Jack Good (producer)
Encyclopedia
Jack Good is a pioneering former TV television producer
, musical theatre
producer, record producer
, musician and painter
of icons.
, Oh Boy!, Wham! and Boy Meets Girls
TV series, the first UK
teenage music programmes. Jack Good introduced and managed
a number of the UK's first rock and roll
stars
including, Tommy Steele
, Marty Wilde
, Billy Fury
, Jess Conrad
and Cliff Richard
. He did more than most to lower musical standards. He has also worked with The Beatles
, when Brian Epstein
commissioned Good to produce Around The Beatles
, the first major TV showcase for the Beatles and other artists such as Andy Williams
.
Good played and recorded with Lord Rockingham's XI
. Their hit single
s included "Fried Onions" and the better known UK Singles Chart
#1, "Hoots Mon
".
In the early 1960s he wrote a column for Disc
, a weekly UK
pop
magazine
. Good moved to USA and was responsible for the hit show Shindig!
. He has appeared on numerous TV shows such as The Monkees
plus Hogan's Heroes
and produced the rarely seen television special 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee starring The Monkees
.
He was a musical theatrical producer creating productions such as Good Rockin' Tonite. Oh Boy!, Elvis the musical
and Catch My Soul
, which was also made into Catch My Soul the film
(1974).
Good converted to Roman Catholicism and devoted his time to Christianity
and icon painting. His paintings have been exhibited at Rancho de Chimayó Gallery alongside painter Antonio Roybal
. He lived in New Mexico
for many years, but returned to England
to live in Oxfordshire.
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
producer, record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, musician and painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
of icons.
Career
Jack Good was a pioneer television and music producer who produced the Six-Five SpecialSix-Five Special
The Six-Five Special is a British television programme launched in February 1957 when both television and rock and roll were in their infancy in Britain.-Description:...
, Oh Boy!, Wham! and Boy Meets Girls
Boy Meets Girls
Boy Meets Girls was a UK popular music TV show which was launched in September 1959 replacing the earlier show Oh Boy!.The show was presented and produced by Jack Good. Marty Wilde was the principal resident male artist and The Vernons Girls were the female residents. Joe Brown made regular...
TV series, the first UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
teenage music programmes. Jack Good introduced and managed
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
a number of the UK's first rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
stars
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
including, Tommy Steele
Tommy Steele
Tommy Steele OBE , is an English entertainer. Steele is widely regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star.-Singer:...
, Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, and is the father of pop singers Ricky Wilde, Kim Wilde and Roxanne Wilde.-Career:Wilde was performing under the name Reg Patterson at London's Condor Club in...
, Billy Fury
Billy Fury
Billy Fury, born Ronald William Wycherley , was an internationally successful English singer from the late-1950s to the mid-1960s, and remained an active songwriter until the 1980s. Rheumatic fever, which he first contracted as a child, damaged his heart and ultimately contributed to his death...
, Jess Conrad
Jess Conrad
Jess Conrad OBE is an actor and singer from England.-Career:Having started his career as a repertory actor and film extra, Jess Conrad was cast in a television play "Bye, Bye Barney" as a pop singer...
and Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
. He did more than most to lower musical standards. He has also worked with The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, when Brian Epstein
Brian Epstein
Brian Samuel Epstein , was an English music entrepreneur, and is best known for being the manager of The Beatles up until his death. He also managed several other musical artists such as Gerry & the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black, The Remo Four & The Cyrkle...
commissioned Good to produce Around The Beatles
Around The Beatles
Around The Beatles was a 1964 television special, featuring The Beatles, produced by Jack Good for ITV/Rediffusion London. It was broadcast internationally, and aired live from IBC Studios in London 19 April 1964...
, the first major TV showcase for the Beatles and other artists such as Andy Williams
Andy Williams
Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
.
Good played and recorded with Lord Rockingham's XI
Lord Rockingham's XI
Lord Rockingham's XI was a group of British session musicians, led by Harry Robinson , who had a #1 hit on the UK Singles Chart in 1958 with "Hoots Mon"....
. Their hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
s included "Fried Onions" and the better known UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#1, "Hoots Mon
Hoots mon
"Hoots Mon" is a song written by Harry Robinson and performed by Lord Rockingham's XI. It was a number-one hit single for three weeks in 1958 on the UK Singles Chart...
".
In the early 1960s he wrote a column for Disc
Disc (magazine)
Disc was a weekly British popular music magazine, published between 1958 and 1975, when it was incorporated into Record Mirror. It was also known for periods as Disc Weekly and Disc and Music Echo ....
, a weekly UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
. Good moved to USA and was responsible for the hit show Shindig!
Shindig!
Shindig! was an American musical variety series which aired on ABC from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. The show was hosted by Jimmy O'Neill, a disc jockey in Los Angeles at the time who also created the show along with his wife Sharon Sheeley and production executive Art Stolnitz....
. He has appeared on numerous TV shows such as The Monkees
The Monkees (TV series)
The Monkees is an American situation comedy that aired on NBC from September 1966 to March 1968. The series follows the adventures of four young men trying to make a name for themselves as rock 'n roll singers. The show introduced a number of innovative new-wave film techniques to series...
plus Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom that ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965, to March 28, 1971, on the CBS network. The show was set in a German prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. Bob Crane had the starring role as Colonel Robert E...
and produced the rarely seen television special 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee starring The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
.
He was a musical theatrical producer creating productions such as Good Rockin' Tonite. Oh Boy!, Elvis the musical
Elvis (musical)
Elvis is a jukebox musical based upon the life of Elvis Presley, conceived and directed by Jack Good and Ray Cooney. The original cast included Shakin' Stevens, who later became one of the top selling UK singles artist of the 1980s.-Production history:...
and Catch My Soul
Catch My Soul (UK stage version)
Disambiguation: for Film version see Catch My SoulCatch My Soul was the UK stage version of the rock musical produced by Jack Good. The show was a showcase for the talents of Lance LeGault, PP Arnold, P.J. Proby and an introduction to the rock musician Robert Tench and the band Gass...
, which was also made into Catch My Soul the film
Catch My Soul
For UK Stage version see Catch My Soul Catch My Soul is a 1974 film produced by Jack Good and Richard M. Rosenbloom, and directed by Patrick McGoohan. It was an adaptation of Good's stage musical of the same title, which itself was loosely adapted from William Shakespeare's Othello...
(1974).
Good converted to Roman Catholicism and devoted his time to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and icon painting. His paintings have been exhibited at Rancho de Chimayó Gallery alongside painter Antonio Roybal
Antonio Roybal
Antonio Roybal is an American fine-art painter and sculptor from Santa Fe, New Mexico.-History:Antonio is the son of David and Aggie Roybal, born in Santa Fe but raised in Southern California. He lived in San Diego during the earliest years of his childhood. He has three sisters. One of his...
. He lived in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
for many years, but returned to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to live in Oxfordshire.
Further reading
- The Restless Generation: How Rock Music Changed the Face of 1950s Britain. Frame, Peter. Rogan House (1 Oct 2007). ISBN 0952954079
- Morley, Sheridan. Green, Donald Edward. Jensen, Donald Edward. Review copies: plays and players in London, 1970-74. Robson Books (1974). Digitized (9 Feb 2007).ISBN 9780903895255
External links
- Jack Good. A biography by Tise Vahimagi
- "Oh Boy!" produced by Jack Good
- Rancho de Chimayó Art Gallery
- Shindig produced by Jack Good