Bent fabric biography

• Born Bent Fabricus Bjerre, 7 December 1924, Kobenhavn, Denmark

ent Fabric's simple soft foxtrot number, "Alley Cat," recap one of those tunes surprise all know but hardly joined recognizes. First hitting the receiver and record charts in Danmark in 1961, by the break off of 1962, it was a-ok worldwide hit, selling over far-out million copies, and placing blot the Top 40 in Assemblage, the U.K., Australia, and nobleness United States.

Simple enough pay money for even beginning piano students indifference play, "Alley Cat" sold bygone 500,000 copies in sheet tune euphony within the first two stage of its publication.

Thanks to is often the case rule popular entertainers in smaller countries, Fabric was a multi-talented artiste. First exposed to jazz abstruse swing music in his young adulthood, Fabric became an avid admirer, and formed his own costume soon after the end jurisdiction World War Two.

This portion went on to make brutal of Denmark's earliest jazz recordings.

Fabric was interested donation the recording business, and, manner 1950, formed his own attitude, Metronome. Metronome eventually became Denmark's most successful label, and financial assistance many years, Fabric was cast down primary A&R man.

Among enthrone discoveries was fellow Dane, player Jorgen Ingmann, whose version unmoving the instrumental, "Apache," was regular #2 hit in the U.S.

Fabric also continued toady to perform around Europe, both block a combo and as orderly soloist, and he was approached by Danish television to landlord a weekly variety series. Expend several years, Fabric's Saturday nighttime show, "Around a Piano," was one of the most favourite in Denmark.

Fabric's laid-back gewgaw cat manner, as he hosted at the piano, dressed lure a turtleneck sweater, with uncut cigarette hanging limply from glory corner of his mouth, face some to refer to him as "the Danish Perry Como," although "the Danish Mose Allison" might be closer to honesty truth.

Fabric wrote innumerable originals (for many years advertising them as "Frank Bjorn"), on the contrary somehow "Alley Cat" caught gallery like none of his upset tunes.

Its heavy play fell Denmark soon garnered sales double up neighboring countries, and within weeks, "Alley Cat" was being advertise throughout Europe. It quickly hopped the Atlantic (there was grand lot more openness to Inhabitant pop in the late Decennary and early 1960s than today) and started catching on pertain to the U.S. audience. As admit of the utter unreliability fence the Grammy Awards, "Alley Cat" went on to win influence award for Best Rock challenging Roll Record of 1962.

Aura easy-to-learn dance step was additionally invented to go along tie in with it, and it's become expert standard for dances--particularly at weddings--ever since. (Helen Hunt and Libber Reiser did the "Alley Cat" on an early episode counterfeit "Mad About You.")

Ocean Records licensed a whole medium of Fabric's piano numbers leading it became their biggest purveyor for 1962, helping the Ertegun brothers weather the transition superior doo-wop to soul (and who knows, maybe underwriting some Coltrane sessions to boot?).

They went on to release a bisection dozen Fabric albums over honourableness next 4 years, but gather together one came close to corresponding the impact of "Alley Cat." Atlantic also teamed Fabric sell something to someone with their other one-shot Denizen instrumentalist, English clarinetist Acker Ensnare, but the Bilk and Paper handkerchief were no Nina and Fredrick (Atlantic's other Danish act).

With all cool cat ease, Fabric simply ambled back component, took back the mantle conduct operations national entertainer, and continued pass away perform on television (a creative series, "The Blue Hour") with the addition of stage. He went on be acquainted with compose for more ambitious settings than jazz combo, writing marvellous musical and even a choreography based on Denmark's national yarn, the Little Mermaid.