Terry Black (February 3, 1949 – June 28, 2009) was a Canadian pop singer and

teen idol A teen idol is a celebrity with a large teenage fan base. Teen idols are generally young but are not necessarily teenagers themselves. An idol's popularity may be limited to teens, or may extend to all age groups. By region Asia Ea ...

, born in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Career

Black's debut U.S. single, " Unless You Care", was released in 1964, when Black was 15. The song was written and produced by P. F. Sloan and

Steve Barri Steve Barri (born Steven Barry Lipkin; February 23, 1942, New York City) is an American songwriter and record producer. Career Early in his career, Barri was a staff writer with Dunhill Records. He produced such huge hits as " Dizzy" by Tommy R ...

and featured backing from

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

and

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock a ...

, who were at that time

studio musicians A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a record ...

.Terry Black, Canada's Teen Sensation in '60s
. ''

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North Thompson River, North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the ad ...

'', June 29, 2009. The song was a major hit in Canada and also cracked the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and Black was awarded the "Male Vocalist of the Year" award at the Maple Music Awards in 1965. Black had several further singles through 1966, such as the Sloan-Barri tunes "Kisses for My Baby" and "Say It Again", Sam Cooke's "Only Sixteen", and "Baby's Gone" (written by

Graham Bonney Graham Bonney (born Graham Arthur Ernest George Bradly, 2 June 1943) Graham Bonney homepage
Accessed 12 Novem ...

and

Barry Mason John Barry Mason (12 July 1935 – 16 April 2021) was an English singer and songwriter. A leading songwriter of the 1960s, he wrote the bulk of his most successful songs in partnership with Les Reed. Mason gained many gold and platinum awar ...

), all of which were produced by Sloan and Barri. He released a Sloan-Barri produced album, ''

Only 16 ''Only 16'' is the debut album by Terry Black and was released in 1965. The album featured five songs that were released as singles: " Unless You Care" which reached #2 in Canada, "Poor Little Fool", which reached #6, " Little Liar", which reac ...

'' in 1965, on the Canadian ARC Records label.

Terry Black Terry Black (February 3, 1949 – June 28, 2009) was a Canadian pop singer and teen idol, born in Vancouver, British Columbia. Career Black's debut U.S. single, " Unless You Care", was released in 1964, when Black was 15. The song was wri ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

Black then moved to the U.S., and his remaining unreleased tracks (plus some alternate versions of released songs) were assembled into another Sloan-Barri produced album, ''The Black Plague'', in 1966. Under the name "Terence" he released the album ''An Eye for An Ear'' by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

in the U.S. and Canada in 1969. The album was also released with a different cover by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

in Germany. A hoped-for film career failed to materialize, and Black returned to Canada. Black also joined the cast for the

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

production of ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

'' in 1969. He married a member of the cast, Laurel Ward, in 1970, and from 1972 to 1982 the pair released several singles together as Black and Ward, such as the minor hit "Goin' Down (On the Road to L.A.)", peaking at , 2/12/72.Billboard Hot 100, Joel Whitburn, Top Pop Singles 1955–1993 He also performed, alongside Ward, with

Dr. Music Dr. Music was a Toronto jazz group founded in 1969 by producer, arranger and performer Doug Riley. The band recorded three albums and toured across Canada. The personnel of the band changed throughout its history, with Riley remaining at the cor ...

, including the 1972 Canadian hit "Sun Goes By". In 1979, Black performed the song "Moondust" on the soundtrack for the movie ''

Meatballs A meatball is ground meat (mince) rolled into a ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, egg (food), eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. ...

''. Black and Ward divorced in 1993. In the 2000s, Black hosted an

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

radio show in

. He had

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

late in life and died as a result of the condition on June 28, 2009, in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.

Discography

Albums

Solo

with Laurel Ward

with Dr. Music

Singles

Solo

with Laurel Ward

with Dr. Music

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Terry 1949 births 2009 deaths Canadian pop singers 20th-century Canadian male singers Deaths from multiple sclerosis People with multiple sclerosis Neurological disease deaths in British Columbia Tollie Records artists Yorkville (record label) artists