Dave's Song of the Day
Winchester Cathedral – The New Vaudeville Band
Wednesday song of the day: Today’s song was recorded by a group of studio musicians, with an actual band not recruited until after the song was already a hit.
English songwriter Geoff Stephens was a fan of songs from the music hall era of British entertainment of the 1920s and 1930s (which was similar to the American vaudeville music of the same timeframe). Inspired by this older style, he wrote a song called Winchester Cathedral that harkened back to those days. The song revolved around a man mourning after his girl left him, but its most memorable element was the musical and singing style, which sounded out of place in the mid-1960s.
Stephens gathered some studio musicians to record the song under the name of The New Vaudeville Band, with John Carter singing in the style of Rudy Vallee. The record was released in October 1966 and rose to #4 in the United Kingdom. In the United States, its novelty paid off even better, with Winchester Cathedral going all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
After the song started climbing the charts, Stephens formed an actual band to promote the song on television and in live performances. John Carter declined an offer to be the singer, and only the drummer from the original studio assemblage was used in the group recruited to become The New Vaudeville Band. This band went on to have a couple more hits in the UK, but never again cracked the Top 40 in the United States.
View: https://youtu.be/E_EEC7Zn6gU
Tomorrow: I heard the news
Winchester Cathedral – The New Vaudeville Band
Wednesday song of the day: Today’s song was recorded by a group of studio musicians, with an actual band not recruited until after the song was already a hit.

English songwriter Geoff Stephens was a fan of songs from the music hall era of British entertainment of the 1920s and 1930s (which was similar to the American vaudeville music of the same timeframe). Inspired by this older style, he wrote a song called Winchester Cathedral that harkened back to those days. The song revolved around a man mourning after his girl left him, but its most memorable element was the musical and singing style, which sounded out of place in the mid-1960s.
Stephens gathered some studio musicians to record the song under the name of The New Vaudeville Band, with John Carter singing in the style of Rudy Vallee. The record was released in October 1966 and rose to #4 in the United Kingdom. In the United States, its novelty paid off even better, with Winchester Cathedral going all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
After the song started climbing the charts, Stephens formed an actual band to promote the song on television and in live performances. John Carter declined an offer to be the singer, and only the drummer from the original studio assemblage was used in the group recruited to become The New Vaudeville Band. This band went on to have a couple more hits in the UK, but never again cracked the Top 40 in the United States.
View: https://youtu.be/E_EEC7Zn6gU
Tomorrow: I heard the news