Ray Noble

Ray Noble
Ray Noble and his orchestra in 1935
Background information
Birth name	Raymond Stanley Noble
Born	(1903-12-17)17 December 1903 Brighton, England, UK
Died	3 April 1978(1978-04-03) (aged 74) London, England
Genres	Jazz, big band
Occupation(s)	Bandleader, composer, arranger, comedian, actor
Associated acts	Al Bowlly

Raymond Stanley "Ray" Noble (17 December 1903 – 3 April 1978) was an English bandleader, composer, arranger, radio comedian, and actor. Noble wrote both lyrics and music for many popular songs during the British dance band era known as the "Golden Age of British music", notably for his longtime friend and associate Al Bowlly, including "Love Is the Sweetest Thing", "Cherokee", "The Touch of Your Lips", "I Hadn't Anyone Till You", and his signature tune, "The Very Thought of You". Noble also played a radio comedian opposite American ventriloquist Edgar Bergen's stage act of Mortimer Snerd and Charlie McCarthy, and American comedy duo Burns and Allen, later transferring these roles from radio to TV and popular films.

Noble was born at 1 Montpelier Terrace in the Montpelier area of Brighton, England. A blue plaque on the house commemorates him. Noble studied at the Royal Academy of Music and in 1927 won a competition for the best British dance band orchestrator that was advertised in the Melody Maker music magazine. In 1929, he became leader of the New Mayfair Dance Orchestra, an HMV Records studio band that featured members of many of the top hotel orchestras of the day. (Noble recorded prolifically during this time and US Victor released many of his HMV recordings.)

The most popular vocalist with Noble's studio band was Al Bowlly, who joined in 1930. During this time Noble co-wrote "Turkish Delight", "By the Fireside" and "Goodnight, Sweetheart". The latter song was a number one hit for Guy Lombardo in the United States charts. It was also used (with vocals by Al Bowlly) on the original television series Star Trek episode The City on the Edge of Forever.