Gary U.S. Bonds (born Gary Levone Anderson, June 6, 1939) is an American

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

singer, known for his classic hits "

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

" and " Quarter to Three".

Career

Born in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which th ...

, Bonds lived in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia B ...

, in the 1950s when he began singing publicly in church and with a group called the Turks. He joined record producer Frank Guida's small Legrand Records label where Guida chose Anderson's stage name, U.S. Bonds, in hopes that it would be confused with a

public service announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...

advertising the sale of

government bonds A government bond or sovereign bond is a form of bond issued by a government to support public spending. It generally includes a commitment to pay periodic interest, called coupon payments'','' and to repay the face value on the maturity dat ...

and thereby garner more DJ attention. His first three singles and first album, ''Dance 'Til Quarter to Three'', were released under the U.S. Bonds name, but people assumed it was the name of a group. To avoid confusion, subsequent releases, including his second album ''Twist Up Calypso'', were made under the name Gary (U.S.) Bonds. The parentheses were discarded in the 1970s. "Quarter to Three" sold one million records, earning a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. Subsequent hits, under his modified name, included "

School Is Out "School Is Out" is a song written by Gary U.S. Bonds and Gene Barge and performed by Bonds. It reached #5 on the U.S. pop chart and #12 on the U.S. R&B chart in 1961. It was featured on his 1961 album ''Dance 'Til Quarter to Three with U. S ...

" (#5), "

Dear Lady Twist "Dear Lady Twist" is a song written and produced by Frank Guida, and performed by Gary U.S. Bonds. It reached #5 on the U.S. R&B chart and #9 on the U.S. pop chart in 1962. It was featured on his 1962 album ''Twist Up Calypso''. The song rank ...

" (#9), "School Is In" (#28) and "

Twist, Twist Senora "Twist, Twist Senora" is a song written by Frank Guida, Gene Barge, and Joseph Royster and performed by Gary U.S. Bonds. It reached #9 on the U.S. pop chart in 1962. It was featured on his 1962 album ''Twist Up Calypso''. The song took its ins ...

" (#9) in the early 1960s. In a 1963 tour of Europe, he headlined above

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 ...

. His hits featured solos by the saxophonist

Gene Barge James Gene Barge (born August 9, 1926) is an American tenor and alto saxophonist, composer in several bands, and actor. Biography Born in Norfolk, Virginia in August 1926, he was a founding member of the 1960s band The Church Street Five, which ...

. "Quarter to Three" appears on

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

list. In the early 1980s, Bonds had a career resurgence with two albums recorded with

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...

Steven Van Zandt Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandoli ...

, and the

E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band, and has been musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing caree ...

. ''

Dedication Dedication is the act of consecrating an altar, temple, church, or other sacred building. Feast of Dedication The Feast of Dedication, today Hanukkah, once also called "Feast of the Maccabees," is a Jewish festival observed for eight days f ...

'' was released in 1981, and '' On the Line'' followed in 1982. The albums spawned several hits including "

This Little Girl "This Little Girl" is a song written by Bruce Springsteen. A version by Gary U.S. Bonds was listed on music charts in 1981. History "This Little Girl" was written by Bruce Springsteen and has its origins in the 1978 outtake "Ain't Good Enough F ...

" (his comeback hit in 1981, which reached No. 11 on the pop chart in

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 adverti ...

and No. 5 on the mainstream rock chart), "Jolé Blon" and " Out of Work". While Bonds is mostly known for achievements within rhythm and blues and rock and roll, he often transcends these genres; for example, his song " She's All I Got", co-written by Jerry Williams, Jr. (better known as Swamp Dogg), was nominated for the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

's "Song of the Year" in 1972 when it was a big hit for

Johnny Paycheck Johnny Paycheck (born Donald Eugene Lytle; May 31, 1938 – February 19, 2003) was an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member notable for recording the David Allan Coe song " Take This Job and Shove It". He achieved his greate ...

( Freddie North also charted his only pop hit with a soul cover of the same song). He is also a 1997 honoree of the

Rhythm & Blues Foundation The Rhythm and Blues Foundation is an independent American nonprofit organization dedicated to the historical and cultural preservation of rhythm and blues music. The idea for the foundation came in 1987 during discussions about royalties with en ...

. Bonds is an accomplished golfer and often plays celebrity

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

events. Bonds released an album in 2004 called '' Back in 20'', the title referencing his repeated sporadic pop-ups of popularity (his first hits were in the 1960s, then again in the 1980s, and now another significant album in the early 2000s, each 20-odd years apart). The album features guest appearances by Springsteen and

Southside Johnny John Lyon (born December 4, 1948), better known by his stage name Southside Johnny, is an American singer-songwriter who usually fronts his band Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. Southside Johnny has long been considered the Grandfather of ...

. In 2009, he released a new album, ''Let Them Talk'', and toured the UK as a special guest of

Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings are an English blues rock band founded and led by bassist Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones. Other personnel have varied depending on availability, an arrangement described in ''The Telegraph'' as "a fluctuating squad ...

. Most recently, in 2010, Bonds contributed duet vocals on the song "Umbrella in My Drink" on Southside Johnny's album ''Pills and Ammo''.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonds, Gary U.S. 1939 births 20th-century African-American male singers 21st-century African-American male singers African-American rock musicians African-American rock singers African-American songwriters American male singer-songwriters American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters American rhythm and blues singers American rock singers American rock songwriters American session musicians Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings members Laurie Records artists Living people Musicians from Jacksonville, Florida Musicians from Norfolk, Virginia People from Norfolk, Virginia Razor & Tie artists Singer-songwriters from Florida Singer-songwriters from Virginia Sue Records artists