged last year under 'Miscellaneous Instruments' that have been restored to individual sections this year. Last year's 'Swing' and 'Commercial Band' headings have been merged into one 'Band of the Year' rating. Although Ted Heath is still top, Jack Parnell, again second, has whittled away Ted's lead to just 1,413 votes. |
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 Jack Parnell Musician of the year 1 Jack Parnell 2 Johnny Dankworth 3 Kenny Baker 4 Ronnie Scott 5 Jimmy Deuchar 6 Humphrey Lyttelton 7 Ted Heath 8 Bill McGuffie 9 Cyril Stapleton 10 Allan Ganley 11 Sid Phillips 12 Freddy Randall 13 Ralph Dollimore 14 Ken Mackintosh 15 Tommy Whittle 16 Jimmy Walker 17 Eddie Calvert 18 Joe Harriott 19= Steve Race 19= Vic Ash 21 Wally Fawkes... Trombone 1 Jackie Armstrong 2 Harry Roche 3 Keith Christie 4 Ken Wray 5 Mac Minshull 6 Johnny Keating 7 George Chisholm 8 Don Lusher 9 Ed Harvey 10 Lad Busby 11 Gordon Langhorn 12 Jock Bain 13 Nornan Cave 14 Geoff Sowden... Bass 1 Johnny Hawksworth 2 Joe Muddel 3 Sammy Stokes 4 Lennie Bush 5 Jack Fallon 6 Mickey Ashman 7 Coleridge Goode 8 Frank Clark 9 Charlie Short 10 Frank Donnison... Guitar 1 Ivor Mairants 2 Roy Plummer 3 Laurie Deniz 4 Freddy Legon 5 Ike Isaacs 6 Malcolm Mitchell 7 Bert Weedon 8 Frank Deniz... |
Piano 1 Bill McGuffie 2 Ralph Dollimore 3 Ralph Sharon 4 Dill Jones 5 Frank Horrox 6 Mike McKenzie 7 Winifred Atwell 8 Johnny Parker 9 Steve Race 10 Alan Clare... Soprano Sax 1 Ronnie Chamberlain 2 Jimmy Walker 3 Bruce Turner 4 Roy Willox 5 Les Gilbert... Clarinet 1 Vic Ash 2 Sid Phillips 3 Wally Fawkes 4 Henry Mackenzie 5 Carl Barriteau 6 Nat Temple 7 Keith Bird... Alto Sax 1 Johnny Dankworth 2 Les Gilbert 3 Ken Mackintosh 4 Derek Humble 5 Joe Harriott 6 Dougie Robinson 7 Harry Hayes 8 Ronnie Chamberlain 9 Bruce Turner... Drums 1 Jack Parnell 2 Eric Delaney 3 Ronnie Verrell 4 Allan Ganley 5 Phil Seamen 6 Tony Kinsey 7 Basil Kirchin 8 George Hopkinson 9 Lennie Hastings 10 Tony Crombie... Organ 1 Harold Smart 2 Robin Richmond 3 Reg Dixon 4 Jimmy Leach... Vocal Group 1 Stargazers 2 Keynotes 3 Beverley Sisters 4 Kordites 5 Tanner Sisters 6 Hedley Ward Trio 7 Johnson Brothers... |
Modern Group 1 Johnny Dankworth 2 Ronnie Scott 3 Ray Ellington 4 Jimmy Walker 5 Norman Burns 6 Tito Burns 7= Eric Delaney 7= Kenny Baker... Tenor Sax 1 Ronnie Scott 2 Tommy Whittle 3 Keith Bird 4 Don Rendell 5 Jimmy Skidmore 6 Kenny Graham 7 Laurie Gold 8 Mike McKenna 9 Freddie Ballerini... Baritone Sax 1 Harry Klein 2 Kenny Graham 3 Dave Shand 4 Alex Leskie 5 Benny Green 6 Harry Gold... Band of the Year 1 Ted Heath 2 Jack Parnell 3 Geraldo 4 Kenny Baker 5 BBC Show Band 6 Ken Mackintosh 7 Basil Kirchin 8 Joe Loss 9 Vic Lewis 10 Sid Phillips 11 Oscar Rabin 12 Squadronaires 13 Teddy Foster 14 Eric Winstone 15 Stanley Black 16 Ambrose 17 Humphrey Lyttelton... Male Singer 1 Dickie Valentine 2 Benny Lee 3 Jimmy Young 4 Frank Holder 5 Alan Dean 6 Lee Lawrence 7 Dick James 8 Dennis Lotis 9 Tony Brent 10 Howard Jones 11 Bob Dale 12 Teddy Johnson 13 Derek Francis 14 David Hughes... Girl Singer 1 Lita Roza 2 Cleo Laine 3 Pearl Carr 4 Jill Day 5 Marion Williams 6 Eve Boswell 7 Rose Brennan... |
Traditional Band 1 Humphrey Lyttelton 2 Freddy Randall 3 Sid Phillips 4 Saints Jazz Band 5 Harry Gold 6 Christie Brothers 7 Joe Daniels... Latin-American Band 1 Edmundo Ros 2 Roberto Inglez 3 Stanley Black 4 Hermanos Deniz 5 Santiago Lopez 7 Don Carlos... Trumpet 1 Kenny Baker 2 Jimmy Deuchar 3 Humphrey Lyttelton 4 Eddie Calvert 5 Bobby Pratt 6 Freddy Randall 7 Jimmy Watson... Vibes 1 Martin Slavin 2 Vic Feldman 3 Roy Marsh 4 Tommy Pollard... Violin 1 Stephane Grappelly 2 Freddy Ballerini 3 Danny Levan 4 Paul Adam... Accordion 1 Tito Burns 2 Roy Herbert 3 Dave Davani 4 Martin Lukins... (Tito Burns received almost 90% of the votes in this section...) Arranger 1 Reg Owen 2 Johnny Dankworth 3 Kenny Baker 4 Jimmy Deuchar 5 Alex Leslie 6 Jimmy Watson 7 Laurie Johnson 8 Alan Roper 9 Bob Farnon 10 Ralph Dollimore 11 Wally Stott 12 Norrie Paramor 13 Ken Thorne 14 Ray Martin... |