Eldon Hawkes & His Orchestra with Virginia Lee - Sani

South African pianist, Eldon Owen Hawkes, was born on 17 June 1926 and had 3 sisters and a brother. His family lived in Umtata. From an early age he was very fond of music and learned to play various instruments with his parents' encouragement. After school he started his own band in Durban, with Eldon playing the piano. He was a very skilled pianist who was often heard on national radio stations and mostly played light classical music, jazz and the so-called "crooner" songs in the style of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. In 1950 Eldon married Wenda Mae Taylor in Durban and became a familiar face in the city's hotels and night clubs. In 1959 he released his first LP, "Cocktails At Five, Eldon Hawkes Plays Sweet And Swinging". The record was so successful that 6 of the songs were included on 3 LPs with various artists released on the Ridge label as “Command Performance Vol. 1, 2 & 3”. He also regularly accompanied the legendary Virginia Lee, and in 1963 they recorded the album "Cabaret Dubonnet Presenting Virginia Lee" at the Causerie Hotel in Durban. The album was so popular that it was reissued in 1965 with the title "Virginia Lee In Cabaret". In the same year Eldon also recorded a 7” single with Virginia with the title "Sani", presumably an advertisement for the Sani Pass Hotel in Lesotho. Eldon formed a quintet which consisted of Max Runge (bass), Bobby Chalker (clarinet & vibraphone), Les Smith (drums), Bill Fleming (guitar) and with Eldon on the piano. In the 1960s he recorded a promotional record for the liquor dealers "Monk & Booth", who gave the record away as a gift along with their products. This mini-LP, "Party Melodies", is a true collector's item today and very difficult to find. Eldon also recorded with Karel Francis and with June Dyer. In later years he and his wife moved to Springs where they had a music shop known as Eldons. Eldon Hawkes died of cancer on 3 September 1994 at the age of 68. Virginia Lee was born Virginia de Jager in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, on 27 June 1927 and was known as South Africa's Singing Sweetheart, The Girl with the Golden Voice, South Africa's Queen of Song, South Africa's female Jim Reeves and South Africa's First Lady of Song. "Ginny," as she was affectionately known, was South Africa's best selling female recording artist of the late Fifties, Sixties and early Seventies. She was the first South African female vocalist to receive a gold disc, for the equivalent of a million sales for her hit "Goodbye My Love". She followed that up with a second gold disc only seven months later for "Darling It's Wonderful". Virginia passed away on 7 January 1990 in Johannesburg. This song was released on 7" single. Although no date of release is given, it was most probably in 1965.

Added 2 Oct 2026