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Ian Timothy Whitcomb (10 July 1941 – 19 April 2020) was an English entertainer, singer-songwriter, record producer, writer, broadcaster and actor. As part of the British Invasion, his hit song "You Turn Me On" reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 record chart in 1965.
He wrote several books on popular music, beginning with , published by Penguin Books (Britain) and Simon & Schuster (United States) in 1972. He accompanied his singing by playing the ukulele and, through his records, concerts, and film work, helped to stimulate the revival of interest in the instrument. His re-creation of the music played aboard the in the film of that name won a Grammy Award in 1998 for package design and a nomination for Whitcomb's liner notes ( Titanic: Music as Heard on the Fateful Voyage).
Their next record release, again credited as Ian Whitcomb & Bluesville, "You Turn Me On", was a novelty song largely improvised at the end of a recording session in Dublin. Released as a single on the Tower label, it reached Billboard's number 8 spot in July 1965 – it was the first Irish-produced record to reach the US charts – but did not chart in Britain. During his summer vacation in 1965, Whitcomb went to America to appear on such television programs as Shindig, Hollywood A Go-Go and American Bandstand. Whitcomb played the Hollywood Bowl with The Beach Boys in 1965 and then toured with The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, and Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs.
"N-E-R-V-O-U-S!", Whitcomb's next release, which was also a novelty song, was recorded in Hollywood and reached No. 59 in Billboard and No. 47 in Cash Box. He returned to Dublin for his history finals and received a BA academic degree. In 1966 he turned to early popular song: His version of a 1916 Al Jolson comedy number, "Where Did Robinson Crusoe Go with Friday on Saturday Night?" was a West Coast hit, reviving the ukulele before the emergence of Tiny Tim.
After making four albums for the Tower label, Whitcomb retired as a pop performer, later writing that he "wanted no part of the growing pretentiousness of rock with its mandatory drugs and wishy-washy spiritualism and its increasing loud and metallic guitar sounds." However, in 1969 he produced Mae West on her album called Great Balls of Fire for MGM Records. He then returned to the UK and was commissioned by Penguin Books to write a history of pop music, , published in 1972. He appeared on several BBC TV shows and was an early presenter of the BBC show The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1971.
Whitcomb settled in California in the late 1970s. He starred in and wrote L.A.–My Home Town (BBC TV; 1976) and Tin Pan Alley (PBS; 1974). He wrote Tin Pan Alley, A Pictorial History (1919–1939) and a novel, Lotusland: A Story of Southern California, published in 1979. He also provided the music for a documentary film, Bugs Bunny: Superstar (UA), which was narrated by Orson Welles. For Play-Rite Music he cut 18 piano rolls that were included in an album, Pianomelt. His other albums reflected his research into the genres of ragtime, Tin Pan Alley, vaudeville and music hall. These, beginning with Under the Ragtime Moon (1972), were released on several including Warner Bros. Records, United Artists and Decca Records. During that time he also wrote and produced singles for Warner Bros.' country division, most notably "Hands", a massage parlour story, and "A Friend of a Friend of Mine".
In the 1980s Whitcomb published Rock Odyssey: A Chronicle of the Sixties: Ian Whitcomb, a memoir of the 1960s and described by The New York Times as the best personal account of this period. He also published Ragtime America (Limelight Editions, 1988), followed by a memoir of life as a British expatriate in Los Angeles, Resident Alien (Century, 1990). He wrote extensively on music, culture, and books for a diverse range of magazines including Radio Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Daily Telegraph, The London Magazine. He produced a British documentary on black music, Legends of Rhythm and Blues (part of the series Repercussions, made by Third Eye Productions for Channel Four in 1984). He also hosted a radio show in Los Angeles for 15 years, taking the program from KROQ-FM to KCRW and finally to KPCC-FM. Profile, Laradio.com; accessed 7 July 2015.
He continued recording, producing a series of CD collections: Treasures of Tin Pan Alley, Al Jolson songs, and Titanic- Music As Heard On The Fateful Voyage. His liner notes were nominated for a Grammy. His songs are heard in the films Bloody Movie (1987), Cold Sassy Tree (1989), Encino Man (1992), Grass (1999), Man of the Century (1999), Stanley's Gig (2000), After the Storm (2001), The Cat's Meow (2002), Last Call (2002), Sleep Easy, Hutch Rimes (2002), Lonesome Jim (2005) and Fido (2006).
From November 2007, he had an internet radio program on Wednesday evenings from 8:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m.(PST) at Luxuria Music. He signed with Premiere Radio Networks in September 2010 to launch The Ian Whitcomb Show on XM satellite radio, Channel 24. He was named as a BEST OF L.A. in 2008 by Los Angeles magazine.
In 2009 Whitcomb wrote and, with his Bungalow Boys, performed original music for the West Coast Premiere of The Jazz Age, a play by Allan Knee, at the Blank Theater Company's 2nd Stage Theater in Los Angeles, for which he was nominated for an L.A. Theater Award.
As an educator, Whitcomb lectured on early American popular song and composers throughout the California library system. He was a favorite speaker at the annual Oregon Festival of American Music and at the Workman and Temple Families Homestead Museum.
Later life
Whitcomb lived in Southern California with his wife, Regina (née Enzer), and their dog, Toby. He performed, on accordion and ukulele, at music festivals and major venues throughout America, often with his ragtime band, The Bungalow Boys, as well as with a larger orchestra. He continued writing, and made frequent guest appearances. He notably performed live and on recordings as a special guest of ukulele chanteuse Janet Klein's Parlour Boys. He was a regular performer at Cantalini's Restaurant in Playa del Rey, California. He appeared as Grand Marshal in the 24th Occasional Pasadena Doo Dah Parade on November 19, 1999.
Illness and death
Whitcomb died in Pasadena, California at a care facility on 19 April 2020, from complications of a stroke he had suffered in 2012. He was 78.
Selected discography
Singles
1964 "Soho"
b/w "Boney Moronie"Jerden 735 — — — Non-album tracks 1965 "This Sporting Life" (Ian Whitcomb and Bluesville)
b/w "Fizz" (Ian Whitcomb and Barry Richardson)Jerden 747 — — — "This Sporting Life"
b/w "Fizz"
Both sides: Ian Whitcomb and BluesvilleTower 120 100 87 — You Turn Me On! "You Turn Me On (Turn On Song)"
b/w "Poor But Honest"
Both sides: Ian Whitcomb and BluesvilleTower 134 8 10 30 "N-E-R-V-O-U-S!"
b/w "The End" (Non-album track)Tower 155 59 47 12 "18 Whitcomb Street"
b/w "Fizz" (from You Turn Me On!)Tower 170 — — — Non-album track "No Tears For Johnny"
b/w "Be My Baby"Tower 189 — — — You Turn Me On! "High Blood Pressure"
b/w "Good Hard Rock" (Non-album track)Tower 192 — — — Sock Me Some Rock "Lover's Prayer"
b/w "Your Baby Has Gone Down The Plug-Hole" (from Ian Whitcomb's Mod, Mod Music Hall!)Tower 212 — — — Non-album track "Don't Think Twice It's Alright"
b/w "As Tears Go By"Jerden 788 — — — Non-album tracks "Louie Louie"
b/w "Walk Right In"
Both sides: "Sir Arthur"Tower 216 — — — 1966 "You Won't See Me" (Ian Whitcomb and Somebody's Chyldren)
b/w "Please Don't Leave Me On The Shelf" (Ian Whitcomb and Bluesville Of London)Tower 251 — — — "Where Did Robinson Crusoe Go With
Friday On Saturday Night" (Ian Whitcomb and His Seaside Syncopators)
b/w "Poor Little Bird" (Ian Whitcomb and His Radio Band)Tower 274 101 — — Ian Whitcomb's Mod, Mod Music Hall! "You Really Bent Me Out Of Shape"
b/w "Rolling Home With Georgeanne"Tower 336 — — — Non-album tracks 1967 "Sally Sails The Sky"
b/w "Groovy Day" Tower 385 — — — 1973 "Yaaka Hula Hickey Dula"
b/w "They Go Wild, Simply Wild Over Me" United Artists 162 — — — Under The Ragtime Moon 1976 "Somewhere In Virginia In The Rain" (Kenni Huskey with Ian Whitcomb)
b/w "Pancho" (Kenni Huskey and The Kids On The Street)Warner Brothers 8180 — — — Non-album tracks
Albums
Compact discs
Books
Appearances
Screen
Television
Notes
External links
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