{{Short description|English singer and music publisher (1921–2000)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} '''Paul Rich''' (born '''Simon Rickelman'''; 20 August 1921 – 23 February 2000)<ref name=lodge/><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Index entry |url=https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=unY1YHOdzyJtyLee7OB%2B4w&scan=1 |accessdate=9 April 2026 |work=[[FreeBMD]] |publisher=ONS}}</ref> was a singer and guitarist, recording many songs with [[Lou Preager]]'s band. He later became a music publisher.
==Early life== Rich was born in [[Marylebone]], London, in 1921, the son of immigrants from Russia. His birth name was Simon Rickelman.<ref name=":0" />
== Career == Rich studied guitar with [[Ivor Mairants]], and in 1941 became a singer and guitarist with the [[Oscar Rabin Band]]. In 1942 he joined [[Lou Preager]], whose band had begun a residency at the [[Hammersmith Palais]] in London; Rich made many recordings with the band, including "[[Cruising Down the River]]" in 1946. He also sang and played guitar as a solo artist at venues in the [[West End of London]].<ref name="lodge">[http://www.chelsea-lodge.org.uk/Paul%20Rich.htm "Paul Rich"] Chelsea Lodge No. 3098. Retrieved 24 December 2018.</ref><ref name="allmusic">{{AllMusic|id=paul-rich-mn0000750484|title=Paul Rich|accessdate=24 December 2018}}</ref>
In the 1950s, he appeared in a pub scene in the film ''[[Pool of London (film)|Pool of London]]'', which had music by Preager's band. He later appeared in a music hall scene in the film ''[[Counterspy (film)|Counterspy]]''.<ref name="lodge" />
Rich left Preager's band in 1955, to give more time to his business interests, having a chain of retail shops. From 1957 he recorded many songs for [[Woolworths (United Kingdom)|Woolworths]]' [[Embassy Records]], until the record label closed in 1965.<ref name="lodge" />
In the 1960s he became involved in [[music publisher (popular music)|music publishing]], and in 1967 became general manager of [[Carlin Music]].<ref name="allmusic" /> For ten years between 1966 and 1976 the company received the UK's Top Publisher Award from ''[[Music Week]]''. The company dealt with leading American songwriters and with leading British performers; it was a successful sub-publisher of notable US performers and catalogues. Rich retired in 1996.<ref name="lodge" />
== Personal life == In 1952 at [[Bayswater Synagogue]] he married Marion White; they had a son, Clive, who became a barrister.<ref name=lodge/><ref name=allmusic/> Paul Rich was a [[Freemasonry|Freemason]], initiated into Chelsea Lodge No. 3098 in January 1960; he was [[Worshipful Master]] in 1979 and 1999. He died in 2000, following a heart attack.<ref name=lodge/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|6668485}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rich, Paul}} [[Category:1921 births]] [[Category:2000 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century English singers]] [[Category:English pop singers]] [[Category:English pop guitarists]] [[Category:English music publishers (people)]] [[Category:Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England]] [[Category:20th-century English guitarists]] [[Category:20th-century English businesspeople]]