Tracey Dey (born Nora Ferrari, April 21, 1943) is an American former pop singer in 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 ...

genre of the early and mid-1960s.

Career

Born in

Yonkers Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...

, New York, United States, she was attending college at

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

when producer

Bob Crewe Robert Stanley Crewe (November 12, 1930 – September 11, 2014) was an American songwriter, dancer, singer, manager, and record producer. He was known for producing, and co-writing with Bob Gaudio, a string of Top 10 singles for the Four Season ...

became aware of a

demo tape A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...

she had recorded. Crewe signed her to his production company, Genius Inc., and had her record "Jerry (I'm Your Sherry)", an "answer" to The Four Seasons' "Sherry", which Crewe had also produced. Released by The 4 Seasons' label,

Vee Jay Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a h ...

, the record reportedly received airplay on New York radio (and made the top ten at

KYNO KYNO (940 AM) is a radio station licensed to Fresno, California and is owned by John Ostlund and Katrina Ostlund. KYNO airs an oldies format, switching to Christmas music for much of December. KYNO's radio studios and offices are on Fulto ...

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

), but did not become a national hit. The follow-up, also on Vee Jay, was "Long Time, No See" but it failed to chart. Her breakthrough came at

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revival ...

with "Teenage Cleopatra", a

Beverly Ross Beverly Ross (September 5, 1934 – January 15, 2022) was an American songwriter and musician who co-wrote several successful pop songs in the 1950s and 1960s, including "Dim, Dim The Lights", "Lollipop" (which she also recorded as one half of Ro ...

(of Ronald and Ruby and cowriter of their hit, "

Lollipop A lollipop is a type of sugar candy usually consisting of hard candy mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. Different informal terms are used in different places, including lolly, sucker, sticky-pop, etc. Lollipops are availa ...

"; best known as by

The Chordettes The Chordettes were an American female vocal quartet, specializing in traditional pop music. They are best known for their 1950s hit songs " Mr. Sandman" and "Lollipop". Career The group organized in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in 1946. The origin ...

) composition. The song was a timely cash-in on the press and fan interest surrounding the

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

film, "Cleopatra" and became a national hit. The follow-up, "Here Comes The Boy" (co-written by

Eddie Rambeau Eddie Rambeau (born Edward Cletus Fluri; June 30, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. Career While performing in a high-school musical he had written, Rambeau met songwriter and musician Bud Rehak, who went on to become his ma ...

, Bud Rehak and

, the writers of

Diane Renay Diane Renay (born July 13, 1945), born Renee Diane Kushner, is an American pop singer, best known for her 1964 hit song, "Navy Blue". Early life Renay was born to a Jewish family in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She started singing at an ea ...

's "Navy Blue" smash) also made the national charts. Dey released nine solo singles between 1962 and 1966, of which three - "Teenage Cleopatra", "Here Comes The Boy", and her version of

Teresa Brewer Teresa Brewer (born Theresa Veronica Breuer; May 7, 1931 – October 17, 2007) was an American singer whose style incorporated pop, country, jazz, R&B, musicals, and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of th ...

's 1952 hit " Gonna Get Along Without You Now" - reached the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. Although none became major hits, they have since been hailed as some of the best of the girl group era. Many of her tunes were written by Crewe and

Bob Gaudio Robert John Gaudio (born November 17, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer, and the keyboardist and backing vocalist of the pop/rock band the Four Seasons. Gaudio wrote or co-wrote and produced the vast majori ...

, who was the keyboardist and main songwriter for The Four Seasons. Her records were released on

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

Amy Amy is a female given name, sometimes short for Amanda, Amelia, Amélie, or Amita. In French, the name is spelled ''"Aimée"''. People A–E * Amy Acker (born 1976), American actress * Amy Vera Ackman, also known as Mother Giovanni (1886– ...

, and Columbia. Dey also released two singles with Gary Knight, a Crewe songwriting associate, as Dey and Knight. For several years in the mid-1960s, she was a regular television attraction on ''The

Clay Cole Clay Cole (born Albert Franklin Rucker Jr.; January 1, 1938 – December 18, 2010) was an American host and disk jockey, best known for his eponymous television dance program, ''The Clay Cole Show'', which aired in New York City on WNTA-TV and ...

Show'' The majority of the material has been re-released on compact disc via a shared collection with Marcie Blaine but it is now out of print. Several tracks are available on various compilations: "I Won't Tell" can be found on the

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

box set ''One Kiss Can Lead To Another: Girl Group Sounds, Lost & Found''; "Long Time, No See" is included in the Castle Pulse box set, "Chapel of Love and Other Girl Group Gems"; "Teenage Cleopatra" is included on the Ace compilation, "Early Girls, Volume 4"; "Marching Home" can be found on the Ace compilation, ''Where The Girls Are, Volume 5''; "Jerry (I'm Your Sherry)" is on Ace compilation, ''The Answer To Everything: Girl Answer Songs of the 60s''. Leaving behind the music business and the Tracey Dey moniker in the late 1960s, Ferrari completed a master's degree in Theater Arts at Columbia University and, for a while, taught college courses. She later began acting and writing screenplays and had a small part in the 2007 film, ''

Reservation Road ''Reservation Road'' is a 2007 American crime drama film directed by Terry George and based on the book of the same title by John Burnham Schwartz, who, along with George, adapted the novel for the screenplay. The film, starring Joaquin Phoenix an ...

''. She is no relation to

Susan Dey Susan Hallock Dey (born December 10, 1952) is a retired American actress, known for her television roles as Laurie Partridge on the sitcom ''The Partridge Family'' from 1970 to 1974, and as Grace Van Owen on the drama series ''L.A. Law'' from ...

of ''

Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom starring Shirley Jones and featuring David Cassidy. Jones plays a widowed mother, and Cassidy plays the oldest of her five children, in a family who embarks on a music career. It ran from Se ...

'' and ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series that ran for eight seasons on NBC, from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it centers on the partners, associates and staff of a Los ...

'' fame.

Singles

as Tracey Dey *"Jerry (I'm Your Sherry) / "Once in a Blue Moon" (1962) Vee Jay #467 *"Long Time, No See / "Jealous Eyes" (1963) Vee Jay #506 *"Teenage Cleopatra" / "Who's That (A Dream Smiled at Me)"(1963)Liberty #55604 - US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 #75

Billboard Singles A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large out-of-home advertising, outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboard ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

*"Here Comes the Boy" / "Teddy's the Boy I Love" (1963) Amy #894 - US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 #93 *" Gonna Get Along Without You Now" / "Go Away" (1964) Amy #901 US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 #51 *"Hangin' On to My Baby" / "Ska-Doo-Dee-Yah" (1964) Amy #908 - US ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under #107 *"I Won't Tell" / "Any Kind of Love" (1964) Amy #912 (released 9/64)Sheila Burgel, ''One Kiss Can Lead To Another: Girl Group Sounds, Lost & Found'', Rhino Records (2005) R2-74615 *"

Blue Turns to Grey "Blue Turns to Grey" is a song that was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. The song first appeared in February 1965 when both Dick and Dee Dee and The Mighty Avengers released versions of it as singles. Another version was released short ...

" / "Didn't Ya" (1964) Amy #917 *"Hanky Panky" / "Shakin' The Blues Away" (1965) Amy #928 *"Marchin' Home" / "Teddy's the Boy I Love" (1966) Columbia #43889 as Dey and Knight (with Gary Knight) *"Young Love" / "I'm Gonna Love You Tomorrow" (1965) Columbia #43466 *"Sayin' Something'" / "Ooh Da La Da Lay" (1966) Columbia #43693

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dey, Tracey 1943 births Living people American women pop singers Vee-Jay Records artists Columbia Records artists 21st-century American women