Arthur Greenslade (4 May 1923  – 27 November 2003) was a British conductor and arranger for films and television, as well as for a number of performers. He was most musically active in the 1960s and 1970s.[1]

Greenslade was born in Northfleet, Kent. In the 1950s, he was pianist and arranger with the Oscar Rabin Band.[1] He arranged for Jack Jones, Chris Farlowe, Serge Gainsbourg, Genesis, Cat Stevens, Diana Ross, Dusty Springfield, the Bachelors and Kinderjazz.[1] For Shirley Bassey, he arranged "Goldfinger" and "Send In the Clowns". He has conducted orchestras in the Hollywood Bowl and Carnegie Hall, and was Bassey's musical director.[1][2] He was arranger and conductor on the Shirley Bassey albums And I Love You So[3] Never Never Never[4] Good, Bad but Beautiful[4] Love, Life and Feelings[5] and You Take My Heart Away[6] . He also played the piano on the Kinks' first hit, "You Really Got Me".

With Andrew Loog Oldham he wrote "Headlines", the B-side of "Ride on Baby" (IM 038), by Chris Farlowe, which was released in 1966.[7]

Greenslade also conducted some easy listening recordings. He conducted the orchestra for Rod McKuen's first television special, which aired on NBC in May 1969.[1][8] He also arranged Ireland's 1973 Eurovision Song Contest entry, "Do I Dream", sung by Maxi. He arranged the 1969 hit single "Je T'Aime ... Moi Non Plus" by Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin.[9]

Greenslade died in 2003 at the age of 80, in Sydney, Australia.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Bruce Eder. "Arthur Greenslade | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  2. ^ "THE BASSEY BLOG | Unofficial Dame Shirley Bassey News and Features". Songsofshirleybassey.co.uk. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  3. ^ Viglione, Joe. "Allmusic review". Allmusic. All Media Guide. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  4. ^ a b Christopher, James (6 December 2005). "Never Never Never/Good, Bad But Beautiful - Shirley Bassey". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  5. ^ Shirley Bassey Love, Life and Feelings at AllMusic
  6. ^ Shirley Bassey You Take My Heart Away at AllMusic
  7. ^ "Chris Farlowe - Ride on Baby (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 27 October 1966. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  8. ^ TV GUIDE, Carolina-Tennessee Edition, 10–16 May 1969, p A-10.
  9. ^ "Je T'Aime .... Moi Non Plus - Jane Birkin, Serge Gainsbourg | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 August 2020.