John O'Neill (musician, born 1926)

For other people named John O'Neill, see John O'Neill (disambiguation).

John O'Neill (1926–1999) was a professional singer, born in Stanley, County Durham, England to Northern Irish parents from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. He was in demand for his tenor singing as well as his whistling skills. He was also a trumpeter. O'Neill was largely self-taught and was able to sight-read music scores.

He had a UK top five hit single with "I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman" credited as Whistling Jack Smith (a play on "Whispering" Jack Smith). He recorded this as the solo whistler for a set fee and was never acknowledged as the performer of this unusual hit, nor paid any royalties. When the track was aired on Top of the Pops, O'Neill and his family were shocked to see an actor appear on stage to mime to the recorded backing track. Some sources attribute the single to British Decca/Deram producer Noel Walker, as producer and performing artist although the b-side of the single The British Grin and Bear is co-attributed to Walker. A post beneath the YouTube video of the song credits Ivor Raymonde, a record producer and the song's writer, as being the whistler.

He was a member of The Michael Sammes Singers also known as Mike Sammes and the Locals, Mike Sammes Singers and The Mike Sammes Singers, in the United Kingdom. Mike Sammes's group were a vocal group, know for session backing singers. The group recorded seven albums of their own also. Johnny O'Neill with The Michael Sammes Singers were back up singers on the recording mix of the I Am The Walrus by the Beatles in 1967.

The for the movie score The Good, the Bad and the Ugly composed by Ennio Morricone, contained whistling by John O'Neill. The main theme also titled "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" was a hit in 1968 with the soundtrack album on the charts for more than a year, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard pop album chart and No. 10 on the black album chart. The main theme was also a hit for Hugo Montenegro, whose rendition was a No. 2 Billboard pop single in 1968. which required them to do "all sorts of swoops and phonetic noises" and chant the phrases "ho ho ho, he he he, ha ha ha", "oompah, oompah, stick it up your jumper" and "everybody's got one". They also sang on the Beatles' "Good Night", as well as on their last album, Let It Be, at the behest of Phil Spector. Sammes also provided the distinctive basso backing vocals on Olivia Newton-John's early country crossover hits, including "Banks of the Ohio", "Let Me Be There" and "If You Love Me (Let Me Know)". Despite this productivity, his group, the Mike Sammes Singers, have only one entry in The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles, for "Somewhere My Love" in July 1967.

He also sang the theme tune to the American TV series Wagon Train, where he was credited as Johnny O'Neill, and the recordings of traditional Irish songs The Gordon Franks Singers And Music With John O'Neill was recorded with The Gordon Franks Singers and Music, in which he was the solo tenor. On these recordings, O'Neill sings in an Irish accent, though his actual voice was rather more Geordie/London.

Living with his wife for the majority of their life in Ilford in Essex, they raised four daughters and later retired to Dovercourt, Essex.

See also

• Batman (military)