Dave “Baby” Cortez was born David Cortez Clowney in Detroit, Michigan in 1938. He started playing the piano at a young age and became something of a prodigy. He wrote “The Happy Organ” with a different title, “A Dog and … Continue reading →
The Fleetwoods were made up of two girls and a guy. The girls were Gretchen Christopher and Barbara Ellis who knew each other most of their lives. In fact they grew up in the same neighborhood and played together as … Continue reading →
It probably won’t surprise anyone to learn that Frankie Avalon is not his real name, although his real name is not that different. He was born Francis Thomas Avallone in 1939 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In his youth he wanted to … Continue reading →
Lloyd Price is from the New Orleans school of rock and roll. He has that in common with many other performers, most notably Fats Domino. He was born March 9, 1933 in the Big Easy and was interested in music … Continue reading →
And so we come to the last gasp of the Big Band era. “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” was a number one song by the Paul Whiteman Orchestra in 1934 and charted by other performers that year as well. It … Continue reading →
We have made it to the last number one of 1958. We’ve seen David Seville before. He had the number one hit “Witch Doctor” earlier in 1958. This time he is with three rambunctious cartoon chipmunks who sing the biggest … Continue reading →
Phil Spector was one of the biggest producers of rock and roll during the early Sixties. He produced such groups as the Crystals, the Ronettes, Bobby Sox and the Blue Jeans and the Righteous Brothers. He started his own record … Continue reading →
“Tom Dooley” is a song that dates back to 1868. It tells the story of a man named Tom Dula who was accused of murdering a woman named Laura Foster in Wilkes County, North Carolina. Dula, a Confederate soldier, was … Continue reading →
Did you know that Conway Twitty was not his real name? Conway was born Harold Lloyd Jenkins, named for the famous silent film star Harold Lloyd, in 1933 in Friars Point, Mississippi. Harold had his choice of several careers. He … Continue reading →
How many people know that a vice-president of the United States wrote a song that became a number one hit? It’s only happened once in the history of music. Now, Joe Biden could break that record by writing a song … Continue reading →