155.158.130.199 at 11:34, 9 January 2025

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{{Short description|English musician and bandleader (1914–1974)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Cyril Stapleton
| image =
| caption =
| image_size =
| birth_name = Horace Cyril Stapleton
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1914|12|31}}
| birth_place = [[Mapperley]], [[Nottingham]], England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1974|2|25|1914|12|31}}
| death_place = London, England
| genre = [[Jazz]]
| occupation = Musician<br>Band leader
| instrument = Violin
| years_active = 1926–1974
}}

'''Horace Cyril Stapleton''' (31 December 1914 – 25 February 1974)<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book
| first= David
| last= Roberts
| year= 2006
| title= British Hit Singles & Albums
| edition= 19th
| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
| location= London
| isbn= 1-904994-10-5
| page= 524}}</ref> was an English [[violin]]ist and [[jazz]] [[bandleader]].<ref name="Larkin50">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Fifties Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2002|edition=Third|isbn=1-85227-937-0|pages=416/7}}</ref>

==Biography==
Horace Cyril Stapleton was born in [[Mapperley]], [[Nottingham]], England,<ref name="Larkin50"/> He began playing violin at the age of seven, and played on local [[radio station|radio]] at the age of 12. He performed on the [[BBC Radio]] often in his [[adolescence|teenage]] years at their Birmingham studios, and played in [[film]] [[orchestra]]s accompanying [[silent film]]s.<ref name=amg>[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p447244/biography|pure_url=yes}} Cyril Stapleton] at [[AllMusic]]</ref> Stapleton attended [[Trinity College of Music]] in [[London]], and played in a dance band there led by [[Henry Hall (bandleader)|Henry Hall]].<ref name="Larkin50"/> This [[musical ensemble|ensemble]] also played on the BBC and made several [[sound recording and reproduction|recordings]] for [[EMI Records|EMI]]. After losing his position in the band, he went back to Nottingham and formed his own.<ref>[https://www.robertfarnonsociety.org.uk/index.php/legends/cyril-stapleton Cyril Stapleton Obituary] ''www.robertfarnonsociety.org.uk''</ref>

In the 1930s, Stapleton toured [[South Africa]] with the [[Jack Payne (bandleader)|Jack Payne]] Orchestra. Later in the decade, Stapleton and his band relocated to [[London]]; they won their own spot performing on the BBC in 1939. [[World War II]] interrupted Stapleton's musical career, as he joined the [[Royal Air Force]] late in 1939.<ref name=amg/> While enlisted, he played in the RAF Symphony Orchestra.<ref name="Larkin50"/>

Following the war, Stapleton played with the [[London Symphony Orchestra]], the National Symphony Orchestra of London, and the [[Philharmonia Orchestra]].<ref name="Larkin50"/> In 1947, he recreated his band, and quickly won back slots on the BBC; among the [[singing|singers]] he accompanied were [[Dick James]] and [[Frank Sinatra]].<ref name="Larkin50"/> As leader of the BBC Show Band, Stapleton became a fixture on the English musical scene, broadcast across the nation throughout the mid-1950s.<ref name=amg/> Players in the ensemble who went on to gain a profile in their own right included [[Bert Weedon]], [[Bill McGuffie]], [[Tommy Whittle]], and [[Matt Monro]].

In 1957, the BBC disbanded the Show Band, and Stapleton immediately reassembled his own group The Cyril Stapleton Orchestra. He even managed two [[record chart|chart]] [[hit record|hits]] in the United States with the [[instrumental]] "The Italian Theme" (#25, 1956) and "[[The Children's Marching Song (Nick Nack Paddy Whack)]]" (#13, 1959).<ref>[[Joel Whitburn]], ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits''. 7th edn, 2000</ref> The latter record sold one million copies.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs 2">{{cite book
| first= Joseph
| last= Murrells
| year= 1978
| title= The Book of Golden Discs
| edition= 2nd
| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd
| location= London
| pages= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/119 119–120]
| isbn= 0-214-20512-6
| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/119
}}</ref> Stapleton continued to [[concert tour|tour]] and record into the 1970s; in 1965 he also became head of [[A&R]] for [[Pye Records]].<ref name="Larkin50"/>

Stapleton died in 1974, at the age of 59.<ref name="Larkin50"/>

==Selected discography==
*"Elephant Tango" (1955) – [[UK Singles Chart|UK]] Number 19
*"Blue Star (The Medic Theme)" * (1955) – UK Number 2 – global million seller.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">{{cite book
| first= Joseph
| last= Murrells
| year= 1978
| title= The Book of Golden Discs
| edition= 2nd
| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd
| location= London
| page= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/77 77]
| isbn= 0-214-20512-6
| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/77
}}</ref>
*"The Italian Theme" (1956) – UK Number 18
*"[[The Happy Whistler]]" † (1956) – UK Number 22
*"Strings on Parade" (1954) – (Decca LF 1184)
*"Forgotten Dreams" (1957) – UK Number 27
*"Come'n Get It" (1958) – (Decca LK 4286)
*"Song of the Golden West" (1958) – (London LL 1723
*"All Time Big Band Hits" (1959?) – (Richmond Stereo, a product of London Records)

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Cyril Stapleton Orchestra featuring [[Julie Dawn]]

†Cyril Stapleton Orchestra featuring Desmond Lane, [[penny whistle]]
<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p447244/biography|pure_url=yes}} Biography at Allmusic.com]
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stapleton, Cyril}}
[[Category:1914 births]]
[[Category:1974 deaths]]
[[Category:English jazz bandleaders]]
[[Category:English violinists]]
[[Category:English male violinists]]
[[Category:Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England]]
[[Category:People from Mapperley]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:20th-century British violinists]]
[[Category:20th-century English musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century English male musicians]]
[[Category:English male jazz musicians]]
[[Category:BBC Big Band members]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force airmen]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Nottingham]]

Cyril Stapleton - Revision history

155.158.130.199 at 11:34, 9 January 2025