Chris Lloyds - Chris Lloyds Sings Matt Monro (2022)

Ever since I heard Matt Monro sing “Born Free” as a young boy I was inspired by his smooth, effortless vocal style. Known as “The Singer’s Singer”, most of Matt Monro’s recordings were produced or overseen by George Martin who later became famous for his work with the Beatles. Unlike his contemporaries, Monro recorded very few Tin Pan Alley standards during his career; the exception was Matt Monro sings Hoagy Carmichael, one of his most highly regarded albums. He and Martin searched for material written by promising newcomers and commissioned English lyrics for dramatic melodies written by European composers. He also covered many of the most popular stage and screen songs of the 1950s and 1960s. Over the years, his recordings featured arrangements by Sid Feller, John Barry, Buddy Bregman, Kenny Clayton, Colin Keyes, and Martin himself. He also had a long and fruitful musical partnership with British arranger Johnnie Spence. Monro also teamed up with American star arrangers Nelson Riddle and Billy May and leading British bandleader Ted Heath, for concerts broadcast by the BBC. Early in his career, Monro survived doing session work and singing TV and radio jingles which is something I have in common with him. Matt Monro died at 54, far too young. Frank Sinatra said “his pitch was right on the nose: his word enunciations letter perfect: his understanding of a song thorough. He will be missed very much not only by myself, but by his fans all over the world”. One can only wonder what other “gems” Matt would have given us had he still been alive today. I hope you enjoy the songs I have chosen and recorded as a tribute to the one and only, Matt Monro...