Craig Douglas (born Terence Perkins, 13 August 1941) is an English pop singer, who was popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s. His sole UK chart-topper, "

Only Sixteen "Only Sixteen" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sam Cooke, released in May 1959. The song was a top 15 hit on ''Billboard's'' Hot R&B Sides chart and also charted within the top 30 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. ...

" (1959), sold more copies in the UK than

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

's original version.

Career

Born a twin, in Newport,

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

, the former Terence Perkins was employed as a

milkman Milk delivery is a delivery service dedicated to supplying milk. This service typically delivers milk in bottles or cartons directly to customers' homes. This service is performed by a milkman, milkwoman, or milk deliverer. (In contrast, a cow ...

before becoming a professional singer and was known to many as the 'Singing Milkman'. His manager was

Bunny Lewis Bridges Georges McGibbon Lewis (12 November 1918 – 7 September 2001) professionally known under pen name Bunny Lewis, also known professionally under various pseudonyms was a London-based manager, record producer and composer and music manager ...

, who gave him the name Craig Douglas. Lewis saw the name outside a house in Scotland. Douglas said there were a number of Terrys around at the time and not many Craigs and that was one of the reasons his name was changed. Voted 'Best New Singer' in 1959 in the British music magazine, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', Douglas went on to record eight

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 release ...

s of former American

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 ...

songs, in his total of nine

Top 40 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 " con ...

UK singles. Amongst that tally, Douglas had a

Number One Number One most commonly refers to: * 1 (number) Number One, No. 1, or #1 may also refer to: Music Albums * ''Number 1'' (Big Bang album), and the title song * ''No. 1'' (BoA album), and the title song * ''No.1'' (EP), by CLC * ''n.1 ...

single in 1959 with "Only Sixteen", which easily outsold

's original version in the UK. It was recorded at EMI's Abbey Road studios, with whistling by

Mike Sammes Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and docume ...

, and released through

Top Rank Top Rank, Inc. is a boxing promotional company founded by Jabir Herbert Muhammad and Bob Arum, which was incorporated in 1973, and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since its founding, Top Rank has promoted many world class fighters, including Muh ...

records. Douglas had four consecutive Number 9 placings on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. In 1961 Douglas entered the ''

A Song For Europe A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'' contest with his song "The Girl Next Door" but did not do well. Douglas also starred in the 1962 film ''

It's Trad, Dad! ''It's Trad, Dad!'' (1962), known in the U.S. as ''Ring-A-Ding Rhythm'', is a British musical comedy featuring performances by a variety of Dixieland jazz bands and rock-and-roll singers. The film was one of the first produced by Amicus Producti ...

'' He topped the bill on

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' first major stage show, although their emergence ultimately spelt the end of Douglas's

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 ...

career. His final chart entry came in February 1963, when "Town Crier" flopped at Number 36. He continues to perform, with bookings at night clubs and on

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

s. Until 2010, Douglas toured venues across the UK, including the Medina Theatre on the Isle of Wight. He appeared at the Amersham Rock 'n' Roll Club on 11 December 2010, an event in his benefit.

John Leyton John Dudley Leyton (born 17 February 1936) is an English actor and singer. As a singer he is best known for his hit song "Johnny Remember Me" (written by Geoff Goddard and produced by Joe Meek), which reached number one in the UK Singles Chart ...

, Mike Berry and the Flames all took part, while

Jet Harris Jet, Jets, or The Jet(s) may refer to: Aerospace * Jet aircraft, an aircraft propelled by jet engines ** Jet airliner ** Jet engine ** Jet fuel * Jet Airways, an Indian airline * Wind Jet (ICAO: JET), an Italian airline * Journey to Enceladus a ...

and other celebrities attended. Douglas sang three songs from his wheelchair at the close of the concert. He suffers from a rare condition that affects his legs.

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the hea ...

filmed the event. On 18 April 2011, a rare Douglas recording saw a limited 7" vinyl reissue of "Don't Mind If I Cry", produced by

Tony Hatch Anthony Peter Hatch (born 30 June 1939) is an English composer for musical theatre and television. He is also a songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer. Early life and early career Hatch was born in Pinner, Middlesex. Encouraged by his mus ...

, on the UK-based Spoke Records label. This had previously been the B-side to Douglas' 1969 release, "

Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1969 film ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid''. The uplifting lyrics describe somebody who overcomes his troubles and worries by realizing that "it w ...

", a cover of the

B.J. Thomas Billy Joe Thomas (August 7, 1942 – May 29, 2021) was an American singer widely known for his pop, country and Christian hits of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Popular songs by Thomas include "Hooked on a Feeling" (1968), "Raindrops Keep Fallin' ...

song. Douglas' 2011 album, ''The Craig Douglas Project'', included his versions of " Auberge" and " Creep".

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

* ''Craig Douglas'' (1960) – UK #17 * ''Bandwagon Ball'' (1961) * ''Our Favourite Melodies'' (1962) – SWE #10 * ''Looking Back: Greatest Hits'' (2005) – tracks re-recorded * ''The Golden Anniversary Album'' (2008) – tracks re-recorded * ''The Craig Douglas Project'' (2011)

Compilation albums

* ''Oh Lonesome Me'' (1981) * ''Only 16'' (1984) * ''The Best of the EMI Years'' (1993) * ''The Very Best of Craig Douglas'' (2004) * ''Only Sixteen'' (2019)

Singles

Notes

Releases on the Top Rank label

* BUY049: ''Craig Douglas'' – album –

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

– Number 17 * 35/103: ''Bandwagon Ball'' – album * JAR110: "

Come Softly to Me "Come Softly to Me" is a popular song recorded by The Fleetwoods, composed of Gretchen Christopher, Barbara Ellis, and Gary Troxel, who also wrote it. The original title was "Come Softly", but was changed en route to its becoming a hit. Bob Reisdo ...

" / "Golden Girl" – single * JAR133: "

A Teenager in Love "A Teenager in Love" is a song written by Doc Pomus and partner Mort Shuman. It was originally recorded by Dion and the Belmonts, and released in March 1959. It appeared on their album ''Presenting Dion and the Belmonts'' (1959). It reached numb ...

" / "The 39 Steps" – single * JAR159: "Only Sixteen" / "My First Love Affair" – single * JAR204: "Wish It Were Me" / "The Riddle of Love" – single * JAR268: "

Pretty Blue Eyes "Pretty Blue Eyes" is a song written by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein. In 1959, it was a hit single for Steve Lawrence, and in 1960 for Craig Douglas. Steve Lawrence version In 1959, Steve Lawrence released the song as a single. Lawrence's v ...

" / " Sandy" – single * JAR340: "The Heart of a Teenage Girl" / "New Boy" – single * JAR406: "Oh What a Day" / "Why Why Why" – single * JAR515: "Where's the Girl (I Never Met)" / "My Hour of Love" – single * JAR543: "The Girl Next Door" / "Hey Mister Conscience" – single * JAR555: " A Hundred Pounds of Clay" / "Hello Spring" – single (

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

uncensored) * JAR556: "A Hundred Pounds of Clay" / "Hello Spring" – single * JAR569: "Time" / "After All" – single * JAR589: "No Greater Love" / "We'll Have a Lot to Tell the Children" – single * JAR603: "A Change of Heart" / "Another You" – single * JAR610: "When My Little Girl is Smiling" / "Ring-A-Ding" – single * JKR8033: "Craig Sings For Roxy" – EP

References

External links

Douglas's entry at 45-rpm.org
* Allmusic page
Spokerecords.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Craig 1941 births Living people English male singers English pop singers English twins People from Newport, Isle of Wight Traditional pop music singers