Gerald Granahan (April 20, 1932 – January 10, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known for his work in the 1950s and 1960s.
Life and career
Granahan was born in
Pittston, Pennsylvania
Pittston is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated between Scranton, Pennsylvania, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The city gained prominence in the late 19th an ...
on April 20, 1932. He worked at
WPTS
WPTS-FM (92.1 MHz is a non-commercial radio station owned by the University of Pittsburgh, and offers a mix of student-run programming, ranging from music programming to news and sports coverage. The station operates with an ERP of 16 watts, and ...
as a radio announcer and disc jockey in his youth. His
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
-like voice got him a job recording
demo
Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to:
Music and film
*Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release
* ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes
* ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...
s of songs submitted to Presley.
Granahan was offered a contract with
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
in 1957 as a
rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...
artist under the name Jerry Grant, but his first record release sank without a trace, and another release shortly after on
Mark Records was also a flop.
[
In 1958, Granahan teamed with publisher Tommy Volando on Sunbeam Records, and recorded the single "No Chemise Please".][ The song became a nationwide hit in the U.S., peaking at No. 23 on the '']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 ...
'' " Top 100 Sides".[Top 100 Sides]
, ''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 ...
'', June 30, 1958. p. 34. Retrieved February 10, 2018. None of his next four singles for Sunbeam, however, were successful.[
Around this time, Granahan co-wrote the song "Click-Clack" with Dave Alldred of The Rhythm Orchids. A demo of the tune reached ]Dick Clark
Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 198 ...
, as well as Tony Mammarella, who had just founded Swan Records
Swan Records was a mid-20th century United States-based record label, founded in 1957 and based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It had a subsidiary label called Lawn Records.
History
Swan Records had enjoyed chart success with several U.S. arti ...
. Because of contractual obligations, Granahan released the song under the alias Dickey Doo & the Don'ts on Swan, and Clark guaranteed it airplay on ''American Bandstand
''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...
''.[ "Click-Clack" reached No. 28 on the ''Billboard'' "Top 100 Sides", while reaching No. 8 on ''Billboard''s chart of " Most Played R&B By Jockeys" and No. 14 on ''Billboard''s chart of "R&B Best Sellers in Stores".
The single's success resulted in Granahan recruiting a backing band consisting of Harvey Davis (bass), Al Ways (sax), Ray Gangi (guitar), and Dave Alldred (drums) to tour and record as Dicky Doo & the Don'ts, who went on to chart several more singles. Dicky Doo & the Don'ts would see four more of their songs chart in 1958 and 1959.][ In 1958, " Nee Nee Na Na Na Na Nu Nu" reached No. 40 on the ''Billboard'' "Top 100 Sides", while its flipside "Flip Top Box" reached No. 61 on the ''Billboard'' "Top 100 Sides".] Later that year, "Leave Me Alone (Let Me Cry)
"Leave Me Alone (Let Me Cry)" is a song released in 1958 by Dicky Doo & the Don'ts, a recording alias of Gerry Granahan. The song's melody is based on the Battle Hymn of the Republic. The song spent nine weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reach ...
" reached No. 44 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Their final charting single, "Teardrops Will Fall" reached No. 61 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1959. In 1959, Granahan also managed a regional hit in the U.S. Northeast with the single "Let the Rumors Fly", released on Gone Records
Gone Records was a record label founded in 1957 by George Goldner, along with music publishing arm Real Gone Music, that was active in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Among the artists that recorded for the label were Bill Haley & His Comets, Ral D ...
.[
With Neal Galligan and arranger ]Hutch Davie
Robert Bunyan Davie III (August 4, 1930 – April 7, 2020), professionally known as Hutch Davie, or Bob "Hutch" Davie, and sometimes credited as Bun Davie, Budd McCoy, Clint Harmon or Chuck Harmon, was an American orchestra leader, arranger, pi ...
, Granahan set up Caprice Records, and released singles in the early 1960s by the girl group
A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...
The Angels, and James Ray, among others. Under his own name, he released a version of "Unchained Melody
"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North wrote the music as a theme for the prison film '' Unchained'' (1955), hence the song title. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack.Robert Rodri ...
",[ which reached No. 9 on ''Billboard''s "]Bubbling Under the Hot 100
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...
".
Granahan also produced extensively. He recorded the 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 The Fireflies
The Fireflies were an American doo-wop group from Long Island, New York, from the late 1950s to early 1960s. They were one of the first groups in which all band members both sang and played instruments. In addition, they were the first all-white ...
and the Angels, and later in the 1960s, Patty Duke
Anna Marie "Patty" Duke (December 14, 1946 – March 29, 2016) was an American actress and mental health advocate. Over the course of her acting career, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Aw ...
and Jay & the Americans
Jay and the Americans are an American rock group who formed in the late 1950s. Their initial line-up consisted of John "Jay" Traynor, Howard Kane (born Howard Kirschenbaum), Kenny Vance (born Kenneth Rosenberg) and Sandy Deanne (born Sandy Ya ...
. Granahan produced The Wild Ones' version of the song " Wild Thing", which was dwarfed by the success of the version by The Troggs
The Troggs (originally called the Troglodytes) are an English garage rock band formed in Andover, Hampshire in May 1964. Their most famous songs include the US chart-topper " Wild Thing", "With a Girl Like You" and "Love Is All Around", all o ...
.[ He also produced the original recording of the song "]If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody
"If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody" is a song written by Rudy Clark and first recorded by James Ray in 1961. Ray's recording on the Caprice label, arranged by Hutch Davie and produced by Gerry Granahan, reached number 10 on the US '' Billboar ...
", as recorded by James Ray in 1961.
Later in his career, Granahan served as vice president of Dot Records
Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved ...
and Paramount Records
Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson.
Early years
Paramount Records was formed in 19 ...
.[ He also performed as Dicky Doo and the Don'ts featuring Gerry Granahan. Granahan lived in Rhode Island from the early 1960s, and was inducted into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame in 2012. His two daughters Tara Granahan and Gerrianne Genga are both in the Rhode Island entertainment industry - Tara is a radio personality on WPRO-AM in Providence and Gerrianne is an actress and theater choreographer.
Granahan died at his home in ]East Greenwich, Rhode Island
East Greenwich is a town and the county seat of Kent County, Rhode Island. The population was 14,312 at the 2020 census. East Greenwich is the wealthiest municipality within the state of Rhode Island. It is part of the Providence metropolitan st ...
, on January 10, 2022, at the age of 89.
Discography
Dicky Doo & The Don'ts
* ''Teen Scene'' (1960), 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 ...
: UAS 6097
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Granahan, Gerry
1932 births
2022 deaths
American male singers
Apex Records artists
Record producers from Pennsylvania
Singers from Pennsylvania
People from Pittston, Pennsylvania