English singer, songwriter, actor and entertainer Kenny Lynch was one of very few prominent British artists of Caribbean origin in the 1960s. He grew up in the East End of London in a musical family which included his sister Gladys, also known as Jazz singer Maxine Daniels. His first appearance as a singer came when he was only 12 in a concert with Gladys. He always loved singing and entertaining, and attended the Peggy O'Farrell stage school. After completing his National Service, he began working as a barman in a London pub, and also performed there. He was spotted singing in a London club by Shirley Bassey which led to a contract with HMV. He had several hits throughout the 1960s, including two UK Singles Charts number tens with 'Up On the Roof' (1962) and 'You Can Never Stop Me Loving You' (1963). In 1963, he toured the UK with The Beatles, and then became the first artist to cover a Beatles Song with his release of the single 'Misery' (1963). Other top 40 UK hits included 'Mountains of Love' (1960), 'What Am I to You' (1964) and 'I'll Stay By You' (1965).
In addition to his career as a singer, Lynch was also a songwriter for many prominent artists such as Dusty Springfield, for whom he wrote 'He's Got Something' (1964), Cilla Black, the Drifters and the Everly brothers. His most notable songwriting collaboration came in 1966 with Mort Shuman, with whom he wrote 'Sha La La La Lee' for Small Faces, which reached number three in the UK Singles Chart in 1966.
Lynch was also an actor, starring in a wide range of films including 'Just for Fun' (1963), 'Carry On Loving' (1970), 'The Playbirds' (1978) and 'Confessions from the David Galaxy Affair' (1979). He was part of an on-stage partnership with comedian Jimmy Tarbuck for many years, touring the UK and performing at the Royal Variety Performances in 1981 and 1987. He continued to perform as a singer throughout his life, although later he only made occasional appearances, including one at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in 2011, and a tour in 2015 with The Rat Pack, a tribute act to Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.
