Hidle Brown Barnum (born July 15, 1936) is an American

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

, arranger, record producer, songwriter, and former child actor.

Biography

After winning a nationwide talent contest at the age of four and starring in the film ''Valley of the Sun Marches On'', Barnum continued his acting career on TV in the '' Amos 'n' Andy Show'', the

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...

Show, and others, making his first solo recording as Pee Wee Barnum in 1950. He then joined doo-wop groups the Dootones and, in late 1955, when Carl Gardner and bass Bobby Nunn left

the Robins The Robins were a successful and influential American R&B group of the late 1940s and 1950s, one of the earliest such vocal groups who established the basic pattern for the doo-wop sound. They were founded by Ty Terrell, and twin brothers Bi ...

to form

the Coasters The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with " Searchin'" and " Young Blood" in 1957, their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producin ...

for

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, Barnum replaced Bobby Nunn as baritone and bass for the Robins, as well as playing piano for them. This version of the Robins recorded for the Whippet label, where Barnum soon became the A&R man. In 1960, under the pseudonym "Dudley" he recorded the radio hit "El Pizza", a parody of

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and succ ...

' "

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

". He had the only hit under his own name, the

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

"Lost Love" which reached number 35 in the United States on Billboard's top singles chart in early 1961. In the same year he recorded the first version of " Nut Rocker", credited to Jack B. Nimble and the Quicks. He also recorded three albums as a singer-pianist during the 1960s and released a 1966 single as H. B. and the Checkmates. Since that time he became most widely known as an arranger, for a very wide range of performers including Lou Rawls,

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

, O.C. Smith, Frank Sinatra,

the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...

Donna Loren Donna Loren is an American singer and actress. A prolific performer in the 1960s, she was the " Dr Pepper Girl" from 1963 to 1968, featured female vocalist on ''Shindig'', and a cast member of the American International Pictures ''Beach Party ...

, Aretha Franklin, Little Richard,

Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, actress and businesswoman. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys K ...

Melinda Marx Melinda Marie Marx (born August 14, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and musician who had a brief movie career. She is the daughter and only surviving child of Groucho Marx and his second wife, Kay Marvis Gorcey. Life and work Marx appear ...

, Al Wilson, the Pump Girls, and the Little Tots. Barnum also produced, along with Johnnie Walls of JWP Productions which distributed the record, the 1985 hip-hop comedy song " Rappin' Duke". He also produced "The Fish Song", a rare song by the New Creation, released on Salaam Records. In addition, he co-wrote "Your Love", a 1977 top 20 hit song by

Marilyn McCoo Marilyn McCoo (born September 30, 1943) is an American singer, actress, and television presenter, who is best known for being the lead female vocalist in the group the 5th Dimension, as well as hosting the 1980s music countdown series '' Solid Go ...

and

Billy Davis Jr Billy Davis Jr. (born June 26, 1938) is an American singer and musician, best known as a member of the 5th Dimension. Along with his wife Marilyn McCoo, he had hit records during 1976 and 1977 with "I Hope We Get to Love in Time", " Your Love", ...

. Barnum had an album recorded by the Novells, a Los Angeles area band, titled, ''That Did It!'' in 1968. The album re-emerged as an import some 40 years later when it was released in the UK in July 2005 and again in December 2007 by

Radioactive Records Radioactive Records was an American record label. It was formed as a joint venture between talent manager Gary Kurfirst (who managed such acts as the Ramones, Big Audio Dynamite, Deee-Lite and Deborah Harry) and MCA Records, and it is now out ...

. Barnum is the older brother of backup singer Billie Barnum.

References

External links

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H.B. Barnum Interview - NAMM Oral History Library (2016)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnum, H. B. 1936 births American male child actors Songwriters from Texas Male actors from Houston RCA Victor artists Living people Record producers from Texas 20th-century American pianists American male pianists 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American male songwriters