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Barry Frank
Barry Frank (September 1930 – December 2, 2016) was a smooth-voiced 1950s and early 1960s pop and rock and roll vocalist who professionally recorded numerous 78s, 45s, 33s, and extended play/long play albums for Bell, Columbia, Jubilee, Seeco and other record companies in the United States and Europe. In many cases, Frank covered recordings debuted by other artists, and Frank's talented vocals won acclaim as being far better than the original artists who performed them. These included songs like "Party Doll", "Earth Angel" and "The Great Pretender". In addition to his solo work, Frank also had a brief stint as the lead singer of the Sammy Kaye orchestra. Although his hit recording career did not lead to permanent stardom, Frank continued performing. For many decades, he was master of ceremonies (emcee) of the Raleigh Hotel in South Fallsburg, New York, from the 1970s through the 2000s (when the hotel closed), and also performed as a singer at other Catskills resorts on off nig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bell Records
Bell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 in New York City by Arthur Shimkin, the owner of the children's record label Golden Records, and initially a unit of Pocket Books, after the rights to the name were acquired from Benny Bell who used the Bell name to issue risque novelty records. A British branch was also active in the 1960s and 1970s. Bell Records was shut down in late 1974, and its assets were transferred to Columbia Pictures' new label, Arista Records. 1950s At its inception in 1952, Bell specialized in budget generic pop music, with the slogan "music for the millions". Originally sold on seven-inch 78rpm and 45rpm records for 39 cents (US), this style of music went out of fashion as rock and roll became more prevalent. Sound-alike cover versions of hit records were also issued on 78rpm as well as 45rpm disks priced at 49 cents. One of these records was by "Tom & Jerry" who would later become known using their real surnames, Simon & Garfunkel. Ins ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the Graphophone#Commercialization, American Graphophone Company, the successor to the Volta Laboratory and Bureau#Commercialization of phonograph patents, Volta Graphophone Company. Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in the recorded sound business, and the second major company to produce records. From 1961 to 1991, its recordings were released outside North America under the name CBS Records International, CBS Records to avoid confusion with EMI's Columbia Graphophone Company. Columbia is one of Sony Music's four flagship record labels, alongside former longtime rival RCA Records, as well as Arista Records and Epic Records. Artists who have recorded for Columbia include AC/DC, Adele, Aerosmith, Julie And ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jubilee Records
Jubilee Records was an American independent record label, specializing in rhythm and blues and novelty records. It was founded in New York City in 1946 by Herb Abramson. His partner was Jerry Blaine. Blaine bought Abramson's half of the company in 1947, when Abramson went on to co-found Atlantic Records with Ahmet Ertegun. The company name was Jay-Gee Recording Company, a subsidiary of the Cosnat Corporation. Cosnat was a wholesale record distributor. History Jubilee was the first independent record label to reach the white market with a black vocal group, when the Orioles' recording of "Crying in the Chapel" reached the Top Twenty on the Pop chart in 1953. The Four Tunes started recording for Jubilee in 1953. The biggest early hit for Jubilee was "Crying in the Chapel" by the Orioles. A subsidiary label, Josie Records, was formed in 1954 and issued more uptempo material. Hits on Josie included "Speedoo" by the Cadillacs (number 3 R&B, number 17 pop) and "Do You Wanna Dance" by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Party Doll
"Party Doll" is a 1957 rock 'n' roll song written by Buddy Knox and Jimmy Bowen. Bronson, Fred (2003). ''The Billboard Book of #1 Hits'', 5th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 19. It was performed by Buddy Knox with the Rhythm Orchids, recorded in April 1956, and it became a hit on the Roulette label. Background Buddy Knox was a teenager living near Happy, Texas, in 1948 when he wrote the original verses of "Party Doll" behind a haystack on his family farm. While attending college at West Texas State University, he and two college friends, Jimmy Bowen and Don Lanier, traveled to Clovis, New Mexico, to record the song at the studio of Norman Petty. Knox's sister and two of her friends, Iraene Potts of Amarillo and a neighbor, sang background vocals on the song and a girl from the marching band of Clovis High School was recruited to play cymbal. After pressing copies of the record, a DJ in Amarillo began playing "Party Doll" in 1956 and it soon became a regional hit. Afte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earth Angel
"Earth Angel", occasionally referred to as "Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)", is a song by American doo-wop group the Penguins. Produced by Dootsie Williams, it was released as their debut single in October 1954 on Dootone Records. The Penguins had formed the year prior and recorded the song as a demo in a garage in South Central Los Angeles. The song's origins lie in multiple different sources, among them songs by Jesse Belvin, Patti Page, and the Hollywood Flames. Its authorship was the subject of a bitter legal dispute with Williams in the years following its release. Although the song was going to be overdubbed with additional instrumentation, the original demo version became an unexpected hit, quickly outstripping its A-side. The song grew out of Southern California and spread across the United States over the winter of 1954–55. "Earth Angel" became the first independent label release to appear on '' Billboard'' national pop charts, where it peaked within the top 10. It w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Great Pretender
"The Great Pretender" is a popular song recorded by The Platters, with Tony Williams on lead vocals, and released as a single in November 1955. The words and music were written by Buck Ram, the Platters' manager and producer who was a successful songwriter before moving into producing and management. The song reached No. 1 on ''Billboard''s Top 100, and No. 5 on the UK charts. The song has been covered by a number of singers, most notably by Freddie Mercury, whose version reached No. 4 on the UK charts. Sam Cooke's cover of the song is believed to have inspired Chrissie Hynde to name her band The Pretenders. Platters' original Buck Ram, the manager of The Platters said that he wrote the song in about 20 minutes in the washroom of the Flamingo Hotel in order to have a follow up to the success of "Only You (And You Alone)". Ram had boasted to Bob Shad that he had an even better song than "Only You", and when pressed by Shad on the name of the song, and Ram quickly replied "The Gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sammy Kaye
Sammy Kaye (born Samuel Zarnocay Jr.; March 13, 1910 – June 2, 1987) was an American bandleader and songwriter, whose tag line, "Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye", became one of the most famous of the Big Band Era. The expression springs from his first hit single in 1937, " Swing and Sway" (U.S. #15). His signature tune was " Harbor Lights", a number-one hit from late 1950. Biography Kaye, born in Lakewood, Ohio, United States, graduated from Rocky River High School in Rocky River, Ohio. At Ohio University in Athens, Ohio he was a member of Theta Chi fraternity. Kaye could play the saxophone and the clarinet, but he never featured himself as a soloist on either one. A leader of one of the so-called "Sweet" bands of the Big Band Era, he made a large number of records for Vocalion Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Bell Records, and the American Decca record label. He was also a hit on radio. Kaye was known for an audience participation gimmick called "So You Want to Le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raleigh Hotel (South Fallsburg, New York)
The Raleigh Hotel is a resort hotel in South Fallsburg, New York, within the Borscht Belt region of the Catskill Mountains. The hotel was established in 1937 as a popular kosher destination catering to most traditional Jewish (observant and non-observant) travelers, as well as other religions welcomed. Situated on 200 acres of land in Upstate New York's Borscht Belt, located roughly 90 miles from New York City and just outside the village of Monticello, the Raleigh has hosted several entertainers such as Sammy Davis Jr., Jackie Mason, Milton Berle, and Rodney Dangerfield. For many decades, Barry Frank was the Master of Ceremonies at the resort. The Raleigh's longtime owner Mannie Halbert died in 2004. The Raleigh temporarily closed in December 2005 and then reopened the following year under new ownership, as a retreat for mainly Orthodox Jews Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Jewish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moonlight Gambler
"Moonlight Gambler" is a song written by Bob Hilliard and Phil Springer and performed by Frankie Laine featuring Ray Conniff and His Orchestra. It reached #3 on the U.S. pop chart and #13 on the UK Singles chart in 1957. The single ranked #32 on ''Billboard's'' Year-End top 50 singles of 1957. The song begins with a spoken recitation by Laine saying: "You can gamble for matchsticks,/ You can gamble for Gold,/ The stakes may be heavy or small,/ But, if you haven't gambled for love and lost,/ Then you haven't gambled at all"/ Which is repeated when sung in the Bridge section of the song. Laine's version also features a whistler and a clip clopping sound. Other versions *Gene Barry released a version of the song as the B-side to his 1962 single "Red Silk Stockings and Green Perfume". *Winifred Atwell Una Winifred Atwell (27 February or 27 April 1910 or 1914There is some uncertainty over her date and year of birth. Many sources suggest 27 February 1914, but there is a stron ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teen-Age Crush
"Teen-Age Crush" is a song written by Audrey Allison and Joe Allison and performed by Tommy Sands. It reached #2 on the U.S. pop chart and #10 on the U.S. R&B chart in 1957. The song ranked #33 on ''Billboard's'' Year-End top 50 singles of 1957. Other versions * Barry Frank released a version of the song as a single in 1957, but like his other covers of popular hits of the day released by Bell Records, then a budget label, it did not chart. *Gary Paxton Gary Sanford Paxton (born Larry Wayne Stevens; May 18, 1939 – July 17, 2016) was an American record producer, recording artist, and Grammy and Dove Award winning songwriter. Paxton was a member of Skip & Flip and the Hollywood Argyles and was ... released a version of the song as a single in 1962, but it did not chart. * Ray Whitley released a version of the song as a single in 1963, but it did not chart. References Songs about teenagers 1957 songs 1957 singles 1962 singles 1963 singles Songs written by Joe All ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lips Of Wine
"Lips of Wine" is a song written by Sy Soloway and Shirley Wolfe and performed by Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos .... The song reached #17 on the ''Billboard'' chart in 1957. Archie Bleyer's Orchestra played on the song. Retrieved June 4, 2013 References 1957 singles Andy Williams songs[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Go, Jimmy, Go
"Go, Jimmy, Go" is a song written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman and performed by Jimmy Clanton. It reached #5 on the U.S. pop chart on July 12, 1959, and #19 on the U.S. R&B chart. It was featured on Clanton's 1961 album ''My Best to You''. The song ranked #33 on ''Billboard'' magazine's Top 100 singles of 1960. Production Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman originally wrote a song titled "Go, Bobby, Go" for Bobby Rydell who sung it "half-heartedly" due to not being interested in singing a song with his name in it. Rydell did record the song, but he did not release it. Pomus later rode in a taxi to Fox Theater in Brooklyn where a rock and roll show with Alan Freed was happening, wbere he offered the song to Jimmy Clanton while he was backstage. Pomus changed the title to "Go, Jimmy, Go" and said that the song was written for Clanton. Wayne Harada wrote in ''The Honolulu Advertiser'' that the song is "one of the few upbeat tunes in Jim's repertoire." Reception A ''Billboard'' review ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
