Bob & Earl were an American music singing duo in the 1960s, best known for writing and

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

the original version of "

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 Ge ...

Career

The original duo were

Bobby Byrd Bobby Howard Byrd (August 15, 1934 – September 12, 2007) was an American rhythm and blues, soul and funk singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, bandleader and talent scout, who played an integral and important part in the development ...

and

Earl Nelson Earl Nelson, ''of Trafalgar and of Merton in the County of Surrey'', is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 20 November 1805 for the Rev. William Nelson, 2nd Baron Nelson, one month after the death of his young ...

. They had both been members of

The Hollywood Flames The Hollywood Flames were an American R&B vocal group in the 1950s, best known for their No. 11 hit "Buzz-Buzz-Buzz" in 1957. Early years They formed as The Flames in 1949, in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, at a talent show where memb ...

, a prolific

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

group in Los Angeles, California whose major

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

was "

Buzz-Buzz-Buzz "Buzz-Buzz-Buzz" is a song written by John Gray and Bobby Day and performed by The Hollywood Flames. The lead vocals were by Earl Nelson, and later by Bob & Earl. It reached number 5 on the US R&B chart and number 11 on the ''Billboard'' pop c ...

" 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 Robert James Byrd (July 1, 1930 – July 27, 1990), known by the stage name Bobby Day, was an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, and songwriter. He is best known for his hit record " Rockin' Robin", written by Leon René und ...

. He wrote and recorded the original version of "

Little Bitty Pretty One "Little Bitty Pretty One" is a 1957 song written and originally recorded by Bobby Day. The same year, the song was popularized by Thurston Harris. Produced by Aladdin Records (located in Los Angeles, Calif.), and featuring The Rivingtons, the Shar ...

", 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, including the Laurels, the Upfronts, and Valentino and the Lovers. The latter two groups also featured the then pianist and

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

singer

Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...

. This duo of Relf and Nelson recorded several

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

for different labels, before "Harlem Shuffle" in 1963. The song was written by Relf and Nelson,

arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestra ...

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 Jeffer ...

, and produced by Fred Smith. It was based on a number called "Slauson Shuffletime" (named after a boulevard in Los Angeles) by another Los Angeles singer, Round Robin. When released on the Marc label, "Harlem Shuffle" became a modest hit on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

. However, its main success came as late as 1969, when it was re-released in the UK and became a Top Ten hit there. Reportedly,

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

called it his favorite record of all time. In 1964, the duo signed to Loma Records. They recorded for the label but no singles were released. By 1965, Nelson had achieved further success as a solo artist under the alias of Jackie Lee with " The Duck", a hit dance record which reached No. 14 in the U.S. When "Harlem Shuffle" became successful on reissue, Nelson and Relf reunited as Bob & Earl to tour. The duo split up for the last time in the early 1970s. Relf composed the song "Bring Back My Yesterday", recorded by Barry White on his first

20th Century Records 20th Century Fox Records (also known as 20th Fox Records and 20th Century Records, or simply 20th Century Fox Film Scores and Fox Records) was a wholly owned subsidiary of film studio 20th Century Fox. The history of the label covers three dis ...

album, 1973's ''

I've Got So Much to Give "I've Got So Much to Give" is an R&B contemporary romantic ballad composed and recorded by popular soul artist Barry White and released in 1973. It was originally conceived by White as a single but then featured on the album of the same name ( ...

''.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Harlem Shuffle'' (1964) * ''Bob & Earl'' (1969)

Singles

References

External links

*
Obituary of Earl Nelson in ''The Independent'', 30 July 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Earl, Bob and

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 Fl ...

Class Records artists Sue Records artists

Loma Records artists Uni Records artists Jay Boy artists Musical groups established in 1957 Rhythm and blues duos Musical groups from Los Angeles American rhythm and blues musical groups American soul musical groups 1957 establishments in California