• Age: 15
• Grade: 7968070-1853676

Dal Richards and author Jim Taylor recount the life story of the legendary bandleader in One More Time: The Dal Richards Story. These are Dal's memories of the stars and the wannabes, the hustlers and bootleggers and hat-check chicks, all of whom paraded through his life in the days when Vancouver's nightclub scene rivaled San Francisco's and Hollywood's big-name performers made it a regular tour stop.

This story takes a loving look back at the gigs, laughter and musical misadventures of a time when the songs came from records and radio instead of CDs and iPods. It was a time when the music business was rich with characters like Two-for, who ran the spotlight at the Cave and frequently took it off the performer to turn it on his girlfriend lest she was cavorting with a new beau, and the one-hit wonder singer and piano player who had to hide between performances because a Mafia hit man was looking to turn out his lights.

At 91, Dal is still going strong: on his 90th birthday he sold out the Orpheum Theatre and in 2008 his band had 154 gigs. This year, he's putting out another CD and the Dal Richards Orchestra is still launching into "In the Mood" or "T.D.'s Boogie Woogie," setting the grateful dancers swinging as their parents, and even grandparents, have through seven decades of keeping the music alive.

Dal Richards (1918-2015) was a legendary musician and bandleader, having been an integral player in the development of the swinging sounds of Big Band dance music. Known affectionately as "Doctor Swing," he was the recipient of numerous honours and accolades including the Order of British Columbia, the Order of Canada, and induction into the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame. He hosted a weekly radio show, Dal's Place, on AM 650 Radio for many years and was the bandleader for the Dal Richards Orchestra.

Dal Richards' profile page

Born on March 16, 1937 in Nipawin, Saskatchewan, Jim Taylor of West Vancouver was B.C.'s most widely-read sports columnist. Taylor began his newspaper career in 1954 as a part-time sports reporter at the Daily Colonist in Victoria and later wrote for the Vancouver Sun, the Vancouver Province and the Calgary Sun. He became a nationally syndicated sports columnist, author, and broadcaster. His 1987 chronicle of Rick Hansen's wheelchair journey, Man In Motion, reputedly had a record first printing for a B.C. book. In addition to Taylor's books on Wayne Gretzky, entitled Gretzky:The Authorized Pictorial Biography with Wayne Gretzky, and B.C. Lions` Jim Young, entitled Dirty Thirty. Taylor is credited with the re-write of a Soviet journalist's biography of Igor Larionov. In 2004, he compiled The Best of Jim Coleman: Fifty Years of Canadian Sport from the Man Who Saw it All. A member of the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame, Taylor was awarded a lifetime achievement award by Sports Media Canada in 2000. He began his writing career as part-time high school sports reporter, drank beer from the Stanley Cup, saw Paul Henderson score "The Goal" in 1972, predicted rookie placekicker Lui Passaglia wouldn`t last with the BC Lions more than one season and wrote more than 8,000 newspaper columns. He recalls his half-century as a sports writer in Hello, Sweetheart? Gimme Rewrite!

Jim Taylor's profile page

One More Time: The Dal Richards Story

This is an entertaining memoir of Dal Richard’s life as a legendary bandleader in Vancouver. Filled with vivid memories of Richard’s spirited, music-infused life. Starting with his 90th birthday party, he reflects on his youth and how he was hooked on big bands since the age of nine. As a clarinet player with the prestigious Kitsilano Boys Band, they placed first at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, their first tour. He forged lifelong friendships during his European band travels and several peers from the band later received the Order of Canada, including Jimmy Pattison. He had an “unquenchable thirst for show biz” likely sparked by sweet-talking his way into prestigious clubs while performing in big cities. Richards lived through the era of ballrooms, coffee houses and clubs as well as through the consumer switch from ballrooms in front of an orchestra, to the living room in front of the TV.

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