The Last Song I'll Write for You
"The Last Song I'll Write for You" is a song recorded by "American Idol" season 7 winner and singer-songwriter David Cook. It was released independently as a single through Cook's imprint Analog Heart Music on May 4, 2012, following his departure from RCA Records.
Content.
"The Last Song I'll Write for You" is a mid-tempo rock ballad that draws on elements of both pop rock and alternative rock. Kevin Rutherford of "Billboard" described the song's style as "adult alternative." Its lyrics describe a breakup and moving on from a relationship that is no longer healthy, which, given the timing of its release, has led critics to speculate that the song refers to Cook's split from his record label. Cook, however, has dismissed this theory, explaining to Yahoo! Music that the ballad was inspired by "an ex from long, long, long ago."
Background and release.
"The Last Song I'll Write for You" was written by Cook, Andy Skib, and Daniel James, and was produced by John Fields. It was released to digital retailers on May 4, 2012 before Cook premiered the song on the May 10, 2012 episode of the eleventh season of "American Idol".
Reception.
Commercial performance.
The single sold 15,000 copies in its first week of release, debuting and peaking at number 45 on the "Billboard" Pop Digital Songs chart.
Critical reception.
Grady Smith of "Entertainment Weekly" says "the slow-burn hook on this self-released breakup ballad is earnestly catchy."
References.
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I'll Stand by You
1994 single by the Pretenders
"I'll Stand by You" is a song recorded by English-American rock band the Pretenders from their sixth studio album, "Last of the Independents" (1994). The song was written by Chrissie Hynde and the songwriting team of Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg, and produced by Ian Stanley. The song is a ballad in which the singer pledges love and faithful assistance to a loved one in times of personal darkness.
Released on April 11, 1994, "I'll Stand by You" reached the top 20 in several countries, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The accompanying music video was directed by London-based director Zanna, featuring Hynde taking care of an ill man in a hut. "I'll Stand by You" also became a major hit for British girl group Girls Aloud in late 2004 and American country singer Carrie Underwood in early 2007, both times recorded as a charity single. Colombian singer Shakira performed the song for the live charity telethon "Hope for Haiti Now" in early 2010; her cover version was released on the charity benefit album, which was also entitled "Hope for Haiti Now".
Release and commercial reception.
"I'll Stand by You" was released as the second single from the album "Last of the Independents" (1994), and it reached number 16 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100, number 21 on "Billboard"'s Modern Rock Tracks chart, and number 10 in the United Kingdom. It charted higher in the UK and the US than "Night in My Veins", the album's first single. The music video for "I'll Stand by You" was released in 1994 and features Chrissie Hynde caring for an ill man. On the long-running BBC program Songwriters Circle, Hynde mentions her embarrassment at having set out to write a "hit." She goes on to say that she felt better about the song after Noel Gallagher said "he wished he'd written it.". Since 2010 the song has been used in an appeal advert for the NSPCC, and also the Girls Aloud version was used in an advert for Aptamil follow-on milk.
Critical reception.
Larry Flick from "Billboard" wrote that Chrissie Hynde "returns with a worn, but warm vocal that evokes a powerful, moving presence." Steve Baltin from "Cashbox" felt that "from the opening note, this song oozes "nice". Hard to believe this is the same Chrissie Hynde who, in the song "Precious", once told the world to "fuck off". Fourteen years ago, what drew people to her was the conviction she sang with. Though this song has a decidedly different tone, the feeling is as strong as ever. In addition, Hynde's singing has grown to where she can wail with the best of them, as she does here against a backdrop that increases perfectly with the rising emotion in her voice." Ken Tucker from "Entertainment Weekly" stated that the singer "matches form with content again and again" on the album, noting that she is "pledging solemn faithfulness to a loved one on the somber anthem". Irish "Evening Herald" opined that the song "showcases an updated Pretenders' sound." Linda Ryan from the "Gavin Report" declared it one of the album's "beautiful, heart-stopping ballads", adding that it "will be a monster hit in a variety of formats." Caroline Sullivan from "The Guardian" remarked its "simple vow".
Chuck Campbell from "Knoxville News Sentinel" viewed it as "straightforward and endearing". In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton wrote, "Stand by to have your heartstrings tugged." He explained that it is "a gorgeous ballad of the kind Ms Hynde can churn out easily if she puts her mind to it. A potential classic to rival "2000 Miles" and the ode to motherhood that was their last chart hit, the track may well rise further." Caren Myers from "Melody Maker" deemed it "an unsurprising single which works better as a humble track", while Paul Mathur called it the "worst track" of the album. Pan-European magazine "Music & Media" named it "this spring's biggest ballad", adding, "Such symmetry between big time sensuality, kitsch, pathos and wall of sound!" Alan Jones from "Music Week" gave it four out of five and named it Pick of the Week, writing, "Unlike Pretenders' hits of the past it is slightly formulaic but it nonetheless a seductively swaying rock anthem." A reviewer from "People Magazine" felt it's the "weakest track" of the album, describing it as "an anthem of blind support." "Sandwell Evening Mail" viewed it as "excellent". Paul Evans from "Rolling Stone" stated that Hynde "nails devotion" on the song, "and like any master, makes it all seem easy." Roy Wilkinson from "Select" wrote that it "may have a lighter-wielding tendency that should keep a few OPEC members smiling".
Music video.
A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by London-based director Zanna. It takes place in an old wooden hut, featuring Hynde singing the song towards a man who is in a worried state. Throughout the video, Hynde tries to comfort and take care of him. When he arrives in the beginning, she greets him and knocks over a glass of milk before singing in his direction. It is unclear whether the man hears her or is even aware of her presence. The man, obviously worried, holds a bullet in his hand. He also looks into a map. Other times he plays with a coin or a card deck. Hynde tries to comfort him. She holds her arms around him, and also mends his clothes with needle and sewing thread. She helps him with tools when he tries to fix a machine. Later after struggling with awakening him, she carries the ill man to a bath tub, where she washes and nurses him. In the end, the man, now fully dressed again, leaves the hut, while Hynde watches him. On the table lies an ace card with a knife stuck through it. Zanna also previously directed the video for the band's previous single, "Night in My Veins".
Legacy.
"Idolator" included "I'll Stand by You" in their ranking of "The 50 Best Pop Singles of 1994" in 2014. An editor, Jonathan Riggs, said, "Regardless of how representative of Hynde's oeuvre with the Pretenders it really was, "I'll Stand By You" continues to resonate decades later."
Personnel.
Additional musicians
Charts.
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Girls Aloud versions.
In 2004, British-Irish all-female pop group Girls Aloud recorded a cover of "I'll Stand by You" as the official charity single for the 2004 Children in Need fundraising campaign. Their version was produced by Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania. The track was announced a single just ten days before its November 15, 2004, release. It became Girls Aloud's second number one on the UK Singles Chart, spending two weeks at the top position and receiving a silver certification from the British Phonographic Industry. The song appears on Girls Aloud's second studio album "What Will the Neighbours Say?" (2004).
The music video, directed by Trudy Bellinger, saw Girls Aloud stranded in a desert as they "stand by" each other. "I'll Stand by You" was promoted through various live appearances and has since been performed on a number of the group's concert tours. Despite its success, Girls Aloud's cover of the song was largely panned by contemporary music critics.
A new version of the song, I'll Stand By You (Sarah's Version), was released on the 20th anniversary of its original release on November 15, 2024. This version features lead vocals from Sarah Harding in tribute to the singer who died in 2021. It will once again raise money for Children in Need 2024.
Background and release.
The first version of "I'll Stand by You" that Xenomania created was described as a "weird, modernist breakbeat version", which was scrapped upon deciding an updated version of the original song would be better suited for Children in Need. The track's release was announced a single just ten days before its release date. Nicola Roberts said, "Hopefully if our single does well it's a lot of money going to the charity."
The single was released on November 15, 2004, in the UK, the week of the Children in Need 2004 telethon. It was available on two different CD singles. The first disc includes "Real Life", a song taken from Girls Aloud's second album "What Will the Neighbours Say?". The second CD format featured a medley of songs taken from the album, as well as the Tony Lamezma's Club Romp remix of the track. The Gravitas Vocal Dub Mix Edit of "I'll Stand by You" appears on the "Wake Me Up" single.
In order to promote the release, Girls Aloud toured radio stations across the United Kingdom and performed an acoustic arrangement of "I'll Stand by You" that they arranged themselves. They also visited children's hospitals.
Critical reception.
Girls Aloud's version of "I'll Stand By You" was largely panned by music critics. It was called "a particular soggy area" on Girls Aloud's album. Alexis Petridis of "The Guardian", who praised Girls Aloud's album, said that "I'll Stand by You" was "a thing of death-dealing tedium." BBC Music felt it was "arguable whether this cover adds much to the Pretenders' original." Sam Shepherd of musicOMH bluntly stated "perhaps the children most in need, are those that part with their pocket money for this drivel [...] This is a sub-karaoke version, limp, tired, and uninspired."
However, Stylus Magazine actually commended the song, comparing it to Shakespears Sister and calling it "far, far better than anyone gives it credit for."
Chart performance.
"I'll Stand by You" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on November 21, 2004, becoming Girls Aloud's second single to do so. Despite competition from four new top ten entries, the song also remained at the top for a second week. It slipped to number four in its third week, making way for Band Aid 20's take on "Do They Know It's Christmas?". Girls Aloud spent a fourth week in the top five. The single spent two further weeks in the top ten, holding on at number nine. Overall, "I'll Stand by You" spent fourteen weeks in the top 75, including nine weeks in the top forty. The single was ranked thirty-fourth on the year-end chart (see 2004 in British music). It was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry. Following Sarah Harding's death in September 2021, the song had a resurgence in popularity with a surge of 1068%.
The song entered the Irish Singles Chart at number four. It spent a second week at number four, before rising to number three. It spent three more consecutive weeks at number three. It then slipped back down to number four, and spent two more weeks in the top five.
Music video.
The video for Girls Aloud's version of "I'll Stand by You" was directed by Trudy Bellinger. It begins with each member of the group lying or sitting motionless in a parched desert. At the song's climax, a thunderstorm begins, and the members of Girls Aloud come together and stand in a circle. A special "Children in Need" version of the video depicts the group members holding "Pudsey" teddy bears, the mascot of the organisation, towards the end of the video.
Live performances.
Girls Aloud toured radio stations across the United Kingdom and performed an acoustic arrangement of "I'll Stand by You" that they arranged themselves. As the charity's official single of the year, the song was showcased as the Children in Need 2004 telethon. They also performed the song on television programmes such as "Blue Peter", "", "Countdown", "Diggin' It", "GMTV", "Ministry of Mayhem", "Popbusters", "Top of the Pops", and "Xchange". In 2005, Girls Aloud performed "I'll Stand by You" at Dublin's ChildLine Concert and on the TV show "All Time Greatest Love Songs". In 2006, they performed the song on Australia's "Sunrise". The group also performed the cover version on their 2005 MTV special (as seen on the "Girls on Film" DVD) and ITV1's "The Girls Aloud Party" (2008).
"I'll Stand by You" has been performed by Girls Aloud on most of their concert tours. For 2005's What Will the Neighbours Say...? Tour, Girls Aloud's first tour, they sang the song in colorful, simple evening gowns. It was also included on 2006's and 2007's The Greatest Hits Tour. "I'll Stand by You" was included on a ballad section on 2008's Tangled Up Tour, in which Girls Aloud walk along a catwalk which reaches the middle of the crowd.
Track listings and formats.
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "I'll Stand by You".
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Charts.
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Carrie Underwood version.
"I'll Stand by You" was covered in 2007 by Carrie Underwood as a charity single, recorded for the "American Idol" special, "Idol Gives Back" which aired on April 25, 2007.
Carrie Underwood performed the song during her visit to Africa. The song was used as the soundtrack for a video vignette where Underwood is seen singing to children and doing various activities with them. The single and the video were released on the U.S. iTunes Store on April 26, 2007. Ryan Seacrest announced that all money made on digital downloads would be donated to charity to help millions of poor children at the time.
On its first few days of release, the song sold 124,496 digital downloads, prompting a debut on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100 at number six, Underwood's highest Hot 100 position since her 2005 debut single "Inside Your Heaven", which debuted at number one.
It was eventually removed from iTunes, leading the single to have one of the biggest falls in Hot 100 history. The single collected over 300,000 digital downloads in the time it was available for download. As announced, all profits from the sale of the single were donated to charity. The single also received unsolicited airplay on U.S. country music radio stations, despite not being officially released to country radio.
During one of the elimination episodes of "American Idol" Season 6, the song was used as the send-off song for contestant Phil Stacey (the first of two eliminated contestants that week) instead of Daughtry's "Home," the show's main send-off song that season. Underwood performed the song during the Idol Finale on May 23, 2007.
Music video.
The music video was filmed in Africa. Underwood is seen singing to young children and helping them with different art projects, such as painting. At one point in the video, she is seen walking into a cemetery with a girl in her arms, and a boy by her hand who is carrying flowers. Underwood is also seen crying towards the end of the video when she is helping an ill person. This music video was made available for download on the U.S. iTunes Store.
Shakira version.
Colombian singer Shakira covered "I'll Stand by You" in 2010 as a promotional charity single for the Hope for Haiti Now campaign and was released on January 23, 2010, in the wake of the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake. Recorded live on the charity telethon "" on January 22, 2010, in New York City. She performed the song during the program, exactly before Wyclef Jean's speech and after Reese Witherspoon's call on the phone bank. The song is found on the charity benefit album, "Hope for Haiti Now".
Track listing.
Album version
Other notable covers.
For BBC Children in Need in 2014, 1,685 children sang the song live in unison live from 10 towns across the UK. The choirs performed the song and starting in the studio it cut between the choirs, in real time, giving each choir about 15–20 seconds on air. The choirs sang from: Elstree at Elstree Studios the studio just outside London where the main telethon was held, Bradford at Bradford College, Norwich at The Millennium Library in The Forum, Newport at The Newport Centre, Birmingham at Think Tank, Belfast at BBC Blackstaff House, Plymouth at Plymouth Life Centre, Blackpool at The Blackpool Tower Circus, Chatham at Chatham Historic Dockyard and Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay
References.
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I'll Try Anything
"I'll Try Anything" is a 1967 single by Dusty Springfield which reached the UK Top 20 and the US Top 40."I'll Try Anything" was co-written by Mark Barkan and Vic [aka Victor] Millrose.
In the US "I'll Try Anything" peaked at #40 in April 1967 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 – with peaks in "Cashbox" and "Record World" of respectively #29 and #34 – making it the sixth of Springfield's ten US Top 40 solo hits.
"I'll Try Anything" reached #38 in Australia and #19 in Canada. The track had its strongest chart impact in Singapore with a #6 peak in June 1967.
Background.
Barkan had written the hits "I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter" for Connie Francis and "I Don't Wanna Be a Loser" for Lesley Gore, while Millrose had written the Gene Pitney hit "Last Chance to Turn Around" and would later write "This Girl Is a Woman Now" for Gary Puckett & the Union Gap. Barkan, intending to write a song for Dusty Springfield, had already written the chorus for "I'll Try Anything" when Millrose came on board to co-write the verses. Springfield visited Barkan's residence to hear the song which Barkan sang to her while playing the piano, and although Springfield reacted favorably to the song she still wanted to hear a demo, and Barkan obliged by prepping a demo with Ellie Greenwich as vocalist.
Springfield began recording "I'll Try Anything" in a December 1966 session at the CBS Recording Studios (NYC) produced by Herb Bernstein: Barkan, who was present, recalls that the session lasted for nine hours with the first eight spent on Springfield recording another song: "The Morning After the Night Before", and the last hour spent on her recording "I'll Try Anything". On 22 January 1967 Springfield and Bernstein had another session at CBS Recording Studios which yielded a completed master of "I'll Try Anything": however Springfield elected to have the master's rhythm track extracted and used as the basis for a new recording of the song made at the Philips Studios in Stanhope Place in a 29 January 1967 session.
Since making her solo debut in 1963 with the upbeat "I Only Want to Be With You" Springfield had subsequently shifted her musical focus to a softer sound as exemplified by her 1966 career record "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me". "I'll Try Anything" was largely a return to Springfield's original upbeat sound and might have been a more substantial hit for her somewhat earlier. "Billboard" described the song as a change of pace for Springfield and a "strong rocker served up in the best emotional Springfield manner." However, by 1967 the track had a markedly out-of-date sound and in its UK release peaked at #13 breaking a Top Ten streak for Springfield which had lasted for three hits.
Other versions.
Apart from Springfield's version, the only evident recordings of the song are two non-English renderings:
References.
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I'll Be on My Way
Song written by Lennon–McCartney
"I'll Be on My Way" is a song written by Paul McCartney, credited to Lennon–McCartney, first released on 26 April 1963 by Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas as the B-side of their hit debut single "Do You Want to Know a Secret", a song also written by Lennon–McCartney. The single reached number two in the UK charts while "From Me to You" by the Beatles occupied the number 1 position. The Beatles recorded a version of the song on 4 April 1963 for BBC radio, first released on the 1994 compilation album "Live at the BBC".
Composition.
John Lennon explained "I'll Be on My Way" "was early Paul." Credited to Lennon–McCartney, Paul McCartney wrote the song in the first half of 1959. Author Todd Compton attributes it to "McCartney–Lennon." McCartney wrote the song on his first guitar, a Framus Zenith acoustic guitar. In "The Beatles Anthology", McCartney recalls, "All my first songs... were written on the Zenith; songs like 'Michelle' and 'I Saw Her Standing There'. It was on this guitar that I learnt 'Twenty Flight Rock', the song that later got me into the group The Quarry Men." When first written, the song had little beyond its melody. The song was fleshed out years later after the Beatles added it to their live repertoire.
The song is heavily inspired by Buddy Holly. Musicologist and writer Ian MacDonald writes, "Played a little faster, the song reveals its debt to Buddy Holly's simple three-chords schemes. (Imagine each chorus finishing 'I'll be on my way ah-hey-hey'.)" Everett agrees, writing the song "has strong Holly ties, especially in the duet refrain," as does Lewisohn who calls the song "Hollyesque." The rising and falling chromatic line of the guitar intro comes from the Crickets' cover of "Don't Ever Change", especially the augmented E chord. After measure 11, McCartney's vocal part moves to a descant in parallel thirds above Lennon's, a technique derivative of Holly's normal double-tracked vocal patterns.
Though Lennon sang the lead vocal as a harmony duet with McCartney, he never liked the song. Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn writes that while performing it, "when they got to the line 'this way will I go'—[Lennon] pulled a crip face and hunched himself Quasimodo-like around the microphone. Paul had no choice but to ride the laughter."
Recording.
McCartney made a demo of the song prior to Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas recording it. Dakotas guitarist Mike Maxfield claims that he still owns the acetate and that all of the Beatles play on it, though this claim has never been substantiated.
The Beatles recorded the song on 4 April 1963 at the BBC Paris Theatre, London, and broadcast on the BBC radio show "Side by Side" on 24 June 1963. Everett writes that George Harrison's guitar solo features "the clash of bent unison double-stops", similar to those of Scotty Moore in Elvis Presley's "Just Because" and "Jailhouse Rock" and in Jerry Lee Lewis's "Livin' Lovin' Wreck".
Release and reception.
Everett suggests the Beatles recorded a rendition of the song only to help promote Kramer's record. The Beatles released their version on the 1994 album "Live at the BBC". It is the only non-cover song on the album that was previously unreleased.
MacDonald describes the lyrics and music as "almost derisively naive". Lewisohn singles out the lyric "When the June light turns to moonlight" as the kind Lennon and McCartney "usually spurned" in others. McCartney reflected on the work in his official biography, "", saying "It's a little bit too June-moon for me, but these were very early songs and they worked out quite well." In 1980, John Lennon said of the song, "That's Paul, through and through. Doesn't it sound like him? Tra la la la la [laughs]. Yeah, that's Paul on the voids (joys) of driving through the country." Everett writes the "this way I will go" lyrics, "are too closely related, in an innocent way, to those of "I'll Follow the Sun." He concludes that the chord transitions are ultimately uninteresting.
Personnel.
According to Ian MacDonald:
The Billy J. Kramer version.
Kramer and the Dakotas recorded "I'll Be On My Way" on 14 and 21 March 1963.
Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas released their cover of the song as the B-side of their hit debut single, "Do You Want to Know a Secret" on 26 April 1963. The record held at #2 nationally in the U.K., second to the Beatles' "From Me To You". This version of the song is included on the 1979 EMI album "The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away."
References.
Footnotes.
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Citations.
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Sources.
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Lucky to Be Me
2001 studio album by Mark Murphy
Lucky to Be Me is a studio album by Mark Murphy.
"Lucky to Be Me" is the 40th album by American jazz vocalist Mark Murphy. It was recorded in when Murphy was 69 years old and released by the HighNote label in the United States in 2002. It is his third of five releases on HighNote. This album is a collection of standards and one original song by Mark Murphy performed with a jazz sextet.
Background.
Don Sickler, who worked with Murphy on "Some Time Ago" and Links returned as producer for Murphy's third project with HighNote. Lee Musiker also returned as arranger and pianist. Musiker was known for accompanying singers such as Chris Connor, Susannah McCorkle, Carol Sloane and Tony Bennett. Memo Acevedo, who also performed on "Links," returned on percussion and <bdi>Tim Horner returns on drums.</bdi> Jay Leonhart and David Finck share duties on double bass. Trumpeter <bdi>Scott Wendholt and Bobby Porcelli round out the sextet.</bdi>
Recording.
The album opens with a medley of three song's from Leonard Bernstein's "On the Town," set in New York City. The recording took place in New York not long after the 9/11 attacks. Murphy's said, "I wanted to sing 'New York, New York' (from the song 'Lonely Town') first because right away those words trumpet New York and New Yorkers' courage in the wake of the tragedy of Sept. 11. I found these songs in books at the school where I taught in Graz, Austria, and in helping the students find material I was re-drawn to these three, all killer Bernstein songs."
"Dearly Beloved" is a Johnny Mercer and Jerome Kern Oscar nominated song from the 1942 movie musical "You Were Never Lovelier", where it was introduced by Fred Astaire. It lost the Academy Award for Best Original Song to Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" from "Holiday Inn".
"Then I'll Be Tired of You" by <bdi>Arthur Schwartz and E.Y. Harburg had a special history with Murphy.</bdi> Murphy said, "When I got to New York in 1953 'Then I'll Be Tired of You' was one of the 'in' songs. I got into this little piano bar thing, a place that later moved around the corner and became Jilly's [Jilly Rizzo's club, Jilly's Saloon] . . . But when I started going there 'Then I'll Be Tired of You' was one of the cult hits of a guy named Nicky DeFrancis, who sang and played piano at this particular bar. He was something else. Played like Erroll Garner and was one of those South Philadelphia crooners, of the Italian style."
Murphy often recorded Brazilian jazz and here he includes Jobim's "Photograph (Fotografia)". Murphy said, "I don't think he ever got more tension out of fewer notes; I don't believe he used more than six or seven in the entire melody. It just encapsulates his genius".
Murphy considered himself a rhythm singer. Murphy said," 'Dearly Beloved' and 'Serenade In Blue' have got natural drummers' rhythms." Referring to "Serenade In Blue" by <bdi>Harry Warren and Mack Gordon</bdi>, Murphy said, "it becomes such a rhythmic romp that when you get to the bridge, when does it end? Certain songs invite rhythm, even though they might have been written for another era, you know?"
"Just as Though You Were Here" was a hit for Frank Sinatra and Pied Pipers with the Tommy Dorsey band. In the liner notes, Murphy dedicated the recording to a friend from England, "for whom the song 'has deep personal meaning. Jesus, the way Lee [Musiker] plays on that. I heard him 25 years ago when he came to San Francisco with Chris Connor, and it took me all that time to get him' ".
"I Ain't Gonna Let You Break My Heart" by <bdi>David Lasley was a song</bdi> Murphy heard "on a jukebox in a bar near his home in the Poconos". The recording was by Bonnie Raitt, with Herbie Hancock, on her 1989 three time Grammy award-winning album "Nick of Time". Murphy said, "I call it a country blues. I always tell my students to listen to this woman, because you can hear every word she sings."
Murphy contributes an original composition, <bdi>"Blues for Frances Faye". It was developed spontaneously in the studio. Murphy said it recalls a singer who, "dared to be bizarre in the up-tight, button-down '50s. Did you ever see Bruce Weber's documentary 'Chop Suey'? Frances is in it, and so is that woman who used to run Vogue [Diana Vreeland]. It's so off-the-wall, I was in hysterics for practically half the film. I get the feeling that maybe Janis Joplin stumbled across Frances somewhere in a former life or something, and heard that extra-ballsy type singing"</bdi>
<bdi>"I Wonder What Became of Me" by Harold Arlen and Jonny Mercer was dropped from their musical "St. Louis Woman." Along with Noël Coward's "If Love Were All", they form the final medley. Murphy fantasizes, "I would end my last concert with them, then walk slo-o-o-w-l-y backward into a dimming spotlight. Or, if l've learned to levitate myself by then, l'd do that. There are a couple of Noel Coward songs, I suppose they're not really in my style, but they bring tears to my eyes every time I hear them".</bdi>
Murphy explains his approach in the liner notes. Speaking about his hipster bebop image he says, "I've grown beyond that, and my answer to people who can't keep up with me is, 'It isn't my fault if I grow and they can't'. I'm not saying that in a egotistic way, because I'm not a tripper. I'm just a working artist. Maybe I should have some more ego-tripping in me. It would keep me more focused. But I don't, so there you are".
Reception.
Richard Cook and Brian Martin assign 4 qualified stars to "Links" in "The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings". (***(*), meaning, "An excellent record, with some exceptional music. Only kept out of the front rank by some minor reservations"). They write the release is, "a nicely paced mixed bag of good songs, several relatively unexposed . . . The voice may have frayed a little, but the mastery is absolutely intact".
Scott Yanow includes Links in his list of Murphy's "other worthy recordings of the past 20 years" in his book "The Jazz Singers: The Ultimate Guide".
Murphy biographer Peter Jones praises the opening "On the Town" medley and Jobim's 'Photograph', but complains that "on 'Serenade in Blue' and 'Dearly Beloved', the bebopper in Murphy overwhelms the material, the yaps, yelps and slurs an unwelcome distraction from the songs".

I'll Be There (Jackson 5 song)
1970 single by The Jackson 5
"I'll Be There" is the first single released from "Third Album" by The Jackson 5. It was written by Berry Gordy, Hal Davis, Bob West, and Willie Hutch.
The song was recorded by The Jackson 5 and released by Motown Records on August 28, 1970, as the first single from their "Third Album" on the same date. Produced by the songwriters, "I'll Be There" was The Jackson 5's fourth number-one hit in a row (after "I Want You Back" in 1969, "ABC" and "The Love You Save" earlier in 1970), making them the first group to have their first four singles reach number one and the first black male group with four consecutive number-one pop hits. "I'll Be There" is also notable as the most successful single released by Motown during its "Detroit era" (1959–72). In 2011, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
The duet version by Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz was recorded during Carey's appearance on "MTV Unplugged" in 1992, and released as the first single from her EP "MTV Unplugged" in the second quarter of 1992. Co-produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, "I'll Be There" became Carey's sixth number-one single in the US, and her biggest hit elsewhere at the time.
The Jackson 5 version.
Release and reaction.
In his 1988 autobiography "Moonwalk", Michael Jackson noted that "I'll Be There" was the song that solidified The Jackson 5's careers and showed audiences that the group had potential beyond bubblegum pop. Said Allmusic about the


Jared Harris
British actor (born 1961)
Jared Francis Harris (born 24 August 1961) is a British actor. His roles include Lane Pryce in the drama series "Mad Men" (2009–2012), for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series; King George VI in the historical drama series "The Crown" (2016–2017); and Valery Legasov in the miniseries "Chernobyl" (2019), for which he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie"."
Harris also had roles as David Robert Jones in the science fiction series "Fringe" (2008–2012), Anderson Dawes in the science fiction series "The Expanse" (2015–2017) and Captain Francis Crozier in the series "The Terror" (2018). He is also known for his significant supporting roles in films such as "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (2008), "" (2011), and Hari Seldon, a leading character in the science fiction series "Foundation" (2021).
Early life.
Harris was born on 24 August 1961 in Hammersmith, London, the second of three sons of Irish actor Richard Harris and his first wife, Welsh actress Elizabeth Rees-Williams (1936–2022). His younger brother is actor Jamie Harris, his older brother is director Damian Harris and his maternal grandfather was politician David Rees-Williams, 1st Baron Ogmore.
Education.
Harris was educated at Ladycross School, a former preparatory boarding independent school in the coastal town of Seaford in East Sussex, as were his brothers Jamie and Damian. He says, "They were famous for discipline, with cold showers every morning", and that "You were never known by your first name there. You were either called by your number, or your last name. Since there were three of us, Damian was 'Harris Ma' for major. I was 'Harris Mi' for minor, and Jamie was 'Harris Minimus,' being the youngest and the smallest". He then attended Downside School, a Catholic boarding independent school in the village of Stratton-on-the-Fosse (near the market town of Shepton Mallet) in Somerset, in South West England. He went on to Duke University in the U.S., graduating in 1984 with a BFA in drama, then returned to England to train as an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama, graduating in 1989.
Career.
1983–2008.
Harris began his film career directing "Darkmoor" (1983), an unfinished feature-length film for Duke University's Freewater Films. His first film appearance as an actor was in "The Rachel Papers" (1989). He took minor roles in films such as the western romance "Far and Away" (1992), the historical epic "The Last of the Mohicans" (1992), and the crime drama "Natural Born Killers" (1994). He took the role of Benmont Tench in Jim Jarmusch's "Dead Man" (1995). He portrayed the role of the aged Will Robinson in the 1998 movie adaptation of the television series "Lost in Space". That same year he portrayed Vladimir in the controversial black comedy drama film "Happiness" (1998), written and directed by Todd Solondz. He portrayed Kenneth Branagh's character's doppelgänger in "How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog" (2000).
Other notable roles include Andy Warhol in "I Shot Andy Warhol", John Lennon in the television movie "Two of Us" (2000) and King Henry VIII in the 2003 BBC film adaptation of the novel "The Other Boleyn Girl". Harris portrayed Dr. Charles Ashford in "" (2004). He portrayed the gruff Captain Anderson in the BBC2 adaptation of "To the Ends of the Earth"; Mac McGrath in the movie "Mr. Deeds"; Eamon Quinn on the FX series "The Riches"; and David Robert Jones on "Fringe".
2009–2017.
He gained widespread fame for his portrayal of Lane Pryce in the AMC period drama series "Mad Men" from 2009 until 2012. The show focuses on the lives of Ad Men in New York City during the 1960s. He first appeared in season three where he arrives as a British newcomer to Sterling Cooper, and later becomes a partner of the new agency Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. Paul MacInnes of "The Guardian" wrote of Lane Pryce, "For much of his three season tenure on the show, Lane has seemed like the archetypal Englishman...He was polite, courteous, dry-witted, stingy. He was also apparently logical and keenly stoic, keeping calm and carrying on when Sterling Cooper broke up and its successor nearly went under." Harris received critical acclaim for his final appearance in the episode "Commissions and Fees" as well as a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, losing to Aaron Paul for "Breaking Bad" in 2012. He returned to the series to direct the 11th episode of season 7, which aired in 2015.
He portrayed Ulysses S. Grant in Steven Spielberg's acclaimed historical drama film "Lincoln" (2012).
His portrayal of King George VI in the first season of "The Crown" received praise from critic Matt Zoller Seitz, who stated that despite the series' large ensemble, "Harris still manages to communicate the character’s understated sensitivity and awareness of his circumscribed role in England’s drama so poignantly that one can’t help being moved by the performance". He received nominations for the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series.
2018–present.
He portrayed Captain Francis Crozier in the 2018 series "The Terror", based on the Dan Simmons novel of the same name that provided a fictional account of the fate of Franklin's lost expedition. In November 2018, Harris was one of the first recipients of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society's Louie Kamookak Medal, awarded "for making Canada's geography better known to Canadians and to the world", for his portrayal of Captain Crozier. Harris said that he was "gratified" that the series inspired curiosity about the real expedition, remarking, "It’s sort of fitting that history will recall that it was the RCGS that first recognized "The Terror", and that we as the recipients walked in the footsteps of Louie Kamookak."
In 2019, Harris portrayed Valery Legasov in the acclaimed miniseries "Chernobyl", which revolves around the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 and the cleanup efforts that followed. For that role he won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film. The series was produced by HBO in the United States and Sky UK in the United Kingdom.
In March 2019, Harris joined Jared Leto in Sony's Spider-Man spinoff "Morbius". He plays the developer of psychohistory Hari Seldon in the "Foundation" television series produced for Apple TV+ which premiered in September 2021. In March 2021, Harris was announced to have joined the cast of the biographical drama film "Rothko", directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson.
In 2024, he played the father of a returning missing child in the British psychological thriller film "Reawakening", alongside Erin Doherty and Juliet Stevenson.
Personal life.
Harris married Jacqueline Goldenberg in 1989 and they divorced three years later.
Harris married actress Emilia Fox, the daughter of actors Edward Fox and Joanna David, on 16 July 2005. Divorce filings were made in January 2009; the divorce was finalised in June 2010.
In April 2009, Harris met Allegra Riggio, a lighting designer and television host, at a comedy club where a mutual friend was performing. They married on 9 November 2013.
Harris resides in Los Angeles.
References.
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Lawrence Fletcher
Lawrence Fletcher (died 1608) was a Jacobean actor.
Fletcher was named first on the royal patent of 19 May 1603 that transformed the Lord Chamberlain's Men into the King's Men. William Shakespeare was second, and Richard Burbage third, and this order was significant, in the highly hierarchical world of the time. Yet Fletcher never appears on the other documents that give later generations our limited knowledge of the King's Men; he doesn't seem to have acted, in the leading acting company of the age. Unlike the eight men whose names follow on the patent, Fletcher was not, or not primarily, a London actor. He had been "comedian to His Majesty" before the Union of Crowns in 1603, when James VI and I was King of Scotland only.
The names of actors on the patent were Fletcher's, then "William Shakespeare, Richard Burbage, Augustyne Philipps, John Henings, Henrie Condel, William Sly, Robert Armyn, Richard Cowly, and the rest of their associates". They are permitted "freely to use and exercise the Arte and Faculty of playing Comedies, Tragedies, Histories, Enterludes, Morals, Pastoralls, Stageplaies, and such others". The patent specified they would play the Globe Theatre, and elsewhere, whenever the plague subsided.
Fletcher's inclusion on the 1603 patent may have been diplomatic and bureaucratic, a way of easing and greasing the company's transition from the old regime to the new; or perhaps Fletcher intended to be an active member of the company (their comedian Thomas Pope died in 1603, and Fletcher could have been his replacement), but was prevented by declining health.
Augustine Phillips died in May 1605. He left 20 shillings to his "fellow" Fletcher. This is less than the 30 shillings he left to Shakespeare, Henry Condell, and Christopher Beeston, but the same sum he left to fellow King's Men Robert Armin, Alexander Cooke, Richard Cowley, and Nicholas Tooley. This seems to suggest that Fletcher was more than a mere name on a document to Phillips, though what more, precisely, is impossible to say, given the limits of the record.
Fletcher was buried on 12 September 1608, in St. Saviour's Church, Southwark.
Lawrence Fletcher in Scotland.
Fletcher was mentioned by an English diplomat in Edinburgh, George Nicholson in March 1595. James VI was evidently fond of Fletcher, and he joked about the actor who might have been "hanged for his cause."
Fletcher was in Edinburgh at the end of 1599, protected by James VI from sanction by the Kirk and town council. He was helped by the courtier George Elphinstone who bought timber for the stage, and distributed reward money from the king. They also played in Dundee and Aberdeen, where Fletcher, described as the king's servant, was made a freeman of the burgh.
He may have been the Englishman prevented from staging a play in St Andrews in October 1598.
References.
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King John and Matilda
Play written by Robert Davenport
King John and Matilda is a Caroline era stage play, a historical tragedy written by Robert Davenport. It was initially published in 1655; the cast list included in the first edition provides valuable information on some of the actors of English Renaissance theatre.
Performance and publication.
No certain information survives on the play's date of authorship or earliest production. Scholars generally date the play to c. 1628–29, though dates as early as 1624 and as late as 1634 have been proposed. The title page of the first edition states that the play was acted by Queen Henrietta's Men at the Cockpit Theatre; the actors in the cast list belonged to that company. The troupe staged a revival of Davenport's play c. 1638–39, perhaps a decade after its initial appearance.
The 1655 quarto was published by actor-turned-stationer Andrew Pennycuicke. The volume includes an epistle addressed "To the knowning Reader" that is signed with the initials "R. D." This has been taken by some commentators to indicate that Davenport was still alive when the play was printed. The epistle opens with a notable and sometimes-quoted line, "A good reader helps to make a book; a bad injures it."
The volume also bears Pennycuicke's dedication of the work to Montague Berty, the 2nd Earl of Lindsey.
Sources.
Caroline drama tends to show a lack of originality and a dependence on the precedents of earlier plays. This tendency is manifested to an extreme in "King John and Matilda". The play bears a strong resemblance to "The Death of Robert Earl of Huntington", the second of Anthony Munday's two Robin Hood plays (1598; printed 1601) – to the point that Davenport's work has been called a mere rewrite of Munday's play.
Davenport's character Hubert, the repentant henchman, resembles the character of the same name in Shakespeare's "King John".
The cast.
For Queen Henrietta's Men, only five cast lists survive. (The others are for "The Fair Maid of the West", "Hannibal and Scipio", "The Renegado", and "The Wedding".) The 1655 quarto's cast list yields this information:
The cast list contains three peculiarities. It includes three female characters of the play, Matilda, Queen Isabel, and the Lady Abbess, but does not identify the actors who filled the roles. This might be regarded as doubly curious, since Pennycuicke had been a boy actor taking female roles in the final phase of English Renaissance drama, before the London theatres were closed in 1642 at the start of the English Civil War. By his own claim, Pennycuicke was the last performer to fill the role of Matilda, which must have been in the 1638–39 revival.
The second peculiarity is that the cast list offers praise for two, but only two, of the actors. It states that Perkins's "action gave Grace to the Play," and that Shearlock "performed excellently well."
Thirdly, the list includes a mystery man. All the actors are titled "Master" – from "M. Bowyer" to "M. Shirelock." Yet the "Master Jackson" who played Chester is otherwise unknown in the records of the Queen's Men. The company did have a member named Robert Axell, whose name was sometimes rendered "Axall" or "Axen" in the flexible orthography of the seventeenth century. It has been suggested that "Jackson" might be a corruption of "Axen," indicating Robert Axell.
Like other cast lists of the period, this one is not perfect; it neglects the characters Richmond, Lady Bruce, and George Bruce.
History.
King John had an important role in the political, religious, historiographic mindset of the English Renaissance and Reformation – he was both hero and villain. Davenport relied on prior plays rather than historical research in crafting his drama; and in so doing, he created a work that reflects something of the popular significance, and the ambiguity, of John as a historical figure.
Synopsis.
As the play opens, John is at odds with the rebellious barons – the ones who in history made him sign the Magna Carta. In this play, they are Fitzwater, Leister, Richmond, the Old Lord Bruce, and his elder son Young Bruce. The King is supported by the Lords Oxford and Chester. While he deals with political matters, John also engages in a lustful pursuit of Matilda, Fitzwater's daughter. (In the first of Munday's Robin Hood plays, "The Downfall of Robert Earl of Huntington", the heroine is Maid Marian for the first 780 lines, then suddenly becomes Matilda, no explanation given. Davenport's heroine derives from Munday's.) Matilda falls into the King's clutches. John's queen, Isabel, scratches and abuses the girl as a harlot; but Matilda retains her traditional feminine virtues of chastity and patience. Matilda is rescued by Young Bruce and Richmond.
In pursuit of the rebels, the King and his henchman Hubert take custody of Lord Bruce's wife, Lady Bruce, and their younger son George. The woman and boy are turned over to the villainous Brand, who, under Chester's orders, locks them away and denies them food.
In his quarrel with Pope Innocent III, John is shown submitting to Pandulph, the papal legate. The rebellious barons urge John to resist, in the Protestant spirit of the play's historical era; but John yields. Pandulph accepts John's submission and returns the crown to him. John's continued arrogance and immorality prevent a true reconciliation with the barons, however. Oxford, acting for the King, captures Matilda again; but Young Bruce defeats him in combat and rescues her. Hubert and the King use trickery to obtain Matilda once more. Matilda's patient virtue placates the Queen's resentment, and even Hubert comes to sympathize, "forcibly charmed by her tears and entreaties." Together they help Matilda take refuge in Dunmow Abbey.
Lady Bruce and her young son are shown suffering the pangs of hunger in prison; they both die of starvation onstage.
John is so obsessed with Matilda that he offers to divorce Isabel, marry Matilda, and make her queen. Accompanied by the Abbess, Matilda looks down from the abbey walls as both the King and her father Fitzwater try to persuade her – John, to yield, and Fitzwater, to resist the King's temptations. Matilda has no trouble remaining true to her innate virtue. The rejected King decides that Matilda must die; he has Brand deliver a poisoned glove to her. She dies onstage, a martyr to virtue.
The murderer of Lady Bruce, George Bruce, and Matilda does not escape; Young Bruce confronts Brand, fights with him, and kills him.
In the aftermath of Matilda's murder, John finally feels sincere remorse. He repents his sins, and reconciles with the Queen and the barons. The final scene portrays Matilda's funeral.
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Clifford Rose
British film and theatre actor (1929–2021)
John Clifford Rose (24 October 1929 – 6 November 2021) was a British actor.
Life and career.
Rose was born in Herefordshire. He was educated at the King's School, Worcester, and King's College London, before appearing in rep and began his association with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1960. He played the character Sturmbannführer Ludwig Kessler in the BBC World War II television drama "Secret Army" (1977–79) and its sequel "Kessler" (1981). He later played SS General Hans Kammler in the miniseries "War and Remembrance" (1988). Rose played leading roles in "The Pallisers" (1974), "Fortunes of War" (1987) and Alan Bleasdale's drama "GBH" (1991), and appeared as Rorvik in the "Doctor Who" story "Warriors' Gate" (1981).
Rose also played a judge in some episodes of the 1970s/'80s British television series "Crown Court" and Dr Snell, an interrogative psychologist for "The Section" in the British 1960s/'70s spy drama "Callan". He had a small part in an episode of "Inspector Morse", "The Ghost in the Machine" (1989), as a college professor, Dr Charles Hudson.
Rose played King George V in the TV film "Wallis and Edward" (2005). In 2008, he appeared as Bishop Wood, in an episode of the ITV historical drama "Foyle's War". In October 2010, Rose played the part of Father Gregory in the ITV crime drama "Midsomer Murders", in the episode "Master Class". Rose played The Judge in Enid Bagnold's "The Chalk Garden" in a production at the Donmar Warehouse in summer 2008. A radio version of the staging was first broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in March 2011. He also played the Dean of Windsor in an episode of "The Crown" broadcast in 2019.
Rose was an RSC Honorary Associate Artist. He was the winner of the Clarence Derwent Award 2009 for his performance in "The Chalk Garden" at the Donmar.
Rose was married to Celia Ryder from 1957 until her death in 2012. They had two children, and lived in Stratford-upon-Avon. In September 2021, Rose moved into Denville Hall, a retirement home for theatrical professionals. He died there on 6 November 2021, at the age of 92.
References.
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Groom of the Chamber
A position in the monarch's household
Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Household of the monarch in early modern England. Other "Ancien Régime" royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In France, the Duchy of Burgundy, and in England while French was still the language of the court, the title was varlet or valet de chambre. In German, Danish and Russian the term was "Kammerjunker" and in Swedish the similar "Kammarjunkare".
In England after the Restoration, appointments in the King's Household included Groom of the Great Chamber, Groom of the Privy Chamber and Groom of the Bedchamber. The first two positions were appointed by Lord Chamberlain's warrant; the third, of greater importance, was a Crown appointment.
Medieval and early-modern England.
Traditionally, the English Court was organized into three branches or departments:
The Chamber organization was controlled by the Lord Chamberlain; if he was the general of a small army of servitors, the Grooms of the Chamber were his junior officers, with ushers and footmen the footsoldiers. The Grooms wore the royal livery (in earlier periods), served as general attendants, and fulfilled a wide range of specific functions. (One Groom of the Chamber had the job of handing the "King's Stuff" to a Squire of the Body, who would then dress the King.) Grooms ranked below Gentlemen of the Chamber, usually important noblemen, but above Yeomen of the Chamber. They were mostly well-born, on a first rung of a courtier's career. The office of Groom of the Chamber could also be bestowed in a more honorific manner, upon people who served the royal household in some less direct way; the early Tudor poet Stephen Hawes became a Groom of the Chamber in 1502, under Henry VII.
Under James I, the Bedchamber was established as a semi-autonomous department (overseen by the Groom of the Stole) with its own hierarchy of Gentlemen, Grooms and Yeomen, which usurped those of the Privy Chamber in terms of their influence with and closeness to the King. (The old Bedchamber office of Esquire to the Body was finally abolished in 1702).
In the reigns of the early monarchs of the House of Stuart, James I and Charles I, the actors of the King's Men, the playing company under royal patronage, were officially "Grooms extraordinary of the Chamber". They did not usually fulfill the normal functions of the office; rather, they served the King by performing plays for him. Although on busy occasions, the King's Men appear to have acted as more ordinary servants: in August 1604 they were "waiting and attending" upon the Spanish ambassador at Somerset House, "on his Majesty's service" — but no plays were performed.) They were also turned out to bulk up the Household for grand ceremonial occasions. A similar arrangement held for some of Queen Anne's Men, including their playwright Thomas Heywood; they became Grooms of the Queen's Chamber, under the Queen's Chamberlain. On some occasions, Shakespeare, Heywood, and their compatriots wore the royal livery, marched in processions, and played other roles in the ceremonial life of the monarchy. (Grooms could not be arrested for debt without the permission of the Lord Chamberlain — a big advantage for sometimes-struggling actors.) In at least two cases, those of George Bryan (Lord Chamberlain's Men) and John Singer (Queen Elizabeth's Men; Admiral's Men), professional actors became "normal" Grooms of the Chamber, with the normal duties, after retiring from the stage.
List of Grooms of the Chamber.
Queen Anne of Denmark
Charles I (1625–1649)
List of Grooms of the Bedchamber.
James I (1603–1625)
Charles I (1625–1649)
Commonwealth (1649–1660)
"No Grooms of the Bedchamber appointed"
Post-Restoration England and Great Britain.
Fourteen Grooms of the Great Chamber were appointed under Charles II (later reduced to ten); they served as internal court messengers and were in attendance in the guard room.
The Grooms of the Privy Chamber were six in number (reduced to two under James I); initially responsible for manning the doors to the Privy Chamber, by 1720 the office largely lost its function, but attendance was still required for Coronations and other 'extraordinary Occasions'.
There were usually a dozen or so Grooms of the Bedchamber appointed (though under different monarchs the number varied from as many as fifteen or as few as eight), two of whom were on duty at any one time. They served for a week at a time in rotation and were responsible for attending the King in the Chamber when he dressed, and at Dinner when he dined privately (taking food and wine from the servants to give it to the Lords, who would serve The King). They would also deputise for the Lords of the Bedchamber if required to do so. Grooms of the Bedchamber were close to the King and were occasionally sent overseas as special envoys to negotiate royal marriages and such. During the exile of James II a court was maintained by that king in France and certain of his grooms joined him there. Similarly, during the last years of the reign of King George III, when he withdrew from public life in consequence of his poor mental health, several of his grooms followed him to Windsor Castle, whilst others remained in London to serve the Prince Regent, later to become King George IV. When the Monarch was a Queen, the positions of Groom of the Bedchamber were not filled (though Prince Albert, consort to Queen Victoria, did appoint his own Grooms of the Bedchamber).
List of Grooms of the Privy Chamber.
Charles II (1660–1685)
James II 1685–1688
William III 1689–1702
1702–1901
List of Grooms of the Bedchamber.
Charles II (1660–1685)
James II (1685–1688)
William III (1689–1702)
Anne (1702–1714)
"No Grooms of the Bedchamber appointed"
George I (1714–1727)
George II (1727–1760)
George III (1760–1820)
George IV (1820–1830)
William IV (1830–1837)
Victoria (1837–1901)
"No Grooms of the Bedchamber appointed"
Edward VII (1901–1910)
"The term "Groom-in-Waiting" was employed"
George V (1910–1936)
"The above-mentioned were gazetted as "Grooms of the Bedchamber in Waiting"; subsequently, the term "Groom in Waiting in Ordinary" was used."
Edward VIII (1936)
"The term "Groom-in-Waiting" was employed."
George VI (1936–1952)
"The term "Groom-in-Waiting" was employed."
Elizabeth (1952–2022)
"No Grooms of the Bedchamber appointed."
Charles III (2022–)
"No Grooms of the Bedchamber appointed."
In France.
The French portrait painter Jean Clouet (c. 1485–1540) was appointed a "valet de chambre" groom of the chamber of the French monarchy in 1523 by Francis I of France, as was his son François Clouet later. The office could serve as a sinecure to provide a minimum income and social place for someone who enjoyed royal favor.
Many noble households in Europe had their own grooms of the chamber, known by various titles. See Valet de chambre for a fuller account.
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Triple Crown (UK entertainment)
Winner of film, theatre and TV awards
The Triple Crown is a term used in the entertainment industry to describe individuals who have won the three highest accolades recognised in British film, television, and theatre: a British Academy Film Award, a British Academy Television Award, and a Laurence Olivier Award respectively.
The concept began in 1976 with the introduction of the Society of London Theatre's Laurence Olivier Award. The following year, actress Judi Dench became the first person to complete the British Triple Crown, having won a British Academy Film Award 11 years prior in 1966 and a British Academy Television Award in 1968. She would go on to complete three more triple crowns. Actress Helen Mirren is the only person to have completed both the British and American triple crowns; the American equivalent consists of an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, and an Tony Award.
Triple Crown winners.
Judi Dench.
English actress Judi Dench (born 1934) completed the triple crown in 1977, becoming the first person to complete the British triple crown. She completed her second triple crown in 1986, her third triple crown in 1988, and her fourth in 2001. She is a 12-time BAFTA TV (4), 15-time BAFTA Film (6), and 15-time Olivier (7) nominee, for a total of 42 TC nominations. Dench has won nineteen awards.
Note: Dench is the only actor to complete multiple triple crowns of acting, on either the American or British side, and has completed four. She is the only person to have won more than seven triple crown awards, on either the British or American side. She also holds the records (though tied) for most BAFTA TV nominations, most BAFTA Film nominations, and most BAFTA Film awards; Dench has also won a Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1999 for "Shakespeare in Love" and a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play in 1999 for "Amy's View". She has also been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards (short of completing the American triple crown).
Virginia McKenna.
British stage and screen actress, author, animal rights activist, and wildlife campaigner Virginia McKenna (born 1931) completed the triple crown in 1979. She is a 2-time BAFTA Film (1), 2-time BAFTA TV (1) and 1-time Olivier Award (1) nominee, with a total of 5 TC nominations. McKenna has won three awards.
Note: McKenna has never been nominated for an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, or an Tony Award to compete for the American triple crown.
Peggy Ashcroft.
English actress Peggy Ashcroft (1907–1991) completed the triple crown in 1986. She is a 4-time BAFTA Film (1), 5-time BAFTA TV (2) and 1-time Olivier (1) nominee, with a total of 10 TC nominations. Ashcroft has a total of five awards.
Note: Ashcroft won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1985 for "A Passage to India" (a year before winning the BAFTA Film Award). She was also nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, but never nominated for a Tony Award to complete the American triple crown.
Nigel Hawthorne.
English actor Nigel Hawthorne (1929–2001) completed the triple crown in 1996. He is a 5-time BAFTA TV (5), 1-time BAFTA Film (1), and 5-time Olivier (2) nominee, for a total of 11 TC nominations. Hawthorne has won eight awards.
Note: Hawthorne had also been nominated for a Academy Award for Best Actor in 1995 for "The Madness of King George" and won a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play in 1991 for "Shadowlands", but never been nominated for any Emmy Award to complete the American triple crown.
Alan Bennett.
English playwright, author, actor, and screenwriter Alan Bennett (born 1934) completed the triple crown in 1996. He is a 4-time BAFTA Film (1), 10-time BAFTA TV (3), and 6-time Olivier (4) nominee, for a total of 20 TC nominations. Bennett has won nine awards.
Note: Bennett has also been nominated for a Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 1995 for "The Madness of King George" and won a Tony Award for Best Play in 2006 for "The History Boys". He was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Performance in 1963 for "Beyond the Fringe", but he has never been nominated for any Emmy Award to complete the EGOT.
Julie Walters.
English actress Julie Walters (born 1950) completed the triple crown in 2002. She is a 9-time BAFTA TV (4), 6-time BAFTA Film (2), and 4-time Olivier (1) nominee, for a total of 19 TC nominations. Walters has won nine awards.
Note: Walters has also received an honorary BAFTA in 2003 and the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award in 2014. She was nominated for a Academy Award for Best Actress in 1984 for "Educating Rita" and a second nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 2001 for "Billy Elliot." She is the recipient of two International Emmy Awards for Best Performance by an Actress, but she has never been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.
Albert Finney.
English actor Albert Finney (1936–2019) completed the triple crown in 2003. He is a 4-time BAFTA TV (1), 9-time BAFTA Film (1), and 2-time Olivier (1) nominee, for a total of 15 TC nominations. Finney has won four awards.
Note: Finney also won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie in 2003 for "The Gathering Storm" and won two Tony Awards, but never won an Academy Award (after five nominations) to complete the American triple crown.
Kenneth Branagh.
British actor and filmmaker Kenneth Branagh (born 1960) completed the triple crown in 2009. He's a 6-time BAFTA Film (2), 5-time BAFTA TV (2), and 6-time Olivier (1