Matt Monro (1/12/1930 - 7/2/1985) was born Terence Parsons in Shoreditch, London. Affectionately nicknamed "the singing bus driver" (because one of his many occupations prior to achieving fame was driving the Number 27 bus from Highgate to Teddington), he got his first break in 1956 when he became a featured vocalist with the BBC Show Band. An important influence on his early career was pianist Winifred Atwell, who became his
mentor, provided him with his stage name, and helped him sign with Decca Records.
In 1957 Monro released "Blue and Sentimental," a collection of standards that, according to legend, he recorded in his bus driver's jacket after rushing to the studio after work. Despite the album's critical acclaim, Monro languished among the many young male singers trying to break through at the end of that decade, many of them emulating Frankie Vaughan by trawling for success with home-grown covers of American hits. (Monro himself even did a "Garden of Eden.") A short contract with Fontana followed,
and those recordings find Monro still trying to find the right commercial touch.
By the end of the 1950s, Monro's mid-decade flash of fame had burned out, and he returned to relative obscurity. He and his wife Mickie lived from her wages as a song plugger and his royalties from a "Camay" TV jingle. In 1959 he recorded a country pastiche song, "Bound for Texas," for The Chaplin Revue, a feature-length film released by Charlie Chaplin compiling three of his old First National shorts. It would be the first of many Matt Monro soundtrack themes.
In 1960, George Martin was looking for a singer to record the Sinatra-style ditty that opened the album "Songs For Swinging Sellers," to be used strictly as a guide for Peter Sellers to imitate. Martin offered it to Monro, and when Sellers heard the recording he decided to use it as-is, but bill Monro as "Fred Flange." Though it was a demoralizing experience at the time, the incident developed into a lifelong friendship with Martin,
who subsequently asked Monro to begin recording with him for EMI's Parlophone. Their second single, "Portrait Of My Love," reached number two in the British charts and finally established Monro as a star.
The following year, he was named Top International Act by Billboard magazine. His follow-up hits included "My Kind Of Girl" (1961), "Softly As I Leave You" (1962) and the secondary title song from the James Bond film From Russia with Love (1963). In 1964, he represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest, singing "I Love the Little Things." (He finished second behind Italy's 16-year-old Gigliola Cinquetti.) He had a major hit with the The Beatles' "Yesterday" in 1965, releasing the first UK
single of the most recorded song of all time (The Beatles demurred, though their version was issued in the U.S. and internationally), and in 1966 he sang the Oscar-winning title song for the film, Born Free, which became his primary signature tune. The opening scene of The Italian Job features Monro singing 'On Days Like These'.
Monro achieved fame in the U.S. when "My Kind Of Girl" (1961) and "Walk Away" (1964) hit the Top 40. In 1966, following the death of Nat "King" Cole, EMI moved Monro from Parlophone to Capitol to maintain an A&R balance on the L.A.-based label. (He had been released by EMI in America previously on the Liberty label). After relocating to California and recording several albums with American arrangers, Monro returned to England and began appearing on EMI's Columbia label, his final U.S. album release being
Close To You (1970). He continued touring and recording until just before his death, releasing a single and promoting it throughout England and Australia in 1984. In one of his final appearances he praised Boy George, noting the importance of quality recordings in all musical genres.
Monro died from cancer in 1985, leaving a widow, Mickie, and three children: Mitchell, Michele, and Matthew.
