Artists on Time-Life's Rock n Roll Era compilation
Lists of artists on Time-Life's Rock n Roll Era compilation
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Clyde McPhatter was born in Durham, NC, on November 15, 1932, one of six children. The McPhatters moved to New York City in late 1950 and McPhatter,. after singing for a few years with gospel groups, joined Billy Ward's Dominoes.
The Dominoes signed with King Records in 1950 and recorded the chart-topping "Sixty Minute Man" with McPhatter singing the lead vocals. That song was the biggest R&B hit of 1951 and the first by a black group to cross over from the R&B to the pop charts. McPhatter stayed with the group for three years, singing such hits as "Have Mercy Baby", "The Bells," "I'd Be Satisfied". However, Ward had his name as top billing and collected all of the profits, while McPhatter wasn't earning enough to live on from the small amount of money that Ward paid him. Finally, in early 1953, McPhatter decided to quit.
Atlantic Records approached him with an offer to record his own group, eventually named The Drifters. As the group's leader McPhatter racked up a number of hits, beginning with "Money Honey"--which became the biggest R&B hit of 1954--"Such a Night," "Honey Love," "White Christmas" and "What'cha Gonna Do." McPhatter had already made a decision to leave The Drifters, as he saw himself moving toward a solo career. His voice was so dominant that it took five years for the Drifters to recover after he left.
In 1955, McPhatter recorded a duet for Atlantic Records with Ruth Brown on "Love Has Joined Us Together," which made number 8 on the R&B charts, and in August of that year he recorded "Seven Days," which became a number 2 R&B hit in 1956. In 1956 he scored with "Treasure of Love," which was his first solo chart-topper on the R&B and the pop charts. "Just to Hold My Hand" made the Top 10 on the R&B charts and "Long Lonely Nights" made the pop Top 30 in 1957.
In 1956 Atlantic released his singles as Clyde McPhatter & the Drifters. McPhatter saw his biggest hit on Atlantic in 1958 with "A Lover's Question," which was a top 10 smash on the pop charts and a #1 seller on the R&B listings. He had three more chart singles in 1959, none of which broke the Top 10.
He left Atlantic that year after one last hit, "Lovey Dovey", and had some minor hits in "I Told Myself a Lie" and "Think Me a Kiss" in 1960. He moved to Mercury Records and his career picked up again with the Top 10 single "Ta Ta," which was followed by the smash Top 10 pop single in 1962 with "Lover Please". It seemed that McPhatter was back on top. However, behind the scenes, he was dealing with alcoholism and unreliability and his career started to spiral down.
Over the next few years he recorded for several smaller labels but was unable to get a hit or keep his performing career going. McPhatter moved to England. In the early 1960s he found work in British clubs for a few years until the same personal problems began to haunt him. He returned to the U.S. in the early 1970s, and signed with Decca Records. He recorded the album "Welcome Home", which was his final attempt at a comeback. It was too late for McPhatter, however, both professionally and personally, as alcoholism, depression and personal problems ended with a fatal heart attack in New York in 1972- Actor
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The Moonglows is known for Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), Brooklyn's Finest (2009) and Goodfellas (1990).- Actor
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The Cadillacs were a "doo-wop" group that formed (as The Carnations) in New York City's Harlem area in 1953, with Earl Carroll as lead vocalist. The group almost immediately started going through personnel changes, a problem that would plague it for many years (at one time Teddy Pendergrass joined the group, eventually leaving to join Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes). In 1955 they recorded their biggest hit, "Speedo", which was lead singer Carroll's nickname.- Actor
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Ever heard "I Want Candy" or "Not Fade Away" or "Willie & The Hand Jive", Shirley & Company's "Shame, Shame, Shame" or U2's "Desire" or George Michael's "Faith"? If you have, then you've heard the "Bo Diddley beat", the most famous beat in the world! One of the founding fathers of rock 'n' roll, Bo Diddley's innovative pounding and hypnotic, Latin-tinged beat, his vast array of electric custom-built guitars, his use of reverb, tremelo and distortion to make his guitars talk, mumble and roar, his use of female musicians, his wild stage shows, and his on-record and on-stage rapping, pre-date all others. Bo Diddley was born Ellas Bates on Sunday December 30, 1928, on a small farm near the town of McComb, Mississippi, in rural Pike County, close to the Louisiana border, the only child of Ethel Wilson and Eugene Bates, he had three half-brothers and a half-sister. He was adopted by his mother's cousin, Mrs. Gussie McDaniel, along with his cousins Willis, Lucille and Freddie, and adopted the name Ellas McDaniel. In the mid-1'30s the family moved to the south side of Chicago. Soon after, he began to take violin lessons from Professor O.W. Frederick at the Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church. He studied the violin for 12 years, composing two concertos for the instrument. For Christmas in 1940, his sister Lucille bought him his first guitar, a cheap Harmony acoustic. It was at this time that he acquired the nickname "Bo Diddley" (" . . . Bo Diddley is me; to tell ya the truth, I don't know what it [the name] really is . . . ") from his fellow pupils at the Foster Vocational High School in Chicago. The newly named Bo Diddley had long been fascinated by the rhythms that he heard coming from the sanctified churches. A frustrated drummer, he tried to translate the sounds that he heard into his own style. Gradually he began to duplicate what he did with his violin bow by rapidly flicking his pick across his guitar strings: "I play the guitar as if I'm playing the drums . . . I play drum licks on the guitar." He continued to practice the guitar through his early teens. Shortly before leaving school he formed his first group, a trio named The Hipsters, later known as The Langley Avenue Jive Cats, after the Chicago street where he lived. Upon graduation he pursued a variety of low-paid occupations including truck driving, building site work and boxing, playing locally with his group to supplement his income. Around this time he married his first wife, Louise Woolingham, but the marriage did not survive. A year later he married Ethel "Tootsie" Smith, a marriage that lasted just over a decade. In 1950 maracas player Jerome Green joined the group, followed a year later by harmonica player Billy Boy Arnold. After more than a decade of playing on street corners and in clubs around Chicago, Bo Diddley finally got the chance to cut a demo of 2 songs that he had written; "Uncle John" and "I'm A Man". After various rejections from local record labels (most notably VeeJay), in the spring of 1955 he took the recordings to brothers Leonard and Phil Chess, owners of Chess Records, with studios located at 4750-2 South Cottage Grove Ave. in Chicago. They suggested that he changed the title and the lyrics of "Uncle John" to more reflect his own unique personality. The twp songs were re-recorded at Bill Putnam's Universal Recording Studio at 111 E. Ontario in Chicago on Wednesday, March 2, 1955, and released as a double A-side disc "Bo Diddley"/"I'm A Man" on the Chess Records subsidiary label Checker Records. It went straight to the top of the R&B charts, establishing him as one of the most exciting and original new talents in American music. With musical influences of his own ranging from Louis Jordan to John Lee Hooker, and from 'Nat 'King' Cole' to Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley was now set to help shape and define the sound and presentation of rock music for all time. From Elvis Presley to George Thorogood, from The Rolling Stones to ZZ Top, from The Doors to The Clash, from Buddy Holly to Prince, and from The Everly Brothers to Run DMC, all acknowledged the unique influences of Bo Diddley upon their styles of music. Now in his early 70s, he is still very much active in the recording studio and in the clubs and the concert halls around the world. He performed a rousing version of his classic song "Who Do You Love" with George Thorogood & The Destroyers in front of a TV audience of millions at the Live Aid Concert in Philadelphia in 1985. A couple of years later he was deservedly an early inductee into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. In 1996 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhythm 'n' Blues Foundation and in 1998 received another Lifetime Achievement Award, this time from The Recording Academy at that year's annual Grammy Awards Ceremony. In 2000 yet another honor was justifiably awarded to him when he was inducted into The Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame. In the words of one of his many famous eponymous songs, "Bo Diddley Put The Rock in Rock 'n' Roll", and remember . . . Bo Knows!- Thel Spaniels was a vocal group that formed at Roosevelt High School in Gary, IN, in 1952. Originally called Pookie Hudson & The Hudsonaires, they soon changed their name to The Spaniels. After graduating high school, the group signed with Vee-Jay Records. Their first record, "Baby It's You", reached #10 on Billboard's R&B chart, but their next song was the one they're remembered for: 1954's "Goodnite Sweetheart Goodnite", which rose to #5 on the R&B charts. Although the group went through several personnel changes, it stayed with Vee-Jay Records until that label folded in 1966. In 1969 the group reconstituted itself and recorded some minor hits. They played regularly at Harlem's world-famous Apollo Theatre, and "Goodnite Sweetheart" appeared on the soundtrack of several hit films. For a while there were two Spaniels groups, one in Washington, DC, and the other based in the group's original hometown of Gary.
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Big Joe Turner was born on 18 May 1911 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for The Rainmaker (1997), Uncle Buck (1989) and Lone Star (1996). He was married to Patricia. He died on 24 November 1985 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Music Artist
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Preeminent vocal group of the late 50s and early 60s, hugely successful in the U.S., as well as in England and Australia. Formed in Los Angeles in 1953, the original line-up of The Platters consisted of Tony Williams (lead vocals), David Lynch (tenor), Alex Hodge (1935-1982, baritone) and Herb Reed (bass). Later members included Zola Taylor (contralto), Paul Robi (baritone), Nate Nelson, Sonny Turner, Barbara Randolph and Sandra Dawn. After being signed to Mercury Records by their manager Buck Ram, The Platters made their breakthrough hit in 1956 with "Only You". This was followed by "The Great Pretender" which made it to #1 on the R&B charts, holding that spot for eleven weeks. The group performed both numbers on the screen in the musical Rock Around the Clock (1956). During their heyday, from 1956 to 1960, The Platters recorded a string of popular hits: "The Magic Touch", "My Prayer", "You'll Never Know", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "Twilight Time", "Enchanted" and "Harbor Lights" (their final Top 10 single). The original Platters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998.
They have been various groups since 1970 using the brand name, including The Buck Ram Platters, The Magic Platters (based in France), The Legendary Platters (Canada), Zola Taylor's Platters, The Amazing Platters, Sonny Turner's Platters and Herb Reed of The Original Platters & His Group.- Soundtrack
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The Penguins were an early "doo-wop" group that was formed by several classmates at Los Angeles' Fremont High School in the early 1950s (one of its members, Curtis Williams, had previously been a member of The Hollywood Flames). They took their name from the character "Willie the Penguin" on the package of "Kool" cigarettes, a brand that one of the members smoked.
They recorded a song called "Hey Senorita" that was released by Dootone Records in 1954. It got some airplay, but one day a DJ flipped the record over and played the "B" side, and audience reaction to the song was swift: it shot to #1 on the Billboard charts and stayed there for three weeks. The song was what turned out to be a "doo-wop" classic: "Earth Angel".
The airwaves were very strictly segregated at the time, and most white-owned radio stations would not play records by black artists; if a record became a hit on the "black" stations, record companies would hire a white group to re-record it so it could get played on the white stations. A white group called The Crew Cuts--which had re-recorded "Sh-Boom", a hit for the black group The Chords in 1954 and had a big hit with it--re-recorded "Earth Angel" and it got heavy airplay on the white stations, eventually rising to #3 on the pop charts.
After the success of "Earth Angel", the group left Dootone Records for the much larger Mercury Records, but their records at Mercury didn't do much on the charts. The group went through a string of personnel changes, and although one of their songs, "Pledge of Love", hit #15 on the R&B charts, they never again had a record that hit nationally, and the group broke up in 1962. Different versions of the group formed and re-formed over the next several years, and in 1999 the current version appeared on the "oldies" special Doo Wop 50 (1999).- Music Artist
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Charles Edward Anderson Berry was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive with songs such as "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll Over Beethoven" (1956), "Rock and Roll Music" (1957) and "Johnny B. Goode" (1958). Writing lyrics that focused on teen life and consumerism, and developing a music style that included guitar solos and showmanship, Berry was a major influence on subsequent rock music.- Music Artist
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Richard Wayne Penniman, better known as Little Richard, the self-proclaimed "Architect of Rock 'n' Roll", traveled in his early days with the legendary vaudeville star Spencer "Snake" Anthony. One of Richard's early bands had the young, then unknown singer James Brown (the Godfather of Soul), a fourteen-year-old keyboardist named Billy Preston, and the famous and legendary rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix. His first recording session took place at WGST in Atlanta, Georgia, USA; he was backed by a local band led by Billy Wright. This session produced a local hit called "Every Hour" which enjoyed heavy airplay on Atlanta's WERD radio station which was the first completely Black-owned radio station in the United States. Little Richard was backed up by his idol Billy Wright, once referred to him as the most fantastic entertainer he had ever seen. Indeed, it was Wright who used a brand of makeup called Pancake 31.
Little Richard admitted to copying Wright's penchant for heavy makeup and wild stage theatrics. With a public persona and personal life marked by sexual ambiguity, he would make his mark with later hits such as the suggestive "Tutti Frutti" and "Good Golly Miss Molly". Unbeknownst to many fans, Richard overcame a debilitating drug habit and eventually became an ordained minister. Beginning in the 1980s, he saw a resurgence in his popularity as he acquired small acting roles where he impressed fans, old and new, with his unique comedic timing. As versatile and ageless as ever, Little Richard continues to delight fans the world over with his extraordinary stage presence and flamboyant antics. Now inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the American Songwriters Hall of Fame, he remains one of the most popular entertainers in the world.- Actress
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La Vern Baker was born on 11 November 1929 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for Angel Heart (1987), The Departed (2006) and Uncle Buck (1989). She was married to Slappy White and Eugene Williams. She died on 10 March 1997 in New York City, New York, USA.- Actor
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Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 - October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist and singer-songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orleans to a French Creole family, Domino signed to Imperial Records in 1949. His first single "The Fat Man" is cited by some historians as the first rock and roll single and the first to sell more than 1 million copies. Domino continued to work with the song's co-writer Dave Bartholomew, contributing his distinctive rolling piano style to Lloyd Price's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" (1952) and scoring a string of mainstream hits beginning with "Ain't That a Shame" (1955). Between 1955 and 1960, he had eleven Top 10 US pop hits. By 1955, five of his records had sold more than a million copies, being certified gold.- Actor
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Charms is known for Granita apo melani (1983), O trellopenintaris (1971) and My Adopted Son the Rally Driver (1971).- Soundtrack
Born John Alexander in Memphis, TN, on June 9, 1929, R&B singer Johnny Ace served in the US Navy during World War II, and after his discharge he headed for New Orleans to become part of the Beale Street music scene. He performed as both a singer and pianist, and worked with the top acts of the day, including Bobby Bland and B.B. King, among others. He was signed by Duke Records in 1952 and turned out a prolific amount of records in just two years, including two #1 hits ("My Song" in 1952 and "The Clock" in 1953).
His most famous recording, "My Pledge of Love", hit #1 on the R&B charts in 1955 and even made it into the top 20 on the pop charts. The honors were posthumous, however; on Christmas night 1954 in Houston, Texas, Ace was backstage at the City Auditorium during an intermission in his show, and as a joke pulled out what he thought was an unloaded pistol, put it to his head and pulled the trigger. The gun, as it turned out, wasn't unloaded and he was killed instantly.- Actor
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A tragic fate may have given this visionary a heightened sensitivity, perception, awareness, even expansion to his obvious musical gifts that he may have never touched upon had he not suffered from his physical affliction. Whatever it was, Ray Charles revolutionized American music and was catapulted to legendary status by the time he died in Beverly Hills at age 73.
Born on September 23, 1930, to Aretha and Baily Robinson, an impoverished Albany, Georgia, family that moved to Greenville, Florida while he was still an infant. It was not a cause for joy and celebration. His father soon abandoned the family and his baby brother, George Robinson, drowned in a freak washtub accident. Ray himself developed glaucoma at the age of five and within two years had lost his sight completely. A singer in a Baptist choir, he developed a love and feel for rhythms and studied music at the State School for Deaf and Blind Children, showing which brought out his talent and ear for playing various instruments, including the piano and clarinet.
An orphan by his early teens, Ray joined a country band at age 16 called The Florida Playboys. He moved to Seattle in 1948 where he and Southern guitarist Gossady McGee formed the McSon Trio. With an emphasis on easy-styled jazz, Ray also played in bebop sessions on the sly. He departed from the McSon Trio and signed with Los Angeles-based Swing Time Records, becoming the pianist for rhythm and blues great Lowell Fulson and his band. Atlantic Records eventually picked him up. Along the road he would add composer, writer and arranger to his formidable list of talents.
Ray's first R&B hit was "Confession Blues" in Los Angeles in 1949. In 1951, he had his first solo chart buster with "Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand". His amazing versatility and raw, soulful delivery quickly caught on with audiences and helped put Atlantic Records on the map. Hits like "Mess Around", "Things I Used to Do", "A Fool for You", "I've Got a Woman", "Drown in My Own Tears", and especially "What'd I Say" in 1959, pushed gospel and R&B to a wider crossover audience. He made a move into the country music arena--unheard of for a black singer--in the 1960s, doing soulful spins on Hank Williams and Eddy Arnold tunes. In 1960, he left Atlantic and signed with ABC-Paramount. Under ABC-Paramount, hits poured out during this peak time with "I Can't Stop Loving You", "Hit the Road Jack", "Busted" and his beloved signature song "Georgia On My Mind".
His landmark 1962 album "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" brought a new swinging style to country music. From there, he traveled a mainstream route--from interpreting songs from The Beatles ("Eleanor Rigby") to appearing in "Diet Pepsi" ads ("You Got the Right One, Baby, Uh-huh!"). He also showed up sporadically in films, playing himself in the movie Ballad in Blue (1965) and guest-starring in The Blues Brothers (1980) with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. A television musical variety favorite with his trademark dark sunglasses and dry humor, he worked alongside such musical legends as Ella Fitzgerald and Barbra Streisand on their very special evenings of song.
It is hard to believe that with everything he accomplished, Ray also had to deal with a longstanding heroin problem. In the mid-1960s, he was arrested for possession of heroin and marijuana and revealed that he had been addicted for nearly two decades. By 1965, he had completely recovered. The man who lived life on the edge was divorced twice and had 12 children both in and outside his marriages.
At the time of his death from liver disease on June 10, 2004, he was working on a recording project of duets with such performers as Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, Elton John and Norah Jones. This collaboration entitled "Genius Loves Company" led to an incisive win at the Grammy Awards--eight posthumous trophies including "Album of the Year" and "Record of the Year".
A few months after his death, the critically-acclaimed feature film biography Ray (2004) was released starring Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx.- Actress
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Ruth Brown was born on 12 January 1928 in Portsmouth, Virginia, USA. She was an actress, known for Hairspray (1988), The Hurricane (1999) and My Blueberry Nights (2007). She was married to Earl Swanson, Jimmy Brown, Bill Blunt, Willis 'Gator Tail' Jackson and Jimmy Brown. She died on 17 November 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.- Music Department
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Etta James is an American singer who performed in various genres, including blues, R&B, soul, rock and roll, jazz, gospel. Starting her career in 1954, she gained fame with hits such as "The Wallflower", "At Last", "Tell Mama", "Something's Got a Hold on Me", and "I'd Rather Go Blind". She faced a number of personal problems, before making a musical comeback in the late 1980s with the album Seven Year Itch.
Etta James's powerful, deep, earthy voice bridged the gap between rhythm and blues and rock and roll. She won six Grammy Awards and 17 Blues Music Awards. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. Rolling Stone magazine ranked James number 22 on its list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time; she was ranked number 62 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.- Composer
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Carl Lee Perkins was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist who recorded at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, beginning in 1954. Among his best-known songs are "Blue Suede Shoes", "Honey Don't", "Matchbox" and "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby".
According to Charlie Daniels, "Carl Perkins' songs personified the rockabilly era, and Carl Perkins' sound personifies the rockabilly sound more so than anybody involved in it, because he never changed." Perkins's songs were recorded by artists (and friends) as influential as Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash and Eric Clapton, which further established his place in the history of popular music. Paul McCartney said "if there were no Carl Perkins, there would be no Beatles."
Called "the King of Rockabilly", he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, the Memphis Music Hall of Fame, and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. He also received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award.- Soundtrack
The Five Satins were a vocal group that formed in New Haven, CT, in 1954. They didn't meet with much success at first, and went through some personnel changes. The reconstituted group recorded what turned out to be a "doo-wop" classic, "In the Still of the Night" for the small local label Standard Records. It got some local airplay, was picked up by a larger label from New York, Ember Records, for national distribution and it hit big, shooting to #3 on the R&B charts and #25 on the pop charts. It eventually sold over one million copies and earned the group a gold record.
Lead singer Fred Parris left the group to join the army, and the group reorganized itself yet one more time. They hit it big again with "To the Aisle". When Parris finished his army hitch he returned to the group, and after some personnel changes--and a name change, to "Fred Parris and the Scarlets"--the group made some recordings, but these met with little success. In 1981 several former members formed their own Five Satins group.- Actor
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Mickey and Sylvia, a NYC based early R n B duo were composed of Mickey Baker B: Oct.15 1925, singer,guitarist and a former music instructor and Sylvia Vanderpool Robinson B:March 26,1936, his pupil. They were heavily influenced by Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Pop / Country duo, Les Paul and Mary Ford. Les Paul is , a legendary guitarist who invented the electric guitar that is used today by many in all music fields. Mickey's electric guitar was put to good use in the duos' recording of "Love Is Strange", an early R n B Pop standard from 1957, covered by many including The Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly. Mickey and Sylvia appeared at many R n R venues in the late 1950s. They appeared in "The Alan Freed Rock and Roll Show" and had many TV appearances including The "Perry Como Show", " American Bandstand", "Alan Freed's Big Beat" and "Jocko's Rocket Ship". They continued to perform infrequently together, until they disbanded in 1965. Mickey later moved to Paris , France and worked as a session musician,which he had done many times previously in The US. As a soloist, Sylvia had a 1973 R n B hit with "Pillow Talk", considered to be early Disco. Initially intended for Al Green, who felt the arrangement was too risqué, the record reached #1 on The Soul Singles Chart and peaked at #3 US Pop. From the business standpoint, Sylvia was one of the founders of the Rap label, "Sugar Hill" Records". "Love Is Strange" is featured on the soundtrack of many films including "Dirty Dancing"(1988), "Casino"(1995) and "Men In Black III"(2012).- Actor
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Rock 'n' roll pioneer Gene Vincent was born Eugene Vincent Craddock (Vincent Eugene according to some biographers) on February 11, 1935 in Norfolk, Virginia. He quit school at the age of 17 to join the Navy. His naval career was ended following a motorcycle accident while on shore leave in 1955. Shortly thereafter he heard an up-and-coming singer named Elvis Presley and decided on a singing career of his own. His excellent voice helped to hook him up with Norfolk disk jockey Tex Davis who pushed him through to Capitol Records where he recorded the million selling Be-Bop-A-Lula in 1956. While his first record earned him several movie appearances including The Girl Can't Help It (1956) and Hot Rod Gang (1958) and helped him to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, his success was short lived. His original Blue Caps band broke up fairly quickly and his fame in America dwindled as rebellious rockers of the 1950s were replaced by clean-cut teen idols of the early 1960s. Vincent moved to Britain in 1959, where he was a cult figure, and remained there for a decade. He returned to America in 1969 with a new record deal and enjoyed a brief revival among the hippy teenagers in California, who revered him as a legend. His new found fame was cut short by his death on October 12, 1971 at the age of 36 years following complications of a bleeding ulcer and seizure. He had been married four times and was a reputed hard drinker which most likely caused his death.- Actor
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Bill Doggett was a rock-and-roll pioneer; his 1956 hit "Honky Tonk" has been hailed as the first rock instrumental. Raised on the streets of North Philadelphia and a graduate of Central High School, Bill Doggett had been making music from an early age, turning from the trumpet to the piano at age 13, and by 15 he was playing in the pit orchestra of a local theater. He played in Lucky Millinder's band for a time, and was pianist and arranger for The Ink Spots. He also played for and recorded with such artists as Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Otis, Wynonnie Harris and, in 1949, Louis Jordan. After leaving Jordan, Doggett was encouraged to start using the organ in his musical renditions, and he was playing it when "Honky Tonk" was recorded for King Records. In his later years he returned to his jazz roots and was heard in a number of venues both in the United States and overseas.- Soundtrack
The Cadets were an R&B/"doo wop" group formed in the Los Angeles area in the late 1940s. In addition to their distinctive sound, they also had another distinction--they recorded under two different names for two different labels at the same time (The Jacks for Modern Records, The Cadets for RPM Records).
The Jacks began as a gospel group guided by Lloyd McCraw, formerly of the Dixie Hummingbirds. He joined up in 1954 with Austin "Ted" Taylor, Aaron Collins (brother of Rosie Collins and Betty Collins, who had a hit as The Teen Queens with "Eddie My Love"), Willie Davis and Will "Dub" Jones. Modern Records' president Joe Bihari got the idea of using the group as two different ones with two different names--The Jacks as a more traditional R&B "harmony" group using Aaron Collins to write most of the material, and The Cadets as a more fun, higher-spirited "novelty" act, doing covers of other artists' songs.
The Jacks released several records on Modern, including "Do You Wanna Rock", a version of The Drifters' hit "Whatcha Gonna Do". They scored a regional hit with their next record, "How Soon". In 1956 Prentice Moreland replaced Ted Taylor. They had hits with more covers, including Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Church Bells May Ring" by The Willows. They had a bigger hit with "Why Don't You Write Me?", which hit the #3 spot on the R&B charts.
Meawhile Bihari was looking for some material for the group to release as The Cadets, and found it in "Stranded in the Jungle", a novelty song written and recorded by Jay Hawks. He knew it was just what he was looking for, had The Cadets cut their own version of it, got it out to the major radio stations across the country before Hawks' version did, received good airplay and got it into record stores. Sales soared, and in 1956 it reached #4 on the R&B charts and #15 on the pop charts.
Prentice Moreland left the group after that record and was replaced by Thomas "Pete" Fox. Lloyd McCraw also left. While The Cadets had other hits, their "The Jacks" group didn't. In 1957 Bihari dropped the "Jacks" persona altogether and kept the group named The Cadets. Dub Jones later went to The Coasters. Davis and Collins rebooted The Cadets and added Thomas Miller and George Hollis. The group renamed itself The Flares, went to Felsted Records and had a hit with "Foot Stompin'" (1961). By 1964 the Jacks / Cadets / Flares had run their course.- Actor
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Sonny James was born on 1 May 1928 in Hackleburg, Alabama, USA. He was an actor, known for The Devil All the Time (2020), Kleptomania (1993) and Young Ones (2014). He was married to Doris Shrode. He died on 22 February 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.- Actor
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Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers were formed by a group of students at Edward W. Britt Junior High School in New York City's Washington Heights district. Originally called The Earth Angels, the group went through a string of name changes--among them The Coupe de Villes, The Ermines--before settling on The Premiers. They got an audition with noted producer George Goldner at his Gee Records. They had planned to perform a song members Herman Santiago and Jimmy Merchant had written--and which was rewritten by 13-year-old new member Frankie Lymon--called "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?" and which Santiago was to sing lead on, but on the day of the audition he was too sick to sing, so Lymon was chosen to perform. Goldner was so impressed with the power of the young boy's voice that he signed them immediately, changing their name to The Teenagers.
A string of hits followed, and by 1957 the group was being billed as Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers, a situation that the other group members were not happy about. Goldner solved that problem by taking Lymon out of the group for a solo career and hiring another singer to take his place. The singer he hired, Billy Lobrano, was white, making them among rock's first integrated (with black, Hispanic and white members) groups. The group continued to record, with various personnel changes, into the 2000s.- Soundtrack
Little Willie John was born on 15 November 1937 in Cullendale, Arkansas, USA. He was married to Darlynn. He died on 26 May 1968 in Walla Walla, Washington, USA.- Soundtrack
Born in Weirgate, TX, in 1914, blues/R&B singer Ivory Joe Hunter is probably most famous for writing and recording the hit "Since I Met You, Baby". He learned to play piano at an early age and by his mid-teens was performing in the Beaumont, TX, area. He made some recordings in the 1930s (under the name "Ivory Joe White") but it took a move to California in 1942 for his career to begin taking off. In 1945 he began his own record label, Ivory Records, in Oakland, and when that went out of business he helped form another label, Pacific Records, for which he also recorded.
He formed his own combo and successfully toured up and down the California coast. He signed with MGM Records in 1949 and the next year came out with the hits "I Almost Lost My Mind" and "I Need You So". In 1954 he went to Atlantic Records, where he had his biggest hit, 1956's "Since I Met You Baby" (which he also wrote) and "Yes, I Want You" (1958). By the early 1960s R&B music was beginning to lose popularity with the record-buying public, and Hunter became interested in country music. He journeyed to Nashville, TN, and became a country music songwriter, and also performed at the famed Grand Ole Opry. He issued a country album, "The Return of Ivory Joe Hunter", in 1970. It met with some success, but Hunter's failing health precluded his attempts at a comeback. He died of cancer in Memphis, TN, in 1974.- Music Artist
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James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 - December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer, and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honorific nicknames "Godfather of Soul", "Mr. Dynamite", and "Soul Brother No. 1". In a career that lasted more than 50 years, he influenced the development of several music genres. Brown was one of the first 10 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at its inaugural induction in New York on January 23, 1986.
Brown began his career as a gospel singer in Toccoa, Georgia. He first came to national public attention in the mid-1950s as the lead singer of the Famous Flames, a then-only Rhythm and blues vocal group founded by Bobby Byrd. With the hit ballads "Please, Please, Please" and "Try Me", Brown built a reputation as a dynamic live performer with the Famous Flames and his backing band, sometimes known as the James Brown Band or the James Brown Orchestra. His success peaked in the 1960s with the live album Live at the Apollo and hit singles such as "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag", "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "It's a Man's Man's Man's World".
During the late 1960s, Brown moved from a continuum of blues and gospel-based forms and styles to a profoundly "Africanized" approach to music-making, emphasizing stripped-down interlocking rhythms that influenced the development of funk music. By the early 1970s, Brown had fully established the funk sound after the formation of the J.B.s with records such as "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" and "The Payback". He also became noted for songs of social commentary, including the 1968 hit "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud". Brown continued to perform and record until his death from pneumonia in 2006.
Brown recorded 17 singles that reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B charts. He also holds the record for the most singles listed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that did not reach No. 1. Brown was inducted into the first class of the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2013 as an artist and then in 2017 as a songwriter. He also received honors from several other institutions, including inductions into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In Joel Whitburn's analysis of the Billboard R&B charts from 1942 to 2010, Brown is ranked No. 1 in The Top 500 Artists. He is ranked seventh on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.- Music Artist
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Bobby Helms was born on 15 August 1933 in Bloomington, Indiana, USA. He was a music artist and actor, known for Logan (2017), Vanilla Sky (2001) and Lethal Weapon (1987). He was married to Rita Jane Long, Doris Ann Young and Esther Jeanette Hendrickson. He died on 19 June 1997 in Martinsville, Indiana, USA.- Soundtrack
Chuck Willis was an R & B singer songwriter who crossed over into pop in the mid 1950s. He had hit recordings with "Oh What a Dream", "It's Too Late", "C.C. Rider", "Hang Up My Rock & Roll Shoes", "Betty and Dupree" and "What Am I Living For". He wrote and first recorded "I Feel So Bad" which was a 1961 worldwide million seller for Elvis Presley. Willis was known as "The King of Stroll" for the new and brief dance craze (1957-58), "The Stroll". The dance had been inspired by the mellow beat and chorus featured in his 1957 hit "C.C. Rider". He made his only prime time network TV appearance on Feb.15,1958 performing "Betty and Dupree" on the premiere of "The Saturday Night Dick Clark Show", 7 weeks before his death.- Music Artist
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Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 - December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as operatic, earning him the nicknames "The Caruso of Rock" and "The Big O." Many of Orbison's songs conveyed vulnerability at a time when most male rock-and-roll performers chose to project masculinity. He performed while standing motionless and wearing black clothes to match his dyed black hair and dark sunglasses, which he wore to counter his shyness and stage fright.- Actor
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Otis Williams was born on 30 October 1941 in Texarkana, Texas, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Goodfellas (1990), Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007) and The Last Dragon (1985). He has been married to Arleata Carter since 28 January 1983. They have one child. He was previously married to Ann Cain and Josephine Rogers.- Additional Crew
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Johnny Cash was born February 26, 1932, in Kingsland, Arkansas, to Carrie Cash (Rivers) and Raymond Cash. He made his first single, "Hey Porter", for Sun Records in 1955. In 1958 he moved to Columbia Records. He had long periods of drug abuse during the 1960s, but later that decade he successfully fought his addiction with the help of singer June Carter Cash, whom he married in 1968. In 1971 he appeared in the western A Gunfight (1971) with 'Kirk Douglas (I)'. Cash made only a few films, but quite a few appearances on television, both in series and made-for-TV films, and was especially effective as a rural Southern sheriff in the 1930s determined to bring to justice a wealthy landowner who committed murder because he believed he was above the law in Murder in Coweta County (1983), a drama based on a true story. In 1975 Cash wrote his autobiography, "Man In Black", which is now out of print. In the late 1980s he moved from Columbia Records to Mercury, then in the next decade moved again to American Recordings. Amongst his biggest hit records were "I Walk the Line", "Ring of Fire" and "A Boy Named Sue". After several years of ill health, he died of complications from diabetes on 12 September 2003, only a few months after the death of his beloved wife.- Actor
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- Jesse Belvin was born on 15 December 1932 in San Antonio, Texas, USA. He was married to Jo Ann Belvin. He died on 6 February 1960 in Fairhope, Arkansas, USA.
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Jerry Lee Lewis was born on September 29, 1935 into a very religious family . His family, though not very wealthy, sold their house when he was a child to get their son a piano. He loved to play piano. He was sent to a religious school, but was soon thrown out shortly thereafter -- he did a boogie version of a song about Jesus, something the school could not accept. At 16, he married for the first time, but it only lasted seven months. He married a second time three weeks before his divorce from his first wife was final. His second marriage lasted about four years and produced his first child.
In November 1956 he moved in with a cousin, J. W. Brown, in Memphis. They started a band together, with Jerry as singer. They sold a copy of their first song, "Crazy Arms", to the legendary Sam Phillips, president of Sun Records. Phillips had become famous because of his discovery of Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. Phillips liked the song, and Jerry Lee Lewis began to establish his name in Memphis in late 1956.
In January 1957, he recorded a new song, the self-penned "End of the Road." It was unusual in that singers did not write their own songs at that time. Jerry was fresh in other ways, too. He not only wrote some of his own songs, he played piano. Other rock singer of that era played guitar, such as Elvis Presley, Tommy Steele, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, etc. The piano wasn't considered a rock and roll instrument - Jerry Lee Lewis changed all that.
Jerry got his big break in April 1957, when he went to New York and appeared on The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (1956) with the "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On". A couple of #1 hits would soon follow -- "Great Balls of Fire" (which became his signature song), "Breathless" and "High School Confidential". Many people predicted that Jerry Lee would be bigger than the King of Rock-n-Roll - Elvis Presley. In late 1957 the audiences at one of his shows stormed the stage when he set a piano on fire. Chuck Berry was supposed to have ended the evening's show, but he refused to go on, wisely understanding that he could never top what Jerry just did. Elvis went into the army in the late winter of 1958, so Jerry Lee was now virtually alone at the top of the rock heap. All was not rosy, however. Problems did arise--very serious problems. In 1957, he married for a third time, secretly, to the 13-year-old daughter of his cousin and partner J. W. Brown, Myra Gale Brown (Myra Lewis). Her parents were deeply hurt when they found out, but after a discussion with Sam Phillips, they forgave Jerry. The marriage was unknown to the press and fans until Jerry's arrival in England for a tour in the spring of 1958. Fans again stormed the stage -- but this time to express their disgust. The marriage was front-page news around the world. His career was in shambles. He had just signed a five-year contract with Sun Records, and he did continue to record songs until 1963. During the last years of the contract, however, he made very few rock songs. Most of his compositions were ballads, possibly due to his depression at the direction his career had taken.
Jerry and Myra had one son, Steve Allen Lewis, who drowned at age three. The couple divorced in 1970, after 13 years of bad treatment in the press. However, Jerry's career was not completely finished. In 1968 he made his great comeback, as a country singer. During the next few years, he performed more and more rock 'n' roll.
He married a fourth time in October 1971 but the marriage ended two years later, after producing one child. That same year, Jerry's son from his first marriage died in an auto accident. The combination of divorce, personal tragedies and his career stagnation contributed to his turning to the bottle, and for the next 15 years Jerry had a severe drinking problem. His drinking also contributed to a rash of health problems, and he almost died of a ruptured stomach in 1981. People thought that The Killer was finished. But he wasn't.
Jerry Lee Lewis continued putting on brilliant concerts even in his 70s, and with his wild life behind him. He divorced his sixth wife in the summer of 2005, after over 20 years of marriage. He remained a wild man to the end!- Actor
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The Del Vikings is known for Stand by Me (1986), Set It Up (2018) and Joe Versus the Volcano (1990).- Initially formed and named "The Juvenairs" in 1955, this Philadelphia quartet comprised of Danny Rapp, Dave White, Frank Maffei and Joe Terranova. They are widely recognized for their hit single "At the Hop," which was released in 1957. They followed it up with "Rock and Roll Is Here To Stay" a similar sounding dance hit, and later "Dottie". They had appeared on American Bandstand (1952) on numerous occasions and had toured with the early rock-and-roll shows that had been put together by Alan Freed. When 1960 and "The Twist" had arrived, they had a hit with "Twistin USA". Dave White left the group in the early 1960s to write and produce. He wrote "You Don't Own Me" (1963), a hit for Lesley Gore stressing female independence before it became fashionable. He also wrote "One Two Three" (1965) and "Like A Baby" (1966), which were hits for Len Barry. Danny Rapp committed suicide in 1983. "Danny and the Juniors" still tour, with Joe Terry (lead), Frank Maffei and Frank's brother Bobby Maffei.
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The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 - August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 - January 3, 2014), the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, and pop, becoming pioneers of country rock.
The duo was raised in a musical family, first appearing on radio singing along with their father Ike Everly and mother Margaret Everly as "The Everly Family" in the 1940s. When the brothers were still in high school, they gained the attention of prominent Nashville musicians like Chet Atkins, who began to promote them for national attention.- Soundtrack
Thurston Harris was born in 1932.- Composer
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Dale Hawkins was born on 22 August 1936 in Goldmine, Louisiana, USA. He was a composer, known for Frequency (2000), Apocalypse Now (1979) and To Die For (1995). He died on 13 February 2010 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.- Actor
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The Diamonds, four gentlemen from Toronto, Canada, were one of the most popular singing groups of the 1950s. This versatile group was signed to Mercury Records and was designated to cover the recordings of black artists, as was often the practice in those days because many radio stations wouldn't play "black" songs. Proving they were up to the task, they put 16 hits on the charts of Billboard, three going gold: "Little Darlin", "Silhouettes" and "The Stroll". They even showed up on the R&B charts. Group members were David Somerville, lead; Ted Kowalski, tenor; Phil Levitt; baritone; and Bill Reed, bass. Kowalski and Levitt were students at the University of Toronto, Somerville was a radio engineer at the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) and Reed was employed by the telephone company.
In the fall of 1953 Somerville met this unnamed group in the hall of the CBC. The group was in its original form, with Stan Fisher as lead singer, and they were going to audition for a CBC show called "Pick the Stars". Being a trained singer, Somerville thought they weren't ready for the show and offered to tutor the guys and help them along. He got them practice time in "unoccupied" studios and also had connections for professional arrangements. Thing were moving along until the group was scheduled to sing at a Christmas party at a local church. As it turned out, lead singer Fisher opted out to study for an exam the next day. Since Somerville knew all the songs, he took the lead--literally--and the group was an overwhelming success. The decision to go professional came quickly. Fisher decided not to continue with the group. With their new lead Somerville, The Diamonds were about to hit the scene.
They, like most artists of that day, were not an overnight success. They worked hard, developing their craft, learning "barbershop quartet" singing from Bill's dad, also a bass singer. Whenever possible they would get together with a black gospel group called The Revelaires, from Detroit. As The Diamonds have said, "This was the group that had the most effect on our singing; they taught us not to be so square".
After school in the spring of 1954 Ted and Phil decided not to go back in the fall. The guys wanted to get serious about their singing, and this gave them more time to practice. Dave's connections introduced them to Nat Goodman, a professional classical musician who took the group under his management. It was at this point that Dave and Bill quit their jobs and the group began to polish its repertoire. With a performance and a win on the Arthur Godfrey show Talent Scouts (1948), and a week guest-starring on Godfrey's radio show, they soon were signed to a four-song contract with Coral Records. A later introduction to Cleveland disc jockey 'Bill Randle', who got them a long-term contact with Mercury Records. In 1956 they had four charted hits before their 1957 hit, "Little Darlin'". This was the song that made them a household name. It also landed them in the teen musical The Big Beat (1958), and they also sang the theme song for the films Kathy O' (1958) and The Horizontal Lieutenant (1962). Their contract with Mercury produced over 60 singles, two original albums and several compilation albums. Even today they still pop up on a soundtrack from a movie.
By 1961 all the original members had left the group, but The Diamonds still continued. Ted and Phil went back to school at the University of Toronto and Bill got on the other side of the record business. Only Dave continued his singing, adapting to the ever-changing music scene. The original members would get together for an occasional oldies reunion, but it wasn't until an appearance in the PBS special Doo Wop 51 (2001) did they once again gain national attention. That was followed with an appearance in another PBS special, Magic Moments: The Best of 50's Pop (2004). Fortunately these two programs are available on video and DVD, since there isn't much footage of this fun, energetic group available prior to those two shows.
"Little Darlin', Little Darlin', Oh Where Are You?"- Composer
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This seminal close-harmony singing group began in the late 40s as The Robins, a Los Angeles-based vocal quartet. Mentored by R&B bandleader Johnny Otis, they recorded several hits for the Savoy label, including a #1, "Double Crossing Blues", in 1950. They were one of the first African-American doo-wop-style acts to cross over into rock-and-roll. In 1953, The Robins signed with RCA and began a propitious association with songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The Robins split up in 1955, two of the group's members (Bobby Nunn and Carl Gardner) remaining with Leiber & Stoller where they were joined by singers Leon Hughes and Billy Guy. The group henceforth named themselves The Coasters (due to their Californian origins).
Four gold records and a string of hits followed, beginning with "Down in Mexico" (a re-recorded 1973 edition was later used by Quentin Tarantino for his Death Proof (2007) soundtrack). "Searchin" went to #1 on the R&B chart and #3 on the Pop Chart in 1957. Following the arrival of tenor vocalist Cornell Gunter (1938-1990) and bass Will 'Dub' Jones (1928-2000), they recorded "Yakety Yak" (#1, 1958), "Charlie Brown" (#2, 1959) and "Poison Ivy" (#7, 1959). Backup musicians for the Coasters included saxophonist King Curtis and guitarists Adolph Jacobs and Mickey Baker . There were several more personnel changes in the 60s, notably the addition of Earl Carroll (nick-named 'Speedo', former lead singer of The Cadillacs, replacing Gunter), plus tenor vocalist Ronnie Bright and baritone Jimmy Norman (1937-2011).
The original 1958 Coasters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999. A more recent incarnation of The Coasters remains active on the music scene to this day.- Music Artist
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Charles Hardin Holley, known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born in Lubbock, Texas, to a musical family during the Great Depression, and learned to play guitar and sing alongside his siblings. His style was influenced by gospel music, country music, and rhythm and blues acts, which he performed in Lubbock with his friends from high school.- Actor
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Buddy Knox was born on 20 July 1933 in Happy, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for American Graffiti (1973), Look Who's Talking Too (1990) and Hexed (1993). He died on 14 February 1999 in Bremerton, Washington, USA.- Actor
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Larry E Wiliams was born on 10 May 1935 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for American Made (2017), Christine (1983) and Mr. Church (2016). He was married to Julia Ann Williams. He died on 2 January 1980 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Soundtrack
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Canadian-born Paul Anka first achieved success in the 1950s as a teenage singing star (and, for the times, an unusual one in that he wrote many of his own songs). Although he appeared in several films, and was quite believable as a nervous, hyper young soldier in The Longest Day (1962) (for which he also composed the theme music), Anka's main interest was music, and he concentrated his efforts into composing (he wrote lyrics for Frank Sinatra's classic "My Way") and nightclub appearances in Las Vegas.- The Sparkletones are a terrifically talented and dynamic rockabilly group from Spartanburg, South Carolina. The band was first formed in 1956 at Cowpens High School in Spartanburg; the members when the Sparkletones first came together ranged between 13 and 16 years old. In addition, all the members hailed from middle-class families and were regular churchgoers. The original founding members were: Joe Bennett (vocals/guitar), Wayne Arthur (double bass), Howard "Sparky" Childress (guitar), and Jimmy "Sticks" Denton (drums). The group was discovered by CBS scout Bob Cox after they won first prize at an audition held at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium in January, 1957. Cox quit CBS so he could manage the Sparkletones and had them sign up with the label ABC-Paramount in New York City. The band scored a substantial hit with the rousing and delightful "Black Slacks," which peaked at #17 on the Billboard pop radio charts in October, 1957. Alas, the worthy follow-up single "Penny Loafers and Bobby Sox" only made it to #42 on the Billboard charts in early 1958 and a handful of excellent additional singles didn't even crack the Top 100. Moreover, Childress and Denton both left the group; they were replaced by Gene Brown and Donnie Seay respectively. The band eventually broke up in the early 60s. Bennett continued a career in music as a teacher and publisher, Childress played country music in the 60s, Seay continued to perform as a guitarist, Denton went on to run an auto parts store, and Arthur sang with a gospel choir in his spare time. The Sparkletones have occasionally reunited for concerts and events in South Carolina.
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Bill Justis was born on 14 October 1926 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. He was a composer, known for Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Nowhere Boy (2009) and Camp X-Ray (2014). He died on 15 July 1982 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.- Music Artist
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Sam Cooke was born January 22, 1931 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He was one of eight children of Charles Cook Sr., a Baptist minister. When Sam sang as a little boy in church, everyone made note that his voice had "something special". He sang in church and in local gospel choirs until a group called the Highway Q.C.'s asked him to sing with them at various venues. By the time he reached 20, Sam's voice was a finely honed instrument and he was noted for bringing the spirit up in churchgoers.
When Sam replaced R.H. Harris, the legendary lead singer for the extremely popular gospel group The Soul Stirrers, it was the beginning of his meteoric rise. Cooke sang with the group for six years, traveling back and forth across the country and gaining a wealth of knowledge regarding how black people were treated. His refusal to sing at a segregated concert led to what many have described as one of the first real efforts in civil disobedience and helped usher in the new Civil Rights Movement.
After several gospel albums, Sam decided it was time to cross over from gospel (against almost everyone's advice) to record some soul and rhythm & blues. His hypnotically smooth voice, not to mention his finely chiseled good looks, brought him almost instant success. His first single released in 1957 was "You Send Me", which sold over a million copies and made Sam an "overnight success" in the business. He was on his way to becoming the biggest voice on the radio. Record producers vied to sign him to a contract. In 1960 he became the first major black artist to sign with RCA Records. Sam was not happy with the deal and when the time was right decided to start his own publishing company (KAGS Music) to keep control over his music and his own record company (SAR/Derby) to keep control of his money.
Sam married his high school sweetheart, Barbara Campbell, in 1959 and they had three children. Tragically, their youngest child, Vincent, drowned in their swimming pool at age four in June 1964.
On the night of December 11, 1964, Sam had withdrawn some money to buy Christmas presents. The manager of the motel he was staying in, Bertha Franklin, who had shot and killed a man six months previously at the same motel, made arrangements with a local prostitute named Elisa Boyer to pick up Sam at a local bar and bring him back to the motel. As he and the woman entered the motel room Sam was struck on the head and momentarily knocked out. Boyer, who was known as a "drunk roller" who would rob her clients, took Sam's money and met Franklin at the motel office.
When Cooke regained consciousness he was disoriented, in addition to being without his pants and his wallet. He stumbled to the motel office and saw Boyer and Franklin counting his money ($2,500 - a considerable amount of money at the time) through the window. He demanded his pants, money and wallet back. When they didn't open the door, Cooke knocked on it as hard as he could and it came off the hinges. When he got up off the floor Mrs. Franklin shot him and then instructed Boyer to run down the street and call police from a phone booth. Boyer told them a phony story about a rape and left the scene and subsequently disappeared. Sam was dead when the police arrived and, since Boyer had stolen his wallet, they had no idea who it was and took it as a routine justified homicide in the ghetto.
The coroner's inquest should have been a slam-dunk, but not one pertinent question was asked by an investigator, nor was a background check made that would have revealed Bertha Franklin's deadly past. The authorities simply took her made-up story as "gospel". Sam's murder was chalked up as just another unidentified "rapist" killed in Watts. It wasn't until the following Monday morning that a reporter found out Sam Cooke was signed in to the motel registry as himself and that one of the world's greatest talents and a true human being was dead, under shady circumstances that might never have been covered by the media.- Soundtrack
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Jimmy Bowen was born on 30 November 1937 in Santa Rita, New Mexico, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for Vanishing Point (1971), Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) and American Graffiti (1973). He was previously married to Keely Smith.- Actor
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R&B singer/piano player Clarence "Frogman" Henry was born in Algiers, LA--a suburb of New Orleans--in 1937. He grew up in the New Orleans blues/R&B scene, and in his late teens moved to New Orleans to get into the music business. He got work as a musician and singer, and eventually joined up with the Bobby Mitchell Band. He stayed with them for a short period, then left and began his own group. In 1956 he was signed by Argo Records, a subsidiary of the legendary Chess Records, and soon hit it big with the single "Ain't Got No Home", which landed in the R&B and pop Top-10 charts. Now a hit singer, he parlayed that over the next four years into a constant stream of touring with R&B and rock shows, and making the rounds of New Orleans-area nightclubs. In 1961 he had another hit with "You Always Hurt the One You Love" and yet another with "I Don't Know Why (But I Do)", both on Argo. He was soon touring the country again and making appearances on a string of TV variety and dance shows. When The Beatles made their US tour in 1964, he was their opening act, and performed the same function in 1965 for The Rolling Stones' US tour.
By late 1965, however, R&B music began to fade from popularity. Henry kept his hand in the business by touring with "oldies" shows alongside other rock and R&B bands from the '50s and '60s which, as of this writing, he's still doing.- Actor
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Although most of Lloyd Price's hits occurred in the late 1950s and early 1960s, he actually had his first hit in 1952, with "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", which became a major R&B hit. However, his budding career came to a quick halt in 1954 when he was drafted into the army. Because of his musical background, though, he was placed into the Special Services (entertainment) branch, where he was put in charge of a large dance band that played "swing" music to entertain the troops. It was here that Price got the idea for what was to become his trademark style: combining a lush, full orchestra with the grittier, rawer tempos and vocals of R&B. After completing his hitch, Price made the rounds of record companies trying to convince them of the soundness of his idea, but he got nowhere. Frustrated, he started his own label, Kent Records. His first record on Kent, 1957's "Just Because", became a regional hit on the East Coast, but Kent, like other small labels, found it difficult to distribute nationally, limiting the chances of the record's success. Price managed to sign a distribution deal with ABC-Paramount Records, a major player with national distribution, and that enabled the record to stay on the charts for the next six months. The next year he signed a distribution deal with Atlantic Records, another major label. However, he soon grew tired of both running a record label and performing, and decided to concentrate solely on performing. He signed a recording contract with ABC-Paramount in 1958, and in October of that year released what would be one of his biggest hits, "Stagger Lee", complete with his trademark combination of orchestral background and R&B vocals. The record sold more than a million copies and was the top R&B record of 1959. The song did cause some controversy, though. It was based on an old tune called "Stag-O-Lee" about an argument that took place during a gambling game that resulted in a barroom murder. Religious pressure groups, among them the Catholic Church's Legion of Decency, pressured Paramount not to release the record at all, due to its "immoral" subject matter. Paramount did release it, but the lyrics were somewhat sanitized, with no mention of gambling or the shooting resulting in the character's death. Price's follow-up songs to "Stagger Lee" wee also big hits: "Personality" and "I'm Gonna Get Married." Price left Paramount in 1962 and started his own record label again, Double-L. While he had some modest hits with that label, its main claim to fame was that it was the label which first signed Wilson Pickett to a solo contract.
Price signed with several different labels over the next several years (he was the first black artist signed by Monument Records, a Nashville label that specialized almost exclusively in country/western singers) but couldn't manage to chart with any more records. In an effort to jumpstart his career he started his own label again, Turntable Records, and even opened up a nightclub in New York called Turntables. In 1972, he began to concentrate more on personal appearances and concerts rather than recording. He went into semi-retirement in the mid-'80s and only occasionally appeared in concerts or on television. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.- Actor
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Eddie Cochran was born as Ray Edward Cochran on October 3, 1938 in Albert Lea, Minnesota. When Eddie was 14, his parents moved to Bell Gardens, California where he began playing the guitar. In 1954, Eddie joined a local band with songwriter Hank Cochran where Eddie performed as the second vocalist. The group became known as "The Cochran Brothers" even though Eddie and Hank were not related. The Cochran Brothers were, more or less, a country-western act until Elvis Presley began overshadowing their acts in 1955. Shortly thereafter, the duo broke up with Eddie hurtling towards a career in rock and roll and Hank moving to Nashville where he became a successful songwriter. In 1956, Eddie hooked up with Jerry Capehart, an old friend who was also a songwriter. The two landed a recording contract with Crest Records, a small label in Hollywood, California.
Si Warmoker, an executive at Liberty Records, heard Eddie's singing and thought he could make Eddie into Liberty's answer to Elvis. To help launch Eddie's career, Liberty Records arranged for him to have a cameo in the movie The Girl Can't Help It (1956) which starred Jayne Mansfield. Eddie, in his cameo role as himself, sang the song "Twenty Flight Rock". Eddie also appeared as himself in the grade-B movie Untamed Youth (1957). Eddie's first single "Sittin' in the Balconcy" became one of the top 20 on the music charts. It was almost a year later that Eddie had another hit record titled "Summertime Blues" in 1958. "Summertime Blues" scored top with the teenage listeners and Eddie became one of Liberty's biggest successes. With this song, Eddie was established as an important influence on music in the late 1950s.
In 1959, Eddie met songwriter Sharon Sheeley, whom he asked to write a song with him and their collaboration produced the single "Somethin' Else", which Liberty released in September 1959. In early 1960, Eddie toured England for several weeks. Sharon joined Eddie on his tour which concluded with a concert in Bristol. The day after the concert, Eddie, Sharon and singer Gene Vincent were scheduled to return to the United States on an early morning flight. During the ride to Heathrow Airport, the Ford consul taxi they were riding in blew a tire and skidded into a lamp post off the road. Sharon was badly injured, Vincent suffered a broken leg and other broken ribs, while Eddie suffered severe head injuries and died several hours later at a local hospital on the afternoon of April 17, 1960 at age 21.- Actor
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Ricky Nelson was born on May 8, 1940 in Teaneck, New Jersey, USA as Eric Hilliard Nelson. He was an actor, known for The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet (1952) and Rio Bravo (1959). He was married to Kristin Harmon. He died on December 31, 1985 in De Kalb, Texas, USA.- Music Artist
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Conway Twitty was born on 1 September 1933 in Friars Point, Mississippi, USA. He was a music artist and actor, known for Limitless (2011), Punch-Drunk Love (2002) and Hollywoodland (2006). He was married to Dolores Virginia Henry, Temple Medley and Ellen Matthews. He died on 5 June 1993 in Springfield, Missouri, USA.- Little Anthony and the Imperials is known for Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), The Secret Life of Bees (2008) and Crank: High Voltage (2009).
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Duane Eddy was born on 26 April 1938 in Corning, New York, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for Natural Born Killers (1994), Forrest Gump (1994) and Broken Arrow (1996). He was married to Diane Mary 'Deed' Abbate, Maureen A Power, Jessi Colter and Carol Fowler. He died on 30 April 2024 in Franklin, Tennessee, USA.- Soundtrack
The Silhouettes was a black R&B group that formed in Philadelphia, PA, in the mid-1950s, consisting of Bill Horton, Earl Beal, Raymond Edwards and Richard Lewis. They hit the #1 spot on the pop and R&B charts in 1958 with the amusing and catchy "Get a Job", written by the group's members. It became a "doo-wop" classic and has been used in countless soundtracks of films about the period, such as American Graffiti (1973) and Stand by Me (1986). The tribute group Sha-Na-Na took its name from the backup refrain that runs throughout the song.- Music Artist
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Walden Robert Cassotto, nicknamed "Bobby", was born in The Bronx, New York, in 1936. Severe rheumatic fever as a child scarred his heart and led to an overprotected and pampered childhood. He was the focal point of a family that fostered and encouraged his love of music. His music career started out with writing songs and taking demos around to different music producers. In 1958 he performed the song "Splish, Splash" on Dick Clark's American Bandstand (1952). It was a huge hit and eventually would sell over one million copies. The next year was a big one - he won two Grammies, for Best Record ("Mack the Knife") and Best New Artist. "Mack the Knife" stayed in the top ten for 52 weeks, nine of those at #1. This was Bobby's fourth gold record. His next goal was to make a movie, and that opportunity came in 1960 with the film Come September (1961), for which he also wrote the title song. The movie was filmed in Rome and that's where he met Sandra Dee. She was 16 years old and at the top of her career. They were engaged two months after they met and their son, Dodd Darin, was born a year later. Bobby continued to perform in night clubs and make movies. In 1964 he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Captain Newman, M.D. (1963). Despite very good reviews, he lost the Oscar to Melvyn Douglas. In 1967 he asked for and was granted a divorce. Sandra was quoted as saying, "He just woke up one morning and didn't want to be married anymore". More realistically, their careers had kept them apart more often than not, and they had struggled with the marriage practically from the beginning. He went in for heart surgery in 1971 and from that point on he had bouts of ill health. After his recovery he continued to do nightclub acts and the next year he did a popular summer variety show called The Bobby Darin Show (1973). The last year of his life was spent dealing with health problems related to his heart, yet he continued to work when he could. He died at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles on December 20, 1973, following open heart surgery.- Soundtrack
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The Chantels came out of the Bronx, NY, in the early 1950s. The group's members were students at St. Anthony of Padua School, and they took their name from that of another Catholic school, St. Francs de Chantal. They signed their first recording contract, with End Records, in 1957, but the record, "He's Gone", wasn't a hit; however, it later became a popular request on "oldies" and "doo-wop" stations. Their next record, however, was their biggest hit and is considered a classic of "doo-wop" girl groups: "Maybe", written by lead singer Arlene Smith. "Maybe" was later successfully covered by Janis Joplin, as "Maybe Maybe Maybe". It sold over a million copies for the group and was performed by them, in 1958, on TV's "American Bandstand", "The Saturday Night Dick Clark Show" and locally in NYC on Ted Steele's "Dance Time". Though their next two singles, "Every Night" and "I Love You So", didn't chart as well, the recordings received considerable airplay and are considered classics today. Nevertheless, in 1959 their recording company, End Records, dropped them. After some personnel changes the group signed with Carlton Records and had their second big hit, "Look In My Eyes". Again, they weren't able to follow that with another top-20 hit, and more personnel and label changes followed. In the 1970s former lead singer Arlene Smith, who had left the group for a solo career, formed a "new" Chantels to make the rounds of oldies shows and personal appearances. In 1999 the surviving members of the original Chantels reformed for the PBS TV special Doo Wop 50 (1999).
The Chantels were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.- The Elegants began life in Staten Island, NY, in the mid-1950s. In 1958 the group--consisting of lead singer Vito Picone, Carmen Romano, James Moschella, Frank Tardogno and Arthur Venosa--scored a #1 hit with the doo-wop classic "Little Star", which had a catchy beat, smooth harmonies and was based on a melody by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". For some reason they didn't record again for another year, but it was too late and none of their releases even got on the charts. They soon broke up.
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The 1950s R&B group The Monotones was formed in 1955 by a group of friends living in the Baxter Terrace housing project in Newark, NJ. The original group consisted of Warren Ryanes, John Ryanes, Charles Patrick, Warren Davis, George Malone, Frankie Smith and Charles Patrick's brother James, who left the group shortly after it formed. They began singing together in the local New Hope Baptist Church choir (which was directed by Cissy Houston, who was related to the Patricks). In 1956 they appeared on Ted Mack & the Original Amateur Hour (1948), on which they won first prize for their version of The Cadillacs' "Zoom". Later, inspired by a line in a Pepsodent toothpaste commercial, Charles Patrick, Davis and Malone wrote a song they called "The Book of Love". They recorded it for a small regional label, Mascot Records, in 1957. When the song started to become a hit Mascot, which couldn't distribute nationally, sold it to Chess Records' subsidiary label Argo, which did. It became a big hit in the US and Europe, and even became a hit in Australia.
The group recorded a few follow-up songs, but all failed to chart. They soon left Argo for the smaller Hull Records label, but didn't have much luck there, either. The group finally disbanded in 1962. Some original members revived the group several times over the years with new personnel.- Soundtrack
Jody Reynolds was born on 3 December 1932 in Denver, Colorado, USA. He was married to Judy Reynolds. He died on 7 November 2008 in Palm Desert, California, USA.- Music Department
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Bobby Day was born on 1 July 1928 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. He is known for The Iron Giant (1999), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) and Stand by Me (1986). He died on 27 July 1990 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Music Department
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The Big Bopper (real name: Jiles Perry Richardson Jr. ) was an American singer, songwriter, and disc jockey from Texas. His best known song compositions were" Chantilly Lace" (featuring a flirtatious phone conversation) and "White Lightning" (a rockabilly hit). Richardson was killed in an airplane crash in the winter of 1959, alongside fellow musicians Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens. He was only 28-years-old. Their death date on February 3, 1959 is remembered as "The Day the Music Died".
In 1930, Richardson was born in the small town of Sabine Pass, Texas. The town is primarily remembered as the location of two different battles in the American Civil War. It was annexed by the neighboring city of Port Arthur, Texas in 1978. Richardson's parents were the oil-field worker Jiles Perry Richardson (1905-1984) and his wife Elise Stalsby (1909-1983). Richardson was the eldest of three sons born to the family.
Richardson was primarily raised in Beaumont, Texas, and attended Beaumont High School. He graduated in 1947, at the age of 17. He was reportedly an athletic young man, and served as a defensive lineman in the American football team "Royal Purple". He received his college education at Lamar College in Beaumont, Texas (later renamed to Lamar University). He was a pre-law student.
During his college years, Richardson was a part-time worker at the radio station KTRM in his hometown of Beaumont Texas. In 1949, he was hired by the station as a full-time employee. He decided to drop out of college at that time. In 1952, Richardson married his girlfriend Adrienne Joy "Teetsie" Wenner (1936-2004). The new couple soon had their first daughter, Debra Richardson (1953-2006).
By 1954, Richardson had been promoted to the rank of supervisor of announcers at KTRM. In March 1955, Richardson was drafted into the United States Army. He completed his basic training at Fort Ord, California. He was then transferred to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, where he spend his two years of army service as a radar instructor. He was discharged from the Army in March 1957, with the rank of corporal.
Richardson was immediately rehired by KTRM, and granted his own music show. Richardson had seen college students performing a dance called "The Bop". He decided to adopt the stage name "The Big Bopper" for his new show. His show run for 3 hours in the afternoons. He was also promoted, becoming the radio station's program director.
In May 1957, Richardson set a new record for length of on-air broadcasting. He performed a single continuous broadcast for a total of five days, two hours, and eight minutes, during which he played 1,821 different records. While he had become famous as a disc jockey, he soon started working as a songwriter. He composed notable songs for George Jones and Johnny Preston.
Richardson was interested in performing his own songs. He signed a contract with the record producer Pappy Daily (1902-1987), who specialized in promoting country acts. Richardson's first single, "Beggar to a King", was met with indifference by the public. Richardson had his first great hit with "Chantilly Lace" (released in June, 1958). It reached the 6th place on the pop charts, spending 22 weeks in the national Top 40. It established Richardson's new stage persona as a "good-natured caricature of a ladies' man".
Richardson had his second hit song with the novelty song "The Big Bopper's Wedding". The song's main character is about to get married, but gets cold feet at the altar. In January 1959, Richardson was ready to promote his music act with live performances. He signed up to participate in the concert tour "Winter Dance Party", alongside Buddy Holly (and his band-mates), Ritchie Valens, and the vocal group "Dion and the Belmonts". The tour was scheduled to cover twenty-four Midwestern cities in as many days, with no off days for the music performers.
On January 23, 1959, the tour started with a live performance in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. By February 2, the touring performers reached Clear Lake, Iowa, for their 11th performance. However, the tour was poorly planned and the musicians had run into problems. The tour "erratically zigzagged back and forth across" the Midwestern United States, with the musicians spending between ten to twelve hours each day in a tour bus. They faced "freezing mid-winter temperatures" and poorly maintained rural highways. The tour buses broke down frequently, and had to be replaced 5 times in 11 days. No road crew had been hired to assist the musicians with transporting their equipment. Both Richardson and Valens were sick, experiencing flu-like symptoms.
By the time the touring musicians reached Iowa, Holly was fed-up with the traveling conditions. He chartered a plane to fly himself and his band to Fargo, North Dakota, which was closer to their next destination at Moorhead, Minnesota. The plane was a single-engined, V-tailed Beechcraft 35 Bonanza, with enough space for three seated passengers and the pilot. Richardson asked to join the flight, as he was too ill to keep traveling by bus. Valens requested the third seated place in the flight, and won it in a coin toss with another musician.
The chartered plane took off from Mason City Municipal Airport on February 3, 1959, with weather conditions including light snowing and winds estimated as reaching the speed of 20 to 30 mph (32 to 48 km/h). The flight would prove fatal for all three passengers. The Bonanza impacted terrain at high speed in a nose-down attitude. Richardson's body was found at some distance from the the wreckage of the aircraft, thrown into a cornfield. A coroner determined that the cause of Richardson's death was "gross trauma to brain".
Richardson was buried in his home state of Texas. Two months following his death, Richardson gained a posthumous son by his wife. The son, Jay Perry Richardson (1959-2013), became a musician as well. He used the stage name "The Big Bopper, Jr." The elder Richardson's remains were transferred alongside his wife's grave in 2007, at the request of their son. The couple are buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery, located in Beaumont, Texas. A stainless steel monument to Richardson, Holly, and Valens was erected at the crash site in 1988.- Music Department
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Bobby Freeman was born on 13 June 1940 in San Francisco, California, USA. He is known for American Graffiti (1973), Bio-Dome (1996) and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004). He died on 23 January 2017 in Anson, Texas, USA.- Actor
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Jimmy Clanton was born on 2 September 1940 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), Go, Johnny, Go! (1959) and Teenage Millionaire (1961). He has been married to Roxanne Faye Edtmiller since 8 December 1962. They have three children.- Actor
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Johnny Otis was involved in virtually every aspect of the music business: he was a singer, musician, composer, producer, record company owner, arranger and talent scout, among others. He helped to shape the R&B genre starting in the late 1940s and stayed involved in it for over 30 years.
Otis was white, but grew up in a black neighborhood in northern California's Bay Area. He began his music career as a drummer in a swing band and by 1945 he had his own band. He could see that swing music was on its way out and downsized his band and got away from swing music and more towards R&B. It soon became one of the most popular R&B bands in the US. He traveled the country with his Johnny Otis Rhythm & Blues Caravan with many early rock and R&B singers.
In 1954 he became a disc jockey and formed Dig Records. He also got his own variety show, The Johnny Otis Show (1954), on TV station KTLA in Los Angeles. He discovered Etta James and Little Esther Phillips, and with James he wrote "Roll With Me, Henry", which she recorded. It shot to #1 on the R&B charts and made her a star.
He continued performing and recording well into the 1980s, and traveled the US and Europe performing at jazz and blues festivals.- Composer
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Close harmony barbershop-style vocal quartet of the 1950s, noted for their folksy or swinging a capella renditions. Formed in 1946, their original line-up consisted of Jinny Osborn (1927-2003), Janet Ertel, Dorothy Schwartz and Carol Bushman (1927-2023). Later members included Lynn Evans, Margie Needham and Nancy Overton. The Chordettes first came to prominence on radio as winners of the Arthur Godfrey program 'Talent Scouts'. From 1949, they were regularly featured on Godfrey's television show, and, four years later, were signed by his former musical director Archie Bleyer (Ertel's husband) to Cadence Records. Usually more pop-oriented than in sync with the prevailing appetite for rock-n-roll, the group succeeded by capitalising on nostalgia for 1940s swing (a la The Andrews Sisters). Their string of popular hits included the catchy lullaby "Mr. Sandman" (which went to # 1 on U.S. charts for seven weeks in 1954), "Lollipop" (# 2 in 1958), "Born To Be With You" (# 5 in 1956), "Just Between You and Me" (# 8 in 1957), "Zorro" (# 17 in 1958) and "Never On Sunday" (#13 in 1960). "Mr. Sandman", in particular, has been featured on numerous motion pictures (Halloween II (1981), Uncle Buck (1989), Deadpool (2016)) and TV episodes (Grimm (2011), Sleepy Hollow (2013), Doctor Who (2005)). The Chordettes disbanded after 1961, following the departure of Jinny Osborn. They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001.- Actor
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Ritchie, the 'California Kid' was from a family of poverty stricken fruit pickers and was the first rock star to originate from the West Coast and one of the innovators of 'Latino rock. In an eight month career he scored three hits with 'Come On Let's Go', 'Donna' and 'La Bamba' before being killed in an air crash on February 3rd 1959 which also took the lives of Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper.. He was just 17. Associate producer Daniel Valdez spent 2 1/2 years searching for Ritchie's family then discovered them living just 15 minutes from where he lived. He then spent months learning all about Ritchie before writing a script which he gave to the family for their approval and with it filming went ahead. The part of Ritchie went to the then 25 year old unknown Lou Diamond Phillips who put on 15lbs to get a chubbier face and learned how to sing and play the guitar after he'd past the audition. During the filming Lou married his own 'Donna' Julie Cyphers who was a production assistant on 'La Bamba'.- Music Department
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Robert & Johnny is known for After Hours (1985), The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) and La Bamba (1987).- Music Department
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Dion DiMucci was born on 18 July 1939 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), Behind Enemy Lines (2001) and Road House (1989). He has been married to Susan Butterfield since 23 March 1963. They have three children.- Soundtrack
The Belmonts were a "doo-wop" group that formed in the Bronx, New York, in the 1950s. It was named after the street several of its member lived on, Belmont Avenue. The original members were Dion DiMucci, Carlo Mastrangelo, Freddie Millano and Angelo D'Aleo.
The group had recorded several songs for Mohawk Records, which went nowhere. They left Mohawk for a newly formed label, Laurie Records. Their first record for Laurie, "I Wonder Why", was released in 1958 and became an instant hit. They continued with a string of hits, including "No One Knows", "A Teenager in Love" and "Where or When".
In 1961 DiMucci left the group for a solo career. The Belmonts continued on without him, and recorded into the 1960s, having several modest hits. The group continued recording, with many personnel changes, well into the 1990s, and even had several reunion concerts and albums with DiMucci, although he never officially rejoined the group.- Composer
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Pianist/singer Jimmy McCracklin was born in 1921 in Arkansas but raised in St. Louis, MO. He served in the US Navy during World War II, and after the war he moved to Los Angeles, CA, to become a professional boxer, using the name Jimmy Mackey. He fought as a light-heavyweight, and won nearly two dozen bouts before deciding to leave boxing for a career as an R&B pianist, something he had been doing on the side during his boxing days. He met up with producer Robert Geddins in 1947 and recorded for Geddins' Cavatone label. He also released songs in a variety of genres--blues, R&B, big-band swing--for a succession of labels in the 1940s and 1950s. His first big hit, "The Walk", was recorded for Checker Records in 1958. He has recorded more singles and albums over the years, though none had the success of "The Walk".- Composer
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Jerry Butler got his start in the music business at age 18 when he and his friend Curtis Mayfield formed a singing group and named them The Impressions. They had an almost immediate hit with a song Butler wrote, "For Your Precious Love", which became the group's first gold record. Nicknamed "The Iceman" by legendary Philadelphia DJ Georgi Woods for his smooth, cool delivery and effortless style, Butler has had numerous hits on his own since embarking on a solo career, "He Will Break Your Heart", "Moon River", "Only the Strong Survive" and "Never Gonna Give You Up" being among his biggest. He has been nominated three times for a Grammy award, has won a CLIO award for writing and producing TV commercials, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 and the Rhythm & Blues Foundation in 1994. Iin addition to his music career, Butler also has a career in politics: he is a member of the Cook County (Illinois) Board of Commissioners, having first been elected in 1985.- Actor
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Rock'n'roll musician Link Wray reigns supreme as one of the best, most important, influential, and innovative guitarists to emerge from the 1950's. Wray was the creator of the power-chord and was one of the first musicians to experiment with both distortion and the burning fuzz-tone guitar sound in his instrumental recordings; his harsh and raw, yet potent and effective simple guitar style inspired such rock music genres as heavy metal, punk, thrash, and alternative rock. Link primarily recorded instrumentals during his peak years in the 1950's and 1960's, but also did some singing as well in his distinctively rough'n'growly voice. He was born as Fred Lincoln Wray, Jr. on March 2, 1929 in Dunn, North Carolina. He was the second son of Fred and Lillian Mae and was three quarters Shawnee Indian. Wray was taught at age eight how to play guitar from a black man named Hambone. Link served as an Army medic during the Korean war and contracted tuberculosis during his tour of duty (he lost a lung to the disease in 1956). Wray played guitar in a band with his brothers Doug and Vernon following his stint in the Army. They performed country and western music at local clubs in Virginia. The entire Wray family moved to Washington, DC in 1955. In 1957 Wray formed a new rock'n'roll band called Link Wray and the Raymen. Link scored his greatest and most vital hit in 1958 with the extremely intense and moody instrumental classic "Rumble," which went to #16 on the Billboard charts and sold over a million copies. Wray's follow-up tunes "Rawhide" and "Jack the Ripper" likewise did well. Alas, such latter excellent and exciting hard-rocking instrumentals as "Dixie-Doodle," "Run Chicken Run," "Deuces Wild," and "Ace of Spades" all failed to crack the pop charts. However, Wray nonetheless amassed a huge and loyal worldwide cult following. In the late 1970's Link recorded two albums for and toured with rockabilly revivalist Robert Gordon. His songs have been featured on the soundtracks to such films as "Riding Giants," "Confessions of A Dangerous Mind," "Independence Day," "Desperado," "Pulp Fiction," "Breathless," and "Pink Flamingos." Link continued to record albums and perform at concerts all over the world right to the end. Link Wray died at age 76 from heart failure on November 5, 2005 at his home in Copenhagen, Denmark.- Soundtrack
The Crests, one of the most popular of the '50s "doo-wop" vocal groups, formed in 1955 in Manhattan, NY. They were quite unusual for their time in that they were a thoroughly integrated group--two black males (J.T. Carter and Talmadge Gough), a black female (Patricia Van Dross, sister of Luther Vandross), a Puerto Rican (Harold Torres) and an Italian (John Mastrangelo, aka Johnny Maestro). They began performing at various hospitals, charity functions, dances and other venues in their neighborhoods (Gough, Vandross and Torres came from housing projects in Chinatown, and Carter came from the Delancey Street neighborhood). In 1956 Maestro, from Mulberry Street in the Italian section, met the group while they were singing at a neighborhood gathering place known as the Henry Street Settlement House. Maestro, who had previously sang in other integrated vocal groups, liked what he heard, and his strong voice and an instinctual feel for R&B impressed the group, so they joined forces. Calling themselves The Crests, they refined and polished their sound with the help of an old neighborhood singer known as Mr. Morrow and the cavernous spaces of the New York City subway system. One night they were practicing their harmonies while riding in a nearly empty car on the Lexington IRT line, and as the car pulled into the station a woman passenger got up, went over to them and handed them a business card--it turned out she was the wife of Al Browne, a well-known arranger and producer. The next day they called him, arranged an audition and it wasn't long before they were in a studio recording some of Maestro's original songs. Joyce Records released both of them, "Sweetest One" and "My Juanita", and "Sweetest One" hit the charts at #86. They released a third single, "No One to Love", and then went out and did shows for the next year. A fortuitous meeting with veteran music producer George Paxton resulted in a deal with Paxton's newly formed Coed Records (minus Patricia Van Dross, whose mother refused to let her go out on tour with the group).
Their first release for Coed, "Pretty Little Angel", started out well in the New York area, but then faded quickly. Their next release, "Beside You", was a ballad. Popular New York DJ Alan Freed and TV producer Dick Clark got their copies and, apparently, didn't care too much for it. However, they did care for the record's "B" side, "16 Candles". It got considerable airplay and hit the Billboard Hot 100 charts in late 1958 and the R&B charts in early 1959. It was a huge hit, reaching #2 on the charts, and resulted in the group's being added to the roster at Freed's Christmas rock-'n'-roll show at the Brooklyn Fox theater, along with such icons as Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. They also played the famed Apollo Theater and appeared on Clark's radio version of his famous "American Bandstand" TV show. They were in such demand that for almost two years, between 1958-60, they were continuously on the road. They continued pumping out hits ("The Angels Listened In", "Step by Step", "Trouble in Paradise"), and Coed Records soon let it be known that they wanted Maestro to go out on his own. He did so in 1960, and the group went through several personnel changes ("I Remember" was the last single with all the original members) over the next few years, and signed with a variety of labels, but never repeated their previous successes.- Actor
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Phil Phillips was born on 14 March 1926 in Crowley, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for Frequency (2000), Sea of Love (1989) and The Protégé (2021). He was married to Bell Baptiste. He died on 14 March 2020 in Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA.- Actor
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The Twilights is known for A Most Wanted Man (2014), The Go!! Show (1964) and Once Upon a Twilight (1975).- Actor
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New Orleans R&B singer Frankie Ford was born on August 4, 1939 in Gretna, Louisiana. He was the adopted son of Vincent and Anna Guzzo. He studied singing and dancing as a boy and made his stage debut at age five in 1945. He performed on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour in New York City in 1952 and won many local, national, and regional vocal competitions while still a child.
Frankie was a singer and piano player for the group the Syncopators during his high school years. He had a good-sized regional hit with the song "Cheatin' Woman" for Ace Records in the late 1950s, but he scored his biggest and most beloved smash with the infectiously buoyant "Sea Cruise," which peaked at #14 on the Billboard pop charts in 1959 ("Sea Cruise" has not only been used in TV commercials for such products as Coors Light Beer, Diet Coke, and Sprite, but has also been featured on the soundtracks to the films My American Cousin (1985), Stewardess School (1986) and Ski Patrol (1990)). Alas, such equally fine follow-up singles as "Danny Boy," "Alimony," and "I Wanna Be Your Man" were only modest successes. In 1962 Frankie was drafted into the US Army and entertained troops in Vietnam, Korea, and America as a member of the Special Services. He appears as himself in the excellent 1978 Alan Freed bio movie American Hot Wax (1978).
Ford continued to tour and perform at various concerts, festivals, and nightclubs on a regular basis throughout for several decades. In addition, he closed the Gretna Heritage Festival every first weekend in October and appeared every year as a headliner at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. He was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2010. Frankie Ford died at age 76 on September 28, 2015 at his home in Gretna, Louisiana.- Soundtrack
R&B singer Wilbert Harrison was born in 1929 in Charlotte, NC. He had been making records for a variety of small labels since the early 1950s, but never had a hit. That changed in 1959, when he recorded "Kansas City"--written by legendary songwriting team Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller--and it reached #1 on the R&B charts. Harrison toured in various R&B and rock shows and continued to record. In 1969 he had a comeback of sorts when he recorded "Let's Work Together", which he also wrote, and it went to #32 on the pop charts.
He kept recording and touring into the 1980s, but didn't meet with much success. He eventually left the music business.