Bob Wallis

Robert Wallis was a British jazz trumpeter and singer born on June 3, 1934, in Bridlington. He began his musical journey with a local Salvation Army band before discovering jazz at age twenty and forming his own ensemble. Influenced by trumpeter Henry Red Allen, Wallis performed with Acker Bilk and Ken Colyer before fronting Hugh Rainey's All Stars, which was renamed the Storyville Jazz Band. The group achieved significant success during the UK traditional jazz boom, releasing the 1959 album Everybody Loves Saturday Night, which reached number 20 on the UK Albums Chart. The ensemble also appeared in the films It's Trad, Dad! and Two Left Feet. Wallis reached number 44 on the singles chart with “I'm Shy Mary Ellen, I'm Shy” in 1961 and number 33 with “Come Along Please” in 1962. After disbanding the group in 1963, Wallis performed across Europe with reconstituted versions of the Storyville Jazzmen. He settled in Zurich, Switzerland, before returning to England in 1990. Wallis died on January 10, 1991.