DiFosco "Dee" T. Ervin Jr. (July 6, 1932 – August 27, 1995), usually known professionally as Big Dee Irwin, was an American singer and songwriter whose biggest hit was a version of "

Swinging on a Star "Swinging on a Star" is an American pop standard with music composed by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby in the 1944 film '' Going My Way'', winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song that year, ...

" in 1963, recorded as a duet with

Little Eva Eva Narcissus Boyd (June 29, 1943 – April 10, 2003), better known by the stage name of Little Eva, was an American singer, well known for her 1962 hit "The Loco-Motion". Although some sources claim that her stage name was inspired by a charac ...

Life and career

Dee Ervin was born in

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harl ...

.Joel Whitburn, ''Top Pop Singles 1955–2002'', Billboard, 2003, , p. 338 Some sources give his first name as Defosca and his family name as Erwin. He joined the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

, and in 1954 was based at Narsarssuak Air Base in

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...

. While there, he formed a singing group, The Pastels, with himself as lead singer, Richard Travis (first tenor), Tony Thomas (second tenor) and Jimmy Willingham (baritone). They performed in Air Force talent shows and, after being transferred to

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

, took part in a national show, ''Tops In Blue'', in 1957. They then auditioned and won a contract with Hull Records in New York, and recorded a song written by Ervin, "Been So Long". The record was released locally on the subsidiary Mascot label before being leased to Chess Records who issued it on their Argo label. At the same time, the members of The Pastels were leaving the Air Force, Ervin being discharged in February 1958. "Been So Long" reached number 4 on the '' Billboard''

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

and number 24 on the

pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

, and the Pastels toured widely and appeared on concert bills. In March 1958, they featured as part of

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...

's touring ''Big Beat Show'', which also included

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis ma ...

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

, Buddy Holly,

Frankie Lymon Franklin Joseph Lymon (September 30, 1942 – February 27, 1968) was an American rock and roll/rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, best known as the boy soprano lead singer of the New York City-based early rock and roll doo-wop group Th ...

Larry Williams Larry Williams (born Lawrence Eugene Williams, a.k.a. Lawrence Edward Williams; May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Williams ...

, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins. The group's second record, "You Don't Love Me Anymore", was released in April 1958, but was not a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

. They performed at the Apollo Theater later in 1958, but split up early the following year. Biography by Linda Seida ''

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 databa ...

'' Ervin then started a solo career on Hull Records as Dee Erwin, and also recorded on the Bliss label, before signing for Dimension Records as Big Dee Irwin, and releasing a version of the 1944 Bing Crosby song "Swinging on a Star" which also featured

, though she was uncredited. In 1963, the song reached number 38 on the US pop chart. It became a bigger hit in the UK where it rose to number 7, and Irwin then took part in a nine-month tour of Britain. Neither Irwin's follow-up, "Happy Being Fat", again with Little Eva, nor later releases on Dimension, were successful. However, Irwin continued to release singles for a variety of labels through the 1960s, and also worked as a songwriter for

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing gui ...

, and others; the

Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the band ...

included his "What Kind of Boy" on their 1964 album '' In The Hollies Style''. In 1976, initially under the name DiFosco, he released the disco single "Face to Face". His last record release was in 1978. Irwin died of heart failure in 1995. His son, David Ervin, has played piano professionally as a studio musician.

Discography

Hull Records (as Dee Erwin) *"I Can't Help It (I'm Falling In Love)" / "Rubin, Rubin" — 1959 *"Let's Try Again" /"'Tis Farewell" — 1960 Bliss Records (as Dee Erwin) *"Someday You'll Understand Why" / "Anytime" — 1961 Dimension Records (as Big Dee Irwin; * with

; ** with The Breakaways) *"Everybody's Got a Dance But Me" / "And Heaven Was Here" — 1962 *"

" * / "Another Night with the Boys" * — 1963 -

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

No. 38, UK No. 7 *"Happy Being Fat" * / "Soul Waltzin'" — 1963 *"Skeeter" / "You're My Inspiration" — 1963 *"

The Christmas Song "The Christmas Song" (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting by an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a classic Christmas song written in 1945 by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé. The Nat King Cole Trio fir ...

" * / "I Wish You a Merry Christmas" * — 1963 *"

Heigh-Ho "Heigh-Ho" is a song from Walt Disney's 1937 animated film ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'', written by Frank Churchill (music) and Larry Morey (lyrics). It is sung by the group of Seven Dwarfs as they work at a mine with diamonds and rubi ...

" ** / "I Want So Much to Know You" ** — 1964 20th Century Fox Records (as Big Dee Irwin) *"Donkey Walk" / "Someday You'll Understand Why" — 1963

Roulette Records Roulette Records was an American record company and label founded in 1957 by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Kahl, with creative control given to producers and songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. Levy was appointed ...

(as Dee Erwin) *"Discotheque" / "The Sun's Gonna Shine Tomorrow" — 1965 *"Are You Really Real" / "The Mouse" Rotate Records (as Big Dee Irwin) *"I Wanna Stay Right Here With You" / "You Satisfy My Needs" — 1965 *"Follow My Heart" / "Stop Heart" — 1965 Fairmont Records (as Big Dee Irwin) *"Sweet Young Thing Like You" / "You Really Are Together" — 1966 Astra Records (as Dee Irwin) *"I Can't Help It" / "My One and Only Dream" — 1966 Phil-La Records (as Big Dee Irwin) *"Better to Have Loved and Lost" / "Linda" — 1967

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

(as Big Dee Irwin and Suzie aria Pereboom *" Ain't That Lovin' You Baby" / "I Can't Get Over You" — 1968

Imperial Records Imperial Records is an American record company and label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd. The label was reactivated in 2006 by EMI, which owned the label and back catalogue at the time. Imperial is owned by Universal Music Group. Early years to ...

(as Dee Irwin) *"I Only Get This Feeling" / "Wrong Direction" — 1968 *"I Can't Stand the Pain" / "My Hope to Die Girl" — 1968 Imperial Records (as Big Dee Irwin and Mamie Galore) *"

By the Time I Get to Phoenix "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" is a song written by Jimmy Webb. Originally recorded by Johnny Rivers in 1965, it was covered by American country music singer Glen Campbell on his album of the same name. Released on Capitol Records in 1967, Camp ...

" / "

I Say a Little Prayer "I Say a Little Prayer" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Dionne Warwick, originally peaking at number four on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 pop singles chart in December 1967. On the R&B Singles chart it peaked at numbe ...

" — 1968 *"

Day Tripper "Day Tripper" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double A-side single with " We Can Work It Out" in December 1965. The song was written primarily by John Lennon with some contributions from Paul McCartney a ...

" / "I Didn't Wanna Do It, But I Did" — 1969 *"

Ain't No Way "Ain't No Way" is a song written by singer-songwriter Carolyn Franklin and sung by her elder sister Aretha Franklin as the B-side to her 1968 hit, "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone". This song should not be confused with a different son ...

" / " Cherish" — 1969 Earthquake Records (as DiFosco) *"Sunshine Love" / "You Saved Me from Destruction" — 1971 Signpost Records (as Dee Ervin) *"Darling, Please Take Me Back" ( Stereo) / "Darling, Please Take Me Back" ( Mono) — 1972 Roxbury Records *"You Broke My Face" / "Face to Face" — 1976 (as DiFosco) *"You Broke My Face" / "Face to Face" — 1976 (as Dee Ervin) *"The I Love You Song" / "I Can't Get You Off My Mind" — 1976 (as Dee Ervin) 20th Century Fox (as Dee Erwin) *"The I Love You Song" / "Ship of Love" - 1978

References

External links

The Dead Rock Stars Club websiteBig Dee Irwin discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin, Big Dee 1932 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers Imperial Records artists Roulette Records artists Singers from New York City