| Dennis Hale | |
| Birth Name: | Dennis Godfrey Hoare |
| Birth Date: | 1922 5, df=yes |
| Genre: | Big Band |
| Years Active: | c.1945 – 1960 |
| Label: | Parlophone, Decca Records |
| Associated Acts: | Oscar Rabin Band, Jack Parnell Orchestra |
Dennis Hale (1922 1960), born Dennis Godfrey Hoare, was a vocalist with a number of bands and performers, including the Oscar Rabin Band, Jack Parnell, Johnny Douglas, Teddy Foster (1945 to 1946), and Eric Winstone (1946 to 1948).[1] [2]
Hale left the army in 1945, where he had been a sergeant major. At the time, he was the youngest sergeant major in the Royal Artillery. In 1948 Dennis set up his own orchestra and had a resident berth at the Brighton Aquarium ballroom. In 1955 Dennis changed recording label from Parlophone to Decca Records.
Gramophone in a review of Hale singing "Devil's Eyes" stated that it was "gorge for those who enjoy the more extravagantly passionate singers."[4] A different reviewer for Gramophone, in a review of Hale singing "The Bandit", stated that they'd "like him much better if he didn't indulge so much in tasteless exaggeration and think that everyone listened to his records about ten miles from their gramophones."[6] A Gramophone review of "Blowing Wild" stated that it was "more for those 'teen age maidens who swoon every time they hear a voice that has what to them is sex appeal. To me it's just rather tasteless extravagance."[5] In 1952, Gramophone reviewed Hale's double-sided single that featured Hale singing "Anytime" and "Weaver of Dreams". For "Anytime", the reviewer stated that it was a "bouncy number" that was "more pleasant to the ear" than other vocalists had done. However, the reviewer stated that "Weaver of Dreams" had a lot of "weary notes" that sounded like he was "sing[ing] through his nose."[3]
Hale was married to Santina Motta in 1946 and had two sons, Paul Dennis Hoare and Robert Norman Hoare (Hale).