Along with the knighting of Ray Davies and an OBE for former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, the Queen of England has honoured two other classic British artists.
Ken Dodd, who hit the British top ten four times in the early to mid-60’s, will be knighted by Queen Elizabeth for his services to entertainment and charity. He previously had received an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 1982.
Dodd was a multi-faceted entertainer, known more for his comedy than his music. Nonetheless, he became a hit recording artists starting in 1960 with Love Is Like a Violin (1960 / #8) and scoring six more top 40 hits before hitting the top of the charts in 1965 with Tears. He also did well with The River (Le Colline Sono in Flore) (1965 / #3), Promises (1966 / #6) and Let Me Cry on Your Shoulder (1967 / #11).
Early British rocker Marty Wilde will receive an MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire).
Wilde was instrumental in introducing American rock-and-roll to the British public by having a long list of major cover hits:
Endless Sleep (1958 / #4)
Donna (1959 / #3)
A Teenager in Love (1959 / #2)
Sea of Love (1959 / #3)
Bad Boy (1959 / #7) (non-cover, written by Wilde)
Rubber Ball (1961 / #9)
Bad Boy also reached number 45 in the U.S. while Abergavenny, which he recorded as Shannon, went to 47 and 22 on the AC chart in 1969.
He later moved into acting, starring as Conrad Birdie in the West End production of Bye Bye Birdie, along with a number of films including 1974’s Stardust and had a number of hits as a songwriter including The Casuals’ Jasmine (1968 / #2 U.K.), Status Quo’s Ice Melts in the Sun (1968 / #8 U.K. / #70 U.S.), Lulu’s I’m a Tiger (1968 / #9 U.K.) and a number of hits for his daughter, Kim Wilde including Kids in America (1981 / #2 U.K. / #25 U.S.), Chequered Love (1981 / #4 U.K.) and Four Letter Word (1988 / #6 U.K.).
