Hey U.S., Meet Max Bygraves

I always thought the Tony Orlando and Dawn song “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” was one of the stupidest songs I’d ever heard. Stupid, sappy, and even embarrassing. No one would be caught dead singing that song more than a mile beyond the outskirts of Las Vegas.

Then I happened to listen to a Max Bygraves album and heard his version of the yellow ribbon song. Instead of a stupid song, I heard a fun song.


Max Bygraves can tie a yellow ribbon 'round my old oak tree anytime.

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So, how did I end up playing a Max Bygraves album in the first place? It would not be uncommon for anyone in Great Britain to listen to Max Bygraves. Unfortunately, most people in the United States have never heard of him. That’s too bad. I just happen to be a huge fan of the British sit com “Are You Being Served?” starring John Inman. In one episode, Inman’s character Mr. Humphries makes a passing reference to Max. When I happened to run across one of his LPs I couldn’t resist.

For U.S. readers, Max Bygraves was a British singer-songwriter, born in 1922. An all-around entertainer, he starred in films and his own television show, performed comedy, and was one of England’s top-selling recording artists. Strictly in terms of voice only, he is not a particularly great singer. What makes Max great is the way he sings. Listen and find out for yourself. Max can make any song his own.


This is my first Max Bygraves record (Everest FS-351). He’s the guy holding the hat. Victor Silvester, on the left, is the orchestra leader.

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My first Max Bygraves album has several songs that have never moved me until now. They range from the jazz standard "Everybody Loves My Baby" which dates all the way back to 1924, to "Deep in the Heart of Texas" that was first recorded in 1941 believe it or not by Pennsylvania native Perry Como with the Ted Weems Orchestra.

The song on the album that really rattled my cage was a well-known Richard Rodgers tune. Although I love Richard Rodgers, I have little interest in what some believe is his greatest triumph, “The Sound of Music.” Because I’m an obsessive completist I have a copy of the record in both my LP and my CD collections. Nonetheless, I never have and never will listen to either of them. I don’t like Julie Andrews very much either, which may have something to do with it. But for the first time in my life, listening to Max Bygraves, I practically fell in love with the song "Edelweiss."

That's the Max I'm just beginning to appreciate. As I understand it, he's still alive and working in Australia. Although it’s a shame he isn’t more well-known in the U.S., it makes discovering him all that much sweeter. Play it again Max, this time for those of us stateside.