Composer of Little Donkey Eric Boswell dies aged 88
Dec 1 2009 by David Whetstone, The Journal
Ken McKenzie, publicising the CD on behalf of Newcastle-based Mawson & Wareham (Music) Ltd, said the CD had been recorded since 2006 with Eric present at all the sessions.
He had given his blessing to the Little Donkey duet before succumbing to a form of dementia.
Ken said: “It was Eric’s son, Ian, who mentioned that it was coming up to the 50th anniversary of Little Donkey and it was Brian (Mawson, director of Mawson & Wareham) who suggested a posthumous duet.
“Eric was not as fit as he had been and we thought this would probably be the last thing that he did.”
Digital technology was deployed at Ken’s studio in Durham and at The Cluny, Newcastle, to weave Graeme’s voice into the original recording.
Eric Boswell and Graeme Danby became friends after meeting in 1994 and released their first CD in 2002.
Yesterday Graeme said: “He was a wonderful fellow but he was also a bit of an enigma.
“He always said his aim in life was to make people smile but he was also incredibly protective of his home life.”
Interviewed at his home near Humshaugh in 2001, he said the success of Little Donkey – also recorded by the Beverley Sisters, Vera Lynn, Nina and Frederick and many others – meant he never had to worry about paying the bills.
He said it was born of his desire to “write a simple song for children to sing” after growing disenchanted with the “awful, discordant stuff” he had been writing in London before returning to his North East roots.
As well as his three sons, Ian, David and Tony, Eric Boswell leaves a lot of songs – and one, in particular, that we will hear a lot in the coming weeks.
He said it was born of his desire to “write a simple song for children to sing”
