Category: Seventies

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Little Anthony and The Imperials

Tenor, Anthony Gourdine, was still in high school in Brooklyn, New York, when he helped to form the group, The Duponts. His next group, The Chesters, was to change its name and call itself The Imperials.

Little Anthony and The Imperials’ initial hit, “Tears On My Pillow”, in 1958, was to sell a million copies. This, in spite of the group not being fond of the song. Kylie Minogue revived it in 1989, with it appearing in her film, ‘The Delinquents’.

A short list of singles that had failed to perform as expected led the quintet to record a novelty song, “Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop”. It was to restore the vocal group’s status within the recording industry, as 1959 met 1960.

http://youtu.be/UGlHOasCgxY

Nonetheless, further singles failed to chart with impact and, as a result, the group split up. However, by 1964, the members had been convinced that they should re-form and from this reformation the five were to experience their most successful period, with the release of “I’m On The Outside (Looking In)”, the pop standard “Goin’ Out Of My Head”, “Hurt So Good” and “Take Me Back”.

http://youtu.be/UIEndpLXk54

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Billy Ocean

Billy Ocean was born as Leslie Sebastian Charles, in January of 1950, on the island of Trinidad. His family moved to live in London when he was eight years of age. There, the West Indian rhythms, to which he had been exposed, became influenced by the music of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Animals and American artists such as Sam Cooke, Ben E. King and Otis Redding.

Against his parents’ wishes, Billy became apprenticed to a tailor. He also began to learn how to play the piano. This eventually led him to perform in British clubs at night. The selection of his stage name was inspired by the film, ‘Ocean’s 11’, which starred Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.

http://youtu.be/w5Lo2QevfUY

Although Billy was to sample success with his debut single, “Love Really Hurts Without You”, in 1976, it was not until 1984 and the release of the catchy “Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)”, that he was propelled to global stardom. The album, ‘Suddenly’, was marketed to coincide with the release of the latter single. This was followed by the albums, ‘Love Zone’, in 1986, and ‘Tear Down These Walls’, in 1988.

The single, “When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going”, became the theme to the highly successful film, ‘Jewel Of The Nile’. More hits followed, including “There’ll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)” and “Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car”, ensuring that the name, Billy Ocean, is there among those on the list of the most prominent, solo male artists of the 1980s.

The names of more hits by Billy Ocean can be located in the suggested playlists. Whilst you are there, why not peruse the list of my favourite recordings? I shall be adding to it from time to time.

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Chris Farlowe

John Henry Deighton was born in October of 1940, in London, England. As Chris Farlowe he became known for his singing of rock, blues and soul.

Being an admirer of Lonnie Donegan, his musical career began in a skiffle group. By 1965 he had recorded the first of what would be eleven singles. Five of these were to be covers of recordings by The Rolling Stones.

One of these five, “Out Of Time”, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richard, was destined to far outshine the other ten recordings, reaching No.1 on the British singles’ charts, in 1966, and No.12 in Australia.

http://youtu.be/zxerdh-3tc4

The names of more of my favourite recordings can be found in the suggested playlists. I shall be adding to this list from time to time.

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Cream

Eric Clapton, the legendary blues guitarist, had played in The Yardbirds, and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers prior to the formation of the trio, Cream. It was whilst playing with John Mayall that Eric met bassist, Jack Bruce and drummer, Ginger Baker.

This British trio was considered to be adventurous, even in the late 1960s, and quickly won a large following of devotees. However, the different temperaments within the group meant that, as an entity, it was to last for less than two years.

http://youtu.be/Cqh54rSzheg

“Sunshine Of Your Love”, “I Feel Free”, “Strange Brew” and “White Room” are the pick of Cream’s singles and of its albums, ‘Disraeli Gears’, is generally regarded as a classic.

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Freddie Hart

Frederick Segrest was born in December of 1926, in Alabama. He was one of fifteen children born into a family of sharecroppers.

At the age of fifteen, he lied about his age in order to join the United States Marines. Frederick consequently saw active duty in Guam and Iwo Jima during the Second World War.

After the War, Frederick moved to California where he joined the band of Lefty Frizzell, a star of country music. Lefty was responsible for Freddie Hart, as Frederick was professionally known, obtaining a contract to record for Capitol Records, in 1953.

Although Freddie recorded from that year, it was not until he was signed to Columbia Records that he firstly entered the charts, with “The Wall”, in 1959. In 1969, Freddie re-signed with Capitol Records and became a part of the Bakersfield sound when he became affiliated with a company owned by Buck Owens.

In 1971, Freddie released the self-penned single, “Easy Loving”, which he had actually recorded two years earlier. It spent three weeks at No.1 and crossed over to the pop charts and peaked at No.17 in the United States, and No. 10 in Australia. It was followed by a succession of hits that also topped the country charts: “My Hang-Up Is You”, “Bless Your Heart”, “Got The All Overs For You (All Over Me)”, “Super Kind Of Woman” and “Trip To Heaven”.

http://youtu.be/OCNQ5kdo7gs

Freddie’s last hit to enter the Top 10 was “When Lovers Turn To Strangers”, in 1977. He continued to release singles until 1987, and, in 2001, was inducted into the Alabama’s Music Hall Of Fame.

Martial arts was another of Freddie’s passions. He opened a chain of studios for those wishing to learn self-defence and was, himself, a master of karate.

http://youtu.be/t8-dhCk90YU

The names of more tracks by Freddie Hart can be found in the selected playlists. Whilst there, why not peruse the list of my favourite recordings? I shall be adding to it from time to time.

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Bobby Rydell

Robert Louis Ridarelli was born in Philadelphia, in April of 1942. He wanted to be an entertainer from an early age and took to playing the drums, having become a fan of Gene Krupa, a legendary drummer in the era of jazz. In fact, it was an early pioneer of jazz, orchestra leader Paul Whiteman, who first noticed his potential.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09J1iEAWcsg

Nevertheless, it was as a singer, and bearing the new name of Bobby Rydell, that ‘Robert’ was to make his mark. At a time when teenage heart-throbs were selected as much for their looks, as their ability to sing, Bobby began a long series of entries to the charts, in 1959, that was to last until the middle of the 1960s. He would appear quite regularly on Dick Clark’s televised dance show, ‘American Bandstand’, and was to make his debut in a major film when he appeared as Hugo Peabody in ‘Bye Bye Birdie’, the musical which stars Ann-Margret.

Bobby’s last sizeable hit was “Forget Him”, which was written by Briton Tony Hatch. Ironically, it was the British Invasion, led by The Beatles, that was to bring an end to the recording careers of many American artists, and Bobby Rydell’s was no exception.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IKpA__9kTU

When the producers of the overwhelmingly popular musical, ‘Grease’, wanted to pay tribute to the era of the clean-cut teenage idol, they named the high school, in the film, after none other than Bobby Rydell.

The titles of more hits by Bobby Rydell can be located in the suggested playlists. Whilst there, why don’t you peruse the list of my favourite recordings? I shall be adding to it from time to time.

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Rosemary Clooney

In the first half of the 1950s Rosemary Clooney vied for popularity with such other leading female recording artists as Doris Day, Patti Page, Jo Stafford, Kay Starr and Peggy Lee. Rosemary had been born in Kentucky in May of 1928. By the time she was fifteen her parents had separated and she and her mother opted to live in California.

Although Rosemary had been recording on the Columbia label since 1946, her career as a solo artist did not really materialise until “Come On-A My House” spent eight weeks atop the American charts, in 1951. Similarly successful hits followed. These included “Half As Much”(1952), “Botch-A-Me (Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccina)”(1952), “Hey There”(1954), “This Ole House”(1954) — revived by the Welsh rocker, Shakin’ Stevens, in 1981 — and “Mambo Italiano”.

“Mambo Italiano”, written by the prolific Bob Merrill, has been covered by numerous artists over the years. One of the later versions is by Lady Gaga. Madonna performs “Come On A-My House” to her ‘master’ whilst they are marooned on  an island in ‘Swept Away’, a film produced in 2002. A modernised version of the song also accompanies the ‘Girls Of The Playboy Mansion’ television series.

Rosemary also tasted success with “Too Old To Cut The Mustard”, a duet recorded, in 1952, with Marlene Dietrich. In 1954, she appeared in the film, “White Christmas”, with Bing Crosby,who had had the smash single of the same name twelve years earlier.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KwqTBFBvVA

Rosemary, while she continued to record and perform, became increasingly dependant upon pills. Nevertheless, it was to be lung cancer that eventually claimed her life, in June of 2002, at the age of seventy-four.

The names of Rosemary Clooney’s other hits can be located in the suggested playlists. While you are there, you may care to peruse the list of my favourite recordings. I will be adding more to it from time to time.

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Joe Dolan

On Boxing Day in 2007, Joe Dolan passed away from a cerebral haemorrhage, in the Mater Hospital, Dublin, at the age of sixty-eight. The Irish singer and entertainer had been born in County Westmeath, in October of 1939. Joe, the youngest of eight children, had lost his father, when he was eight, and his mother, at fifteen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjaNYmZtMbU

His first single, “The Answer To Everything”, was released in September of 1964. My favourite recording of Joe’s is “Pretty Brown Eyes”, from 1966.

Many singles were to come, with the likes of “Make Me An Island” (1969) and “You’re Such A Good Looking Woman” (1970), doing much to make him a global star.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ordmjxMhORk

The names of other recordings by Joe Dolan can be located in the suggested playlists. A list of my favourite recordings can now be found in the suggested playlists.

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Del Shannon

Charles Weedon Westover was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in December of 1934. In 1954, he was drafted into the army and deployed to serve in Germany. There, in his spare time, he played the guitar in a band.

Once his military service had expired he returned to Michigan, where he worked as a truck driver. In the evenings he played rhythm guitar in a group, of which, in 1958, he was to become its leader and singer, under the name of Charlie Johnson.

Recordings of this group, The Big Little Show Band, were sent to Detroit, and, in 1960, Charles was signed to a contract. Under the name of Del Shannon he was assigned not only to record, but to write songs as well.

Del’s rise was meteoric, as his single, “Runaway”, went to No.1 on Billboard’s chart in April of 1961. “Hats Off To Larry” was to perform almost as well.

His success in America waned after that, however, across the Atlantic the opposite was the case. In Britain, between 1961 and 1965, Del had eight singles enter the Top 10 on the British charts. He became the first American to cover a recording by The Beatles, “From Me To You”. The British duo, Peter and Gordon, recorded “I Go To Pieces”, a song written by Del, in 1964. Although it did not chart in America or Britain, it did in Australia.

Unfortunately, depression and alcoholism punctuated Del’s later life and in February of 1990, at the age of fifty-five, he used a rifle to suicide at his home in Santa Clarita, California.

The names of more tracks by Del Shannon can be found in the suggested playlists.

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The Lovin’ Spoonful

John Sebastian was introduced to Zal Yanovsky, who was from Toronto, by ‘Mama’ Cass Elliott of The Mamas and The Papas. When the pair was joined by drummer, Joe Butler and bass guitarist, Steve Boone, The Lovin’ Spoonful was complete.

John, a native of New York City, presented the band with a number of original songs he had written. He and Zal were devotees of folk music, whereas Joe and Steve had come to the band from playing rock and roll in the bars of Long Island. Consequently, The Lovin’ Spoonful’s creation was to meld folk music with that of rock.

“Do You Believe In Magic”, which sounds as fresh today as it did then, was released in August of 1965. It was to introduce a succession of masterly singles, each considerably different to the one or ones that preceded it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GNg5nyeeD4

During its relatively brief time together, the quartet also released seven albums: ‘Do you Believe In Magic’ (1965), ‘Daydream’ (1966), ‘Hums Of The Lovin’ Spoonful’ (1966), ‘What’s Up Tiger Lily?’ (1966), ‘You’re A Big Boy Now’ (1967), ‘Everything Playing’ (1968) and ‘Revelation: Revolution ’69’.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWXcjYNZais

As a solo artist John Sebastian’s indisputable talents were to provide us with the No.1 hit, “Welcome Back”, in 1976, the theme to the television series, ‘Welcome Back Kotter’, which heralded the rise of a young John Travolta as an actor.

The names of more singles by The Lovin’ Spoonful can be found in the suggested playlists.