Today we remember Al Bowlly, that unique interwar singer who was perhaps unrivaled in his ability to project vocally a persona of romance and sophistication. On April 16, 1941, Bowlly returned from giving a performance in High Wycombe and stayed up late reading, in spite of an intense Luftwaffe air raid. On the morning of April 17, a German parachute mine that had fallen outside his building exploded, killing him, amongst others. Bowlly was given a funeral at a Greek Orthodox Cathedral in London and buried in Hanwell Cemetery in a mass grave for bombing victims.
Al Bowlly and Elsie Carlisle sang a duet of “My Baby Just Cares For Me” in a medley in 1932:
Al Bowlly and Elsie Carlisle – “My Baby Just Cares for Me”
From John Watt’s “Songs from the Shows” (recorded March 7, 1932. Decca K-645). “My Baby Just Cares for Me” was composed by Walter Donaldson, with lyrics by Gus Kahn. Eddie Cantor made it famous in the film “Whoopee!”
