Pearl Carr

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Birth Date:
02.11.1923
Death date:
16.02.2020
Length of life:
96
Days since birth:
36674
Years since birth:
100
Days since death:
1503
Years since death:
4
Categories:
Singer
Nationality:
 english
Cemetery:
Set cemetery

Pearl carr with her husband Teddy Johnson.

She began her musical career as a soloist with The Keynotes, two songs of which entered the British hit parade in 1956: Memories Are Made of This reached fifth place, and You Can’t Be True To Two - 11th. She also acted as a singer on the radio, participated in a comedy radio show.

Together with her husband, Teddy Johnson, hosted entertainment on British television. Representing the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1959, with the song Sing, Little Birdie, the duo took second place and the song took 12th place in the British charts. The couple participated in the national selection and for the next Eurovision contest, but lost to Teddy Johnson's younger brother Brian. The following year, the duo released another single, How Wonderful To Know, which reached number 23 on the chart.

After completing her pop career, she participated with her husband in the West End musical Follies, and also became the heroine of one of the episodes of the documentary series This is Our Life by NBC.

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Pearl Lavinia Carr (2 November 1921 – 16 February 2020) and Edward Victor "TeddyJohnson (4 September 1919 – 6 June 2018) were an English husband-and-wife team of entertainers, popular during the 1950s and early 1960s.

Early days

Carr was born in Exmouth, Devon, and Johnson was born in Surbiton, Surrey. They were both successful solo singers before their marriage in 1955. Carr had been lead singer with the Keynotes, who had two British hits in 1956 with Dave King: "Memories Are Made of This" (No. 5) and "You Can't Be True To Two" (No. 11). She was also a popular radio singer and comedian on Bernard Braden's Bedtime With Braden radio show.

Johnson had led his own teenage band, was a professional drummer and a recording artist for Columbia in the early 1950s. He was also a DJ on Radio Luxembourg and later on BBC Radio 2, and had appeared in television shows such as the BBC's children's Crackerjack.

Joint success

Carr and Johnson were frequently on British television light entertainment programmes, such as The Winifred Atwell Show as well as Big Night Out and Blackpool Night Out. They represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1959 and finished second with the song "Sing, Little Birdie". This peaked at No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart. 

In 2011 Johnson revealed they initially thought the contest to become the British entry was the extent of their booking. "We had never heard of the Eurovision Song Contest before and were going to be booked as solo singers, but that consummated Pearl and Teddy as a double act. As far as we were concerned it was just another gig, but it was the easiest money we had ever had. There were two heats – one on the Monday and another on the Wednesday, with the final on Saturday night. When we won, the BBC Head of Television Light Entertainment Eric Maschwitz said he was thrilled that Pearl and I would now represent our country in the Eurovision Song Contest in Cannes. I said: ‘What? What do you mean?’ I didn't know we had to represent the country. We had no idea whatsoever. He gave me the dates for Cannes and I just hoped we had them available. As it happened, we did. Pearl flew out with three guys from the BBC but I was doing a small show for ATV and got a later flight."

They also tried to represent the United Kingdom again in 1960 entering two songs into the pre-selection, "Pickin' Petals" and "When The Tide Turns", the latter making the final. It was up against Johnson's own brother, Bryan. In the end, Bryan won and went on to represent the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1960. He came second, with the song "Looking High, High, High". Carr and Johnson released another single the following year, titled "How Wonderful to Know", which charted at No. 23 in the UK.

In 1986, the two were the subject of an edition of This Is Your Life. After this success they appeared in the West End revival of the Stephen Sondheim musical Follies. playing the roles of Wally and Emily Whitman and performing the song "Rain on the Roof". It was at the conclusion of its 18-month run in 1990 that Carr and Johnson decided to retire.

Later life

Carr and Johnson both lived at Brinsworth House, a home for retired entertainers.

Johnson appeared in a short piece to camera in a Morecambe and Wise tribute in 2018. He died on 6 June 2018, aged 98. Carr died on 16 February 2020, also aged 98.

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