Donald Swann - Autobiographies, Father's autobiography
Composer and lyricist, born in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, SW Wales, UK. He began his writing career by contributing music to revues such as Penny Plain (1951), Airs on a Shoestring (1953), and Pay the Piper (1954). His long collaboration with Michael Flanders began in 1956, when he wrote the music, and Flanders the words and dialogue, for At the Drop of a Hat, followed by At the Drop of Another Hat in 1965. From the 1970s he became a frequent broadcaster on musical and other matters, and wrote a musical fable for Christmas and three books of carols.
Donald Ibrahím Swann (September 30, 1923–March 23, 1994) was a British composer, musician and entertainer. He is best known to the general public for his partnership of writing and performing comic songs with Michael Flanders (see Flanders and Swann).
Donald Swann was born in Llanelli, Wales on September 30, 1923. The family moved to London, where Swann attended Dulwich Preparatory School and Westminster School (where he first met Michael Flanders).
In 1941 Swann was awarded an exhibition to Christ Church, Oxford, to read modern languages. After the war, Swann returned to Oxford to read Russian and Modern Greek.
A chance meeting with Flanders in 1948 let to the start of their professional partnership. They began writing songs and light opera, Swann writing the music and Flanders writing the words. They subsequently wrote two two-man revues, At The Drop Of A Hat and At The Drop Of Another Hat, which they performed all over the world until their partnership ended in 1967.
At the same time, Swann was maintaining a prolific musical output, writing the music for several operas and operettas, including a full-length version of C.S. A life-long friendship with Sydney Carter resulted in scores of songs, the best known being 'The Youth of the Heart' which reappeared in At the Drop of A Hat, and a musical Lucy & After his partnership with Flanders ended, Swann continued to give solo concerts and to write for other singers.
In 1992 Donald Swann was diagnosed with cancer, and he died at Trinity Hospice in South London on March 23, 1994. It is estimated that he wrote or set to music nearly 2,000 songs during his career. Rachel Swann and Natasha Swann.
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