Harry Parr-Davies (1914–55)

Welsh-born pianist and writer of many West End shows, Harry Parr-Davies was Gracie Fields’s accompanist during the 1930s,¹ and wrote her hits Sing As We Go (1934) and Wish Me Luck (As You Wave Me Goodbye) (with Phil Park, 1939). He also contributed songs to George Formby Jr., including In My Little Snapshot Album (with Will E. Haines and Jimmy Harper, 1938) and It’s In The Air (1938).

The Performing Right Society accords Parr-Davies composing credits, together with Fred Godfrey, for Gracie Fields’ 1940 hit The Grandest Song Of All, although most sources, including the published sheet music, credit Godfrey alone. It may be that Parr-Davies wrote an arrangement of the song for Fields.

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Note

1  Muriel Burgess with Tommy Keen, Gracie Fields (London: W.H. Allen, 1980), p. 83.