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Johnny Douglas (19 June 1920 - 20 April 2003) was an English composer, musical director and string arranger, perhaps best known for his work in the easy listening genre. He recorded over 500 tracks for DECCA and over 80 albums for RCA, and wrote the soundtrack to the 1971 film ''The Railway Children'', plus 37 other feature films. In the 1980s, he also composed and conducted music for many television series, including the children's TV animation series ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'', ''Dungeons & Dragons'', ''The Incredible Hulk'', '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' and ''The Transformers''. ==Early years== Douglas was born in Hackney, London, England, on 19 June 1920, the eldest of two sons of John and May Douglas. The family moved to Bermondsey where his mother was a housewife and his father held a secretarial position until he became Alderman of West Bermondsey Council. One of his earliest recollections was playing gramophone records on a machine that produced sound via a large green horn. By associating the music he heard with the colour and design of the labels on the 10” heavy and sometimes single sided records, he learned how to select the tune he wanted to hear. At 2½, his parents listened, not believing their own ears, when he played on the piano, one finger fashion, one of the popular tunes of the day that he had heard on one of his father’s records. He remembered playing "The Washington Post" that he learned from a record, which he felt sure was a green labelled Regal Zonophone. Douglas went to school at 3 years where he was soon asked to demonstrate his pianistic ability to the assembled teachers. At 3½ years he played a duet with the head teacher at a school concert - the piece, "Rendezvous". He started piano lessons when he was 4 years old and gradually became interested in how music sounds were made. His music teacher discovered that he could name the notes with his back to the piano. This seemed not in the least extraordinary to him until she brought in all the occupants of the house to witness his “trick”. He then began to realise that he had performed something unusual. He discovered the mysteries of arranging and orchestration at about 10 years old and gleaned knowledge of instruments and transpositions by studying printed band parts and listening to records. He won a government scholarship to St. Olaves & St. Saviours, a grammar school in Tooley Street, Bermondsey and at 13 formed a band, mainly of school friends, which won several dance band contests. He left school when he was 18 years old, continued with his band and began working as a clerk in an accounts office. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Johnny Douglas (conductor)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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