The John Schroeder Orchestra

John Schroeder January 1935 – 31 January 2017 Was A British Pop And Easy Listening Composer Arranger Songwriter And Record Producer. In 1961 Schroeder Won An Ivor Novello Award For Co-Writing "Walkin' Back To Happiness". Schroeder Worked As An A&R Assistant To Norrie Paramor At Columbia Records. He Was Also A Songwriter And With Mike Hawker Wrote The Song "Walkin' Back To Happiness" Which In A Version By Helen Shapiro Reached Number One In The UK Singles Chart During 1961. Schroeder Also Co-Wrote Two Other Hits For Shapiro "Don't Treat Me Like A Child" And "You Don't Know". Later He Moved To Independent British Label Oriole As A&R Chief And Whilst He Was There He Brokered An Early Licensing Deal With Motown For British Distribution On The Label. It Subsequently Issued Such Singles As The Contours' "Do You Love Me" And "Fingertips" By Little Stevie Wonder. In The Mid 1960s Schroeder Moved To Pye And Formed The Instrumental Pop Outfit Sounds Orchestral With Johnny Pearson. They Had An International Hit With Their Version Of "Cast Your Fate To The Wind" Which Included Reaching No. 5 In The UK Chart. With This Group As Well As Under Several Other Names Including His Own He Released A Large Number Of Easy Listening Covers Of Popular Songs. While Many Of These Saw Little Critical Acclaim Upon Release There Was A Resurgence In Interest In Them In The 1990s When They Became Popular Tracks In London Dance Clubs And Appeared On Soundtracks To Films Such As The Ocean's Eleven Franchise. During His Tenure With Pye Schroeder Oversaw Their Piccadilly Subsidiary Label Eventually Launching The Career After Several False Starts Of Status Quo Beginning In 1968 With Their First Hit "Pictures Of Matchstick Men". In The Early 1970s John Schroeder Started Alaska Records Best Known For The Label's Work With Cymande. The Alaska Label Was Subsequently Joined By Another Founded By Schroeder Janus Records. In The Early 1980s John Schroeder Moved To Canada Living And Working There Until The Early 1990s. He Later Lived In Surrey England. His Autobiography Sex And Violins Was Published In 2009. 8 Two Years Later Schroeder Again Became An Author Writing And Publishing A Second Book Titled Cozy Cats Cottage Plc. 9 This Book Is Unrelated To The Music Industry And Told The Story Of Fictional Character Angela Tillsworthy And How She Formed A Company Employing Friendly Cats To Help The Needy. It Was Published In 2011. John Schroeder Died At His Home On 31 January 2017 After A Long Battle With Cancer. Discography Albums
Working In The Soul Mine Pye 1966 The Dolly Catcher Piccadilly 1967 Witchi-Tai-To Pye 1971 You've Made Me So Very Happy Marble Arch 1971 Dylan Vibrations Polydor 1972 Latin Vibrations Polydor 1971 Love Vibrations Polydor 1972 Party Dance Vibrations Polydor 1972 T.V. Vibrations Polydor 1972 Gangster Movie Vibrations Polydor 1972 Singles
"Soul For Sale" Pye 1966 "The Fugitive Theme" Piccadilly 1965 "On The Ball World Cup Theme " Pye 1966 "Wanna Thank You Girl" Pye 1971 "One Way Glass" Pye 1971 "I'm Gonna Change" Alaska 1975 "All Night" Alaska 1975 John Schroeder's Profile Greatly Benefited From The Easy Listening Craze Of The 90s. He Mainly Produced Standard Easy Listening Fare I.E. More Poppy Arrangements Of Popular Hits. read less