Ulysses B. "Bobby" Nunn Sr. (September 20, 1925 – November 5, 1986) was an American R&B singer with the musical groups The Robins and original bass vocalist of The Coasters. He was born in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% f ...

, United States, and died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, U.S.

Biography

Nunn was a

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

champion in the U.S. Air Force. After his

discharge Discharge may refer to Expel or let go * Discharge, the act of firing a gun * Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer * Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from ser ...

in 1947 he moved to Watts, California. He became a member of the A-Sharp Trio with Billy Richards, Roy Richards, and Ty Terrell, and they eventually became The Robins. Nunn would record some

duets A duet is a musical composition or piece for two performers. Duets or The Duets may also refer to: Films and television * ''Duets'' (film), a 2000 film, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Giamatti and Huey Lewis * "Duets" (''Glee''), a 2010 episod ...

with Little Esther as well as some

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

recordings in the early 1950s. In 1952 he recorded for Sage & Sand Records with Bobby Byrd and Ty Terrell. Bobby Byrd is better known as

Bobby Day Robert James Byrd (July 1, 1930 – July 27, 1990), known by the stage name Bobby Day, was an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, and songwriter. He is best known for his hit record " Rockin' Robin", written by Leon René und ...

of " Rockin' Robin" fame. In 1955, Nunn and Carl Gardner split from The Robins to become The Coasters with Leon Hughes and Billy Guy. After leaving The Coasters, he teamed with another former Coaster Leon Hughes to record as The Dukes in 1959. Two

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

were released "Looking For You" b/w "Groceries, Sir" (Flip #343), and "I Love You" b/w "Leap Year Cha Cha" (Flip #344). Nunn recorded

backup In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "back up", ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

with a vocal group for Dorsey Burnette on

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 ...

. These two songs "Try" and "You Came As A Miracle" were recorded on August 28, 1958, and were released as a single (Imperial #5561) in March 1959. In 1965, Nunn

arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...

the

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

"Whip It On Me Baby" by

The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor ...

. This song was earlier recorded by fellow Coaster Billy Guy on Double-L Records in 1963. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Nunn had his own group of Coasters called "The Coasters Mark II" with members

Grady Chapman Grady Chapman (October 1, 1929 – January 4, 2011) was best known as the American lead singer of doo wop group The Robins. Biography Born in Greenville, South Carolina, Chapman joined The Robins in 1952, singing alongside Bobby Nunn, Billy ...

, Bobby Sheen, and Billy Richards Jr. (who is nephew to Billy Richards). Nunn also appeared on a record by "The Coasters Two Plus Two" in 1975 called "Searchin '75" b/w "Young Blood" (released on Chelan Records and produced by Bumps Blackwell). The other members of this group included Leon Hughes,

, and Jerome Evans. In 1985, Nunn's group of The Coasters had appeared on the NBC variety show "Our Time" hosted by Karen Valentine, " Fabian's Good Time Rock 'N' Roll" oldies special, and a Churches Chicken commercial (which included members Nunn, Sheen, Richards, and Sonny Chaney). After Nunn's death in 1986, Bobby Sheen and Billy Richards Jr. continued to tour with Nunn's group of The Coasters. Nunn is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

at the Evergreen Cemetery, Los Angeles. (Another Bobby Nunn recorded for

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''mot ...

in 1982. He is no relation to this Bobby Nunn.)

Discography

Singles

*"Why Did You Leave Me Baby?" / "Alone About Midnight" (Hamptone International #605) (1/1950) *"Bring Your Lovin’ Back To Me" / "I Got A Country Gal" (Blue #105) (1950) (as Billy Nunn) *"Anticipating Blues" / "Hard Luck Women & Strife" (

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

by Big Duke with Pete Johnson All-Stars) ( Dootone #302) (1950) *"Clappin’ And Shoutin’" / " I'm Tellin’ You Baby" (Blue #115) (1951) (as Billy Nunn) *"Christmas Bells" / "Two Sisters" (B-side

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 ...

by Que Martin) ( Recorded In Hollywood #244) (1951) *"Saturday Night Daddy" / "Mainliner" (B-side by Little Esther) (Federal #12100) (1952) (Bobby Nunn & Little Esther) *"You Took My Love Too Fast" / "Streetlights (B-side by Little Esther) (Federal #12122) (1952) (Bobby Nunn & Little Esther) *"Please Don’t Hurt Me" / "Delicious Are Your Kisses" (Sage & Sand #203) (1952) (with Bobby Byrd & Ty Terrell) *"Candle Of Love" / "Peanut Brittle" (Sage & Sand #204) (1952) (with Bobby Byrd & Ty Terrell) *"Like" / "Henrietta" (Titan #1703) (1960) ("Henrietta" with Ginny Tyler) *"Sixty Minute Man Is Back"/"Been Thinking It Over" (Tishman 714)(????)

Various artists compilations

*''Blues For Dootsie: The Blue And Dootone Sides'' (Ace #1115) (2006) *''Rhythm And Blues Christmas'' (Ace #1128) (2006) *''From The Doo Wop Vaults Of Titan Records'' (TRCD #1700)

Notes

External links

The Coasters website Find A Grave Memorial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nunn, Bobby 1925 births 1986 deaths American rhythm and blues singers The Coasters members Boxers from Alabama Musicians from Birmingham, Alabama Burials at Evergreen Cemetery, Los Angeles 20th-century American singers American male boxers 20th-century American male singers Recorded In Hollywood artists Welterweight boxers