Kenny Ball

Kenny Ball
Background information
Born
Kenneth Daniel Ball

(1930-05-22)22 May 1930
Ilford, Essex, England
Died7 March 2013(2013-03-07) (aged 82)
Basildon, Essex, England
GenresJazz
Trad jazz
OccupationsTrumpeter, bandleader
InstrumentsTrumpet, vocals
Years active1953–2013
LabelsPye, Fontana; Kapp

Kenneth Daniel Ball (22 May 1930 – 7 March 2013) was an English jazz musician, best known as the bandleader, lead trumpet player and vocalist in Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen.

Career

Ball was born in Ilford, Essex. At the age of 14 he left school to work as a clerk in an advertising agency, but also started taking trumpet lessons. He began his career as a semi-professional sideman in bands, whilst also working as a salesman and for the advertising agency. He turned professional in 1953 and played the trumpet in bands led by Sid Phillips, Charlie Galbraith, Eric Delaney and Terry Lightfoot before forming his own trad jazz band – Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen – in 1958. His Dixieland band was at the forefront of the early 1960s UK jazz revival.

In 1961 their recording of Cole Porter's "Samantha" (Pye 7NJ.2040 – released February 1961) became a hit, and they reached No. 2 at the end of 1961 on the UK Singles Chart, and in March 1962 on the Hot 100, with "Midnight in Moscow" (Pye 7NJ.2049 – released November 1961). The record sold over one million copies, earning gold disc status. Their next single "March of the Siamese Children" (Pye 7NJ.2051 – released February 1962), from The King and I, topped the pop music magazine New Musical Express's chart on 9 March 1962, further hits followed and such was their popularity in the UK that Ball was featured, along with Cliff Richard, Brenda Lee, Joe Brown, Craig Douglas and Frank Ifield, on the cover of the New Musical Express in July 1962, although in the United States they remained a "one-hit wonder". Ball appeared with his jazz band in the 1962 British musical movie It's Trad, Dad!, directed by Richard Lester.

In January 1963, New Musical Express reported that the biggest trad jazz event to be staged in Britain had taken place at Alexandra Palace. The event included George Melly, Diz Disley, Acker Bilk, Chris Barber, Alex Welsh, Ken Colyer, Monty Sunshine, Bob Wallis, Bruce Turner, Mick Mulligan and Ball. The same year, Ball was awarded the honorary citizenship of New Orleans, and appeared in the 1963 film Live It Up!, featuring Gene Vincent.

In 1968 the band appeared with Louis Armstrong during his last European tour. Ball later appeared on BBC Television's highly rated review of the 1960s music scene Pop Go The Sixties, performing "Midnight in Moscow" with his Jazzmen on the show's broadcast on BBC 1 on 31 December 1969. His continued success was aided by guest appearances on every edition of the first six series of the BBC's Morecambe and Wise Show. He later said that the peak of his career was when Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen played at the reception for the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana.

Ball and his band enjoyed one of the longest unbroken spells of success for trad bands and his status rivals contemporaries Acker Bilk and Chris Barber. Their joint album, The Best of Ball, Barber and Bilk, reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart. He charted fourteen top 40 hit singles in the UK. All these releases were issued on the Pye record label. In 2001, Ball was part of the recording of an album on the Decca label. It featured Don Lusher, Acker Bilk, John Chilton and the Feetwarmers, John Dankworth, Humphrey Lyttelton and George Melly, and was entitled British Jazz Legends Together.

Ball continued to tour until shortly before his death, his last scheduled concert being with Acker Bilk and Chris Barber at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall on 21 February 2013. He died at Basildon Hospital, Essex, where he was being treated for pneumonia.

Since 2018, the band has continued in the form of a show titled Kenny Ball's Greatest Hits, which is produced by trombonist Ian Bateman, who played many times with the band in its later years as deputy for John Bennett and then under the leadership of Kenny's son, Keith. The show features musicians who were either in Kenny's band or were involved in the 3B's shows.

The Jazzmen

The line-up changed greatly over the years, but the following personnel were in situ when the musical ensemble was at its commercial peak:

The personnel of the Jazzmen at the time of Ball's death were:

Discography

Chart singles

Year Single Chart Positions
US Pop
 UK
1961 "Samantha" – 13
"I Still Love You All" – 24
"Someday (You'll Be Sorry)" – 28
"Midnight in Moscow" 2 2
1962 "March of the Siamese Children" 88 4
"The Green Leaves of Summer" 87 7
"So Do I" – 14
"The Pay Off" – 23
1963 "Sukiyaki" – 10
"Casablanca" – 21
"Rondo" – 24
"Acapulco 1922" – 27
1964 "Hello Dolly" – 30
1967 "When I'm Sixty-Four" – 43

Albums

Compilation albums

Singles and EPs

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 29. ISBN 0-7535-0149-X.
  2. 1 2 3 "BBC News – Kenny Ball, jazz trumpeter, dies at 82". BBC News. 7 March 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 40. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  4. 1 2 Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 131. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. pp. 28/9. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
  6. ↑ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 116. CN 5585.
  7. ↑ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  8. ↑ Thetop40charts.co.uk Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ "Number 1 albums of the 1960s". Everyhit.com. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  10. ↑ "British Jazz Legends Together: Jazz CD Reviews". Musicweb-international.com. January 2002. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  11. ↑ The Three Bs: Kenny Ball, Chris Barber & Acker Bilk Archived 4 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine, JohnBoddyAgency.co.uk website. Retrieved on 8 March 2013.
  12. ↑ "Kenny Ball, jazz trumpeter, dies at 82". BBC News. 7 March 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  13. ↑ Martin Chilton, "Kenny Ball: great of British jazz dies", Telegraph.co.uk, 7 March 2013; retrieved 7 March 2013.
  14. ↑ "The Story and Music of Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen | Mental Itch". Mentalitch.com. 18 April 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  15. ↑ "Andy Cooper. RIP old friend". jazzconnection on Instagram. 2 February 2026. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  16. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955–2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 36. ISBN 0-89820-155-1.
  17. ↑ Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952–2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 52. ISBN 0-00-717931-6.
  18. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top LPs, 1955–1972. Record Research. p. 14. Retrieved 10 July 2025.