Andrea Lee DeCapite (born October 3, 1946), known by her stage name Andrea Carroll, is an American former

pop singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and actress, who had a ''

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top 50 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "conte ...

hit in 1963 with "It Hurts To Be Sixteen", and has subsequently worked as a therapist and acting coach. Now, after her marriage, she is known as Andrea Hill,

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

Life

She was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, and at the age of three began appearing on television as a singer in ''The Gene Carroll Show'', a

talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

hosted by Carroll (1897–1972) that was broadcast in the

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

area. She took the stage name Carroll and continued to appear regularly on the show through the 1950s. She made her first recordings as a pop singer on the

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

label with "Young and Lonely" in 1961, followed by "Please Don't Talk to the Lifeguard", which became a major hit in the Cleveland area but failed to break into the national charts. After further singles on Epic failed to become hits, she signed with Bright Tunes Productions in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and recorded "It Hurts To Be Sixteen" – her real age at the time – released on the Big Top label. "It Hurts to Be Sixteen" was written as an

answer song An answer song, response song or answer record, is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...

to Neil Sedaka's hit "

Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" is a pop song released in 1961 by Neil Sedaka. Sedaka wrote the music and performed the song, while the lyrics were written by Howard Greenfield. The song is noted for being similar in musical structure to Take Good ...

," with a melody by Sedaka and lyrics by Ronnie Grossman, a chemist who was married to Sedaka's sister. Carroll's recording featured the Chiffons on uncredited backing vocals, and rose to number 45 on the US pop chart in 1963. However, the follow-up record, "The Doolang", written by Howard Greenfield and

Helen Miller Helen Miller may refer to: * Helen Miller (cricketer) (1915–1972), New Zealand cricketer * Helen Miller (politician) (born 1945), American politician * Helen Miller (songwriter) (1925–2006), American songwriter * Helen Hill Miller (1899–1995 ...

, also featuring the Chiffons, failed to chart. Carroll released several more singles on the RCA and

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

labels, including "Hey Beach Boy", but they were unsuccessful. She continued to appear on ''The Gene Carroll Show'' through to the mid-1960s, and also toured with her own band, before giving up her musical career. Andrea Carroll, ''BuckeyeBeat.com''
Retrieved 13 October 2015 She attended

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in As ...

in the late 1960s, and made her final appearance on ''The Gene Carroll Show'' on a special tribute edition following Carroll's death. She later married television producer Lyle B. Hill, and trained as a clinical therapist. The couple own the Weist-Barron-Hill acting school in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

. Andrea Hill has published ''Making It In The Business'', a book of guidance for people seeking to enter the entertainment industry. Chuck Benjamin, "Andrea Carroll – Pop Princess to Ph.D.", ''Tunedex Memories'', March 8, 2008
Retrieved 13 October 2015

Discography

References

Andrea also appeared on TV, on American Bandstand and on Baltimore's The Buddy Deane Show. She was also featured in Teen magazines of the early 1960s.

Filmography

TV SHOWS 1. The Gene Carroll show (1897-1972).-Herself {{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Andrea 1946 births Living people American women singers Singers from Cleveland Kent State University alumni Musicians from Burbank, California 21st-century American women