Eric Coates

Eric Coates earned the respectful designation of "king of light music" while ranking among England's foremost composers. A highly productive creator, he supplied works for full orchestras, chamber ensembles, and solo pianists alike. Beyond those efforts he produced more than 160 ballads and fashioned numerous instrumental settings drawn from the poetry of William Shakespeare and additional British poets. Several of his radio themes gained notice, among them the signature music for the popular BBC program Calling All Workers, which was transmitted four times daily on five weekdays. His orchestral debut took place in 1911 when the Queen's Hall Light Orchestra under Sir Henry Wood performed his "Miniature Suite," with Coates himself appearing as violist in the ensemble. Although "Stonecracker John," written in 1909, remained his most enduring melody, a fresh wave of popularity arrived in the late 1920s once "Birdsongs at Eventide" and "Homeward to You" achieved major success. He stayed active until shortly before his death in 1957, at which time he supplied "The Dam Busters March" and "High Flight" to well-received films of the early 1950s. Coates's lengthy career is documented in his own autobiography, Suite in Four Movements, and in Geoffrey Self's biography In Town Tonight.