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Fred Sledge Smith
Fred Sledge Smith (May 18, 1933 – July 29, 2005), often credited as Fred Smith, was an American R&B songwriter and record producer, who worked in particular with The Olympics, Bob & Earl, Bill Cosby, and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band. Biography Smith was born in Los Angeles, where his mother, Effie Smith, worked as a singer and comic entertainer. He started his career as a songwriter in the 1950s with his friend Cliff Goldsmith. They wrote the novelty song "Western Movies", which was recorded by vocal group The Olympics, who were managed by Smith's stepfather, John Criner. The song was released on the Demon record label, and rose to #8 on the '' Billboard'' Hot 100, and #7 on the R&B chart, in 1958.Jason Alkeny, Biography of Fred Smith, ''Allmusic.com'' Retrieved 23 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world's most populous megacities. Los Angeles is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With a population of roughly 3.9 million residents within the city limits , Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic and cultural diversity, being the home of the Hollywood film industry, and its sprawling metropolitan area. The city of Los Angeles lies in a basin in Southern California adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in the west and extending through the Santa Monica Mountains and north into the San Fernando Valley, with the city bordering the San Gabriel Valley to it's east. It covers about , and is the county seat of Los Angeles County, which is the most populous county in the United States with an estim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hully Gully (song)
"(Baby) Hully Gully" is a song written by Fred Sledge Smith and Cliff Goldsmith and recorded by The Olympics. Released in 1959, it peaked at number 72 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in February 1960 and sparked the Hully Gully dance craze. Cover versions "(Baby) Hully Gully" was covered by a number of different artists, sometimes under the name "Hully Gully (Baby)", "Hully Gully Baby" or simply "Hully Gully". * Buddy Guy, ''Stone Crazy! 1960–1967'' (recorded 1960) * Chubby Checker, ''It's Pony Time'' (1961) * The Ventures, ''Mashed Potatoes and Gravy'' (1962) * The Dovells, single (1962) * Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers (1962) (appears on some bootlegs miscredited as The Beatles) * The Searchers, ''At the Star Club'' * The Beach Boys, ''Beach Boys' Party!'' (1965) * Jackie Lee, ''The Duck'' (1966) * Hollywood Argyles, single (1960) * Mike Bloomfield, ''Junko Partner'' and ''Prescription for the Blues'' (recorded 1977) * Grateful Dead (Amsterdam, 10-16-1981) * The A-Bones ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gene Page
Eugene Edgar Page Jr. (September 13, 1939 – August 24, 1998) was an American conductor, composer, arranger and record producer, most active from the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s. His sound can be heard in the arrangements he did for Jefferson Starship, the Righteous Brothers, the Supremes, the Four Tops, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Mathis, Donna Loren, Nancy Wilson, Martha and the Vandellas, Cher, Harriet Schock, Barry White, the Love Unlimited Orchestra, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, George Benson, the Jackson 5, Roberta Flack, Elton John (" Philadelphia Freedom"), Leo Sayer, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, Frankie Valli, Helen Reddy and Lionel Richie among many other notable acts in popular music. In addition, he released four solo albums and scored various motion picture soundtracks that include ''Brewster McCloud'' and '' Fun with Dick and Jane''. In 1972, he was hired to score the Blaxplotation film ''Blacula''. Gene Page was the brother of musician, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harlem Shuffle
"Harlem Shuffle" is an R&B song written and originally recorded by the duo Bob & Earl in 1963. In 1986, it was covered by the British rock band The Rolling Stones on their album '' Dirty Work''. Bob & Earl The original single, arranged by Gene Page, peaked at on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and on the ''Cash Box'' chart. The record was a commercial failure when first released in the UK in 1963, but on reissue in 1969 peaked at . It was released on Marc Records, a subsidiary of Titan Records. Barry White stated in a 1995 interview with the ''Boston Herald'' that, despite some claims to the contrary, he had no involvement with "Harlem Shuffle", though Page and White later worked extensively together.White, Barry"Telephone interview with Larry Katz."June 1 or 2, 1995. ''The Katz Tapes.'' Retrieved June 4, 2015.Nelson, Valerie J"'Harlem Shuffle' co-writer was part of the soul duo Bob & Earl."Los Angeles Times, July 25, 2008. Retrieved January 16, 2016. In 2003, the original ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Relf
Robert Nelson Relf (January 10, 1937 – November 20, 2007) was an American R&B and soul musician. Best known as half of the soul music duo Bob & Earl whose song, Harlem Shuffle was released in the US in 1963 and in the UK in 1964. It was re-released 1969 reaching No 7 in the UK charts. Relf's recording of the song "Blowing My Mind to Pieces" was written by Lou Barreto as well as being produced by Lou Barreto and Rod Bumgardner. The song became popular on the Northern soul scene in the UK in the 1970s. Musical career Relf attended Fremont High School, Los Angeles, and in 1954 joined fellow pupils Sam Jackson, Ted Brown and Ronald Brown in forming a doo wop group, The Laurels. They recorded on the Combo and the Cash Record labels. Their "Our Love" an operatic ballad on the Cash label was described by the music writer Jim Dawson as one of Relf's best recordings – "a strange, lugubrious performance that sounds like nothing else". Relf's solo recording of "Little Fool" followed i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob And Earl
Bob & Earl were an American music singing duo in the 1960s, best known for writing and recording the original version of "Harlem Shuffle". Career The original duo were Bobby Byrd and Earl Nelson. They had both been members of The Hollywood Flames, a prolific doo-wop group in Los Angeles, California whose major hit was "Buzz-Buzz-Buzz" in 1958, on which Nelson sang lead. By 1957, Byrd had started a parallel solo career, writing and recording for contractual reasons as Bobby Day. He wrote and recorded the original version of "Little Bitty Pretty One", and had a hit of his own with " Rockin' Robin" (1958). In 1957, Day/Byrd and Nelson began recording together as Bob & Earl, on the Class record label. However, these releases had relatively little success, and Day/Byrd restarted his solo career. In 1962, Nelson recruited a second "Bob", Bobby Relf, who also used the stage names of Bobby Garrett and Bobby Valentino. Relf had already led several Los Angeles based acts in his career, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Randy Wood (music Executive)
Randall Albert "Randy" Wood (October 10, 1929 – October 7, 1980) was an American record company executive. As an executive and later President of Vee-Jay Records in the early 1960s, he was involved in the early successes of the Four Seasons, as well as the releases of the first Beatles records in the United States. He later launched several independent record labels including Mira and Mirwood. Life Wood was born in New York City, and started work in a record store in Manhattan before serving in the US Merchant Marine. After working for the Columbia and Folkways labels, he set up his own record store in New York in 1954. Three years later, he joined Kapp Records, working in A&R and promotion as assistant sales manager. Dave Dexter Jr., "L.A. Rites For Vee J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vee-Jay Records
Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a husband-and-wife team who used their initials for the label's name.Thompson, Dave (2002). ''A Music Lover's Guide to Record Collecting'', pp. 286-89. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. . Vivian's brother, Calvin Carter, was the label's A&R man. Ewart Abner, formerly of Chance Records, joined the label in 1955, first as manager, then as vice president, and ultimately as president. One of the earliest African American-owned record companies, Vee-Jay quickly became a major R&B label, with the first song recorded, the Spaniels' "Baby It's You," making it to the top ten on the national R&B charts. Notable artists Major acts on the label in the 1950s included blues singers Jimmy Reed, Memphis Slim, and John Lee Hooker, and rhythm and blues vocal g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mirwood Records
Mirwood Records was an American record label founded by former Vee-Jay executive Randy Wood in Los Angeles in 1965. The Mirwood label was a sister label to Mira Records. It primarily released rhythm and blues and jazz recordings, Mike Callahan, David Edwards, and Patrice Eyries, '"Mirwood Album Discography" Retrieved 22 October 2014 and has been described as "among the definitive Northern soul labels". Jason Ankeny, "Review: The Mirwood Soul Story", ''Allmusic.com'' Retrieved 22 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by their vocal harmony, vocal harmonies, adolescent-themed lyrics, and musical ingenuity, they are one of the most influential acts of the rock era. They drew on the music of traditional pop, older pop vocal groups, 1950s rock and roll, and black R&B to create their unique sound. Under Brian's direction, they often incorporated classical music, classical or jazz elements and Recording studio as an instrument, unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways. The Beach Boys began as a garage band, managed by the Wilsons' father Murry Wilson, Murry, with Brian serving as composer, arranger, producer, and ''de facto'' leader. In 1963, they enjoyed their first national hit with "Surfin' U.S.A.", beginning a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including The Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighters' R&B song " The Twist", and the Pony dance style with the 1961 cover of the song "Pony Time". His biggest UK hit, "Let's Twist Again", was released one year later (in 1962); that year, he also popularized the song "Limbo Rock", originally a previous-year instrumental hit by the Champs to which he added lyrics, and its trademark Limbo dance, as well as other dance styles such as The Fly. In September 2008, "The Twist" topped '' Billboard''s list of the most popular singles to have appeared in the Hot 100 since its debut in 1960, an honor it maintained for an August 2013 update of the list. Early life Checker was born Ernest Evans in Spring Gully, South Carolina. He was raised in the projects of South Philadelphia, where he lived with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cover Version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song released around the same time as the original in order to compete with it. Now, it refers to any subsequent version performed after the original. History The term "cover" goes back decades when cover version originally described a rival version of a tune recorded to compete with the recently released (original) version. Examples of records covered include Paul Williams' 1949 hit tune "The Hucklebuck" and Hank Williams' 1952 song "Jambalaya". Both crossed over to the popular hit parade and had numerous hit versions. Before the mid-20th century, the notion of an original version of a popular tune would have seemed slightly odd – the production of musical entertainment was seen as a live event, even if it was reproduced at home via a cop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
