Big Bands Past

Johnny Downs received his early music training in London at the schools he attended - listen to Johnny himself tell you all about it in the video interview below, made a few years ago.

He organized his first band in 1939 at the age of 17 and took his crew to the Kincardine Dance Pavilion where they played a full summer engagement. In the years that followed the band played summer engagements at Leamington's Seacliffe Park, Midland's Parkside Pavilion, London's Springbank Park and Hamilton's Wondergrove. These were the war years of course and in the Spring of 1944, after graduating from University Of Western Ontario, Johnny joined the Canadian Navy, being discharged in 1945.

He re-assembled his band using his former men, many of whom were also UWO graduates, and took engagements in the London area and in the lakeside resorts of Southern Ontario. As Johnny stated at the time "We like to play our music in a sophisticated way, we try for originality in our arrangements and perfection in the way we play." In the early 1950's the band played the legendary Stork Club in Port Stanley and thereafter stayed on as house band for the next nine years and as featured guest group in the years after that. By this time he had earned the title of "master of sophisticated swing" and held down the regular Saturday night bandstand with music that kept the audience and dancers coming back week after week.

Johnny Downs association with the Stork Club ended when new management took over in 1968 but he held the record of playing there more years that any other orchestra. In January 1979 the Stork Club burned in a disastrous fire and had to be completely demolished.

As well as being an outstanding musician Johnny Downs was also a very successful business man, who, with his wife Dorothy, owned and operated the Latin Quarter restaurant in London, one of the city's elite dining spots.

Audio Of Johnny Downs Orchestra

CHLO live broadcast from the Stork Club Port Stanley August 1st 1953 - approx 30 mins

CKSL Live broadcast from University Of Western Ontario Ball February 1st 1956 (approx 36 mins)

CFPL telecast "Showcase" March 18th 1958 (complete with commercials!!) (approx 28 mins)

 

Photographs

Click here for Photograph Slide Show of Johnny Downs Orchestras