34 Facts About Gordon Stretton

Gordon Stretton, born William Masters, was an English singer, dancer and musical director of mixed Irish and Jamaican descent.

Gordon Stretton became one of the first Liverpool-based musicians to gain international acclaim, and is credited with introducing jazz to Latin America.

Gordon Stretton's father, William Alexander Gordon Masters, was born in Jamaica around 1854 and worked as a seaman on SS Andean, owned by the Liverpool-based West India Pacific Steamship Company.

Gordon Stretton's parents married in Liverpool on 23 June 1884.

Gordon Stretton's father died at sea in 1896 or 1897 and his mother in 1903.

Gordon Stretton is one of the shoeless boys sitting around the Steble Fountain in William Brown Street in Liverpool photographed in 1896 by Charles F Inston.

In 1914 Gordon Stretton joined the army and was officially a soldier for two years, although part was time recovering from injury.

Gordon Stretton met his future wife, Mary Agnes Smith, a nurse at Mill Hill Military Hospital, London, when he was sent there for convalescence.

Gordon Stretton never revisited Europe, although his wife made a brief visit to family members in the UK in 1953.

Gordon Stretton died in Argentina on 3 May 1983 at the British Hospital, Buenos Aires after living from the late 1970s at the Casa Del Teatro, a nursing home for former performers.

Gordon Stretton was buried in the Cementerio Britanico, Buenos Aires.

Gordon Stretton was interested in music and performance from a young age, although he did not have any formal musical training.

Gordon Stretton toured music halls in Britain with this group for the next two years.

From 1903 onwards he used the stage name Gordon Stretton derived from his father's middle name and the well-known American-born singer and dancer Eugene Stratton.

Gordon Stretton started a sole career with music hall engagements in North Wales and the adjacent areas of Cheshire and Shropshire.

Gordon Stretton had some tuition in singing from a minister in Llandudno.

Gordon Stretton joined the Jamaican Choral Union as a singer and musical director in the UK and was with them in Jamaica in January 1907 when there was a particularly severe earthquake.

Gordon Stretton had an opportunity to travel more widely in 1909 with bookings in South Africa and Sydney in Australia.

On returning to the UK Gordon Stretton continued to develop his career through meeting and working with African American performers such as Seth Weeks and the Versatile Three.

Gordon Stretton performed in touring shows including Dark Town Jingles directed by the American arranger and pianist William Henry "Billy" Dorsey who had made musical arrangements for the Versatile Four.

Gordon Stretton played initially with Louis Mitchell's Jazz Kings but in 1923 he formed his own group Orchestre Syncopated Six which made several recordings for Pathe.

Gordon Stretton settled in Buenos Aires, Argentina from the late 1920s after being hired by businessman Augusto Alvarez to act in one of the local entertainment companies, at the cinema theatre "Select Lavalle".

Gordon Stretton performed with his own group at the Cafe L'Aiglon and was included in the Argentine Theatre Yearbook in 1926.

Gordon Stretton accompanied Edward, Prince of Wales, during his tour of Argentina.

Radio broadcasting developed in Argentina from August 1920 onwards, and Gordon Stretton became an early contributor.

Gordon Stretton began appearing on radio in 1929 and by the mid-1930s he hosted his own radio show Hullo Jazz on the Buenos Aires radio station LR8 Paris.

Gordon Stretton led a live performance by his current 14 piece band.

In 1931 Gordon Stretton again performed in Brazil at the El Dorado theater, appearing with singers including Carmen Miranda and the American Little Esther.

In 1936 Gordon Stretton was one of the founding members of the Argentinian performing rights society, SADAIC.

In July 1953 Gordon Stretton was co-author of a requiem in a radio broadcast across Argentina on the first anniversary of Eva Peron's death.

Gordon Stretton finally retired in the 1970s, although his last performance was when he was 92 in 1980 at the Cafe Tortoni in Buenos Aires with the jazz singer Lona Warren.

Gordon Stretton performed in several musical styles during his career, adopting new ones as the twentieth century progressed.

Gordon Stretton recorded with the Syncopated Six in Paris in 1923.

Sheet still music exists for several songs sung by Gordon Stretton, including five from pre-1919 where he is credited as one of the authors including:.