Maurice Winnick

Maurice Winnick (b. March 28, 1902, Manchester, U.K. - d. mid-1960s) violin and band leader. By the age of 14 he was playing in a Manchester cinema orchestra for the silent movies. During the 1930's, Winnick recorded for labels such as Regal, Panachord and Edison Bell Winner in addition to being heard over the BBC. In 1934, Winnick made a daring decision that changed the course of his long career. He completely changed his band's musical style becoming an English counterpart to America's phenomenally successful Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians Orchestra. The band included Sam Costa (pianist/vocalist), Ronnie O'Dell (pianist/vocalist), Judy Shirley (vocalist) and by the late 1930s, legendary singer Al Bowlly. In 1940 his band included Ted Heath (trombone), Don Barrigo (tenor sax), Joe Crossman, Bill Shakespeare (trumpet), and Bert Barnes (piano and arranger) with vocalists Al Bowlly and Dorothy Carless. At the end of World War II, as the big band era came to an end, Maurice disbanded. He became a booking agent for Television shows, then a TV show producer, and was even involved with the formation of the ITV. Many critics feel that his band quite possibly had the most distinctive sound of any British dance orchestra during the 1930s and 1940s.