William Boone 'Billy' Daniels
September 12th 1915, - October 7th 1988
That Old Black Magic" was the song for Billy Daniels. He was a versatile and busy performer who hosted his own
television show in the early '50s, gigged regularly in nightclubs with a top-notch road band, and in addition pursued
a film career with some success.
From 1934, the 19-year-old
Daniels was the featured vocalist in the Erskine Hawkins big band.
The man's talents as a vocalist, were the results
of nothing if not intensive labour. He claimed to have sung every day of the year in 1937, and not in the shower either.
That year he was employed daily by at least a dozen different radio sponsors. In the late '30s he also appeared in his
first film, entitled Sepia Cinderella, which was hardly as well known as some of his later screen appearances in movie
musicals such as When You're Smiling and Sunny Side of the Street, both released in 1950.
The former presented the
singer with a golden opportunity to present what would become his signature song.
He put across
"That Old Black Magic" like a palace aflame by then, which was surely the result of nearly ten years of
singing the number in clubs. He first graduated to the Broadway
stage in 1945, and would continue to do well in the medium throughout his career. In the '50s he made great
developments in his performing style in collaboration with the fine pianist and arranger Benny Payne; this duo was one
of the first black acts to be allowed on television in America. In 1964 Daniels performed on Broadway with Sammy Davis
Jnr in "Golden Boy". In the '70s he appeared in productions of "Hello, Dolly!" and "Bubbling Brown Sugar" and
continued to work in clubs up until his death.