1959 Reg Owen and His Orchestra – Manhattan Spiritual
George Owen Smith was born in London in 1921. He began playing the saxophone. He played in several bands before forming his own group while still a teenager.
World War II found him playing in a band for the RAF and began arranging music for Ted Heath after the war ended. He had his name legally changed to Reg Owen in 1954 and began scoring films.
In 1958, Reg and his orchestra recorded the instrumental Manhattan Spiritual. The single peaked at only #2o in the UK, but reached #10 on the US Hot 100 in early 1959.
Reg reached the UK chart one more time, but never breached the Hot 100 again.
He moved to Belgium in 1961 and continued composing and arranging music in Europe until his death in 1978.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/reg-owen-mn0002242969
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reg_Owen
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