Lou Christie
Background information
Birth name	Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco[1]
Born	(1943-02-19) February 19, 1943 (age 69)
Origin	Glenwillard, Pennsylvania United States[1]
Genres	Pop
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals (falsetto)
Years active	1962–present
Associated acts	The Tammys

Luigi Alfredo Giovanni Sacco (born February 19, 1943), known professionally as Lou Christie, is an American singer-songwriter best known for three separate strings of pop hits in the 1960s (at about the same times as Tommy Roe's three strings), including his 1966 smash, "Lightnin' Strikes" and his incredible 3 octave vocal range.

Biography[link]

Sacco was born in Glenwillard, Pennsylvania^[1] and raised in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Sacco traveled to New York after graduating from Moon Area High School and found work as a session vocalist.

Susan Christie (Beatrice Hill), often mistakenly referred to as his sister, had a minor hit with the novelty song "I Love Onions", which peaked at #63 on the Hot 100 in 1966.^[2] The two are not related.

Robbee and Roulette: 1961-1963[link]

Sacco also recorded a few unsuccessful discs of his own for various record labels in both New York and Pittsburgh, including "The Jury" (as "Lugee & The Lions") on the Pittsburgh-based Robbee label, which achieved local success. "The Gypsy Cried" features the vocal style that would characterize all of Christie's biggest hits: verses sung in his normal register, and then a dramatic shift to his falsetto on the choruses. That song was released in 1962 on the tiny C & C (sometimes listed as Co & Ce) label and unexpectedly credited to 'Lou Christie' without Sacco's permission. Sacco had been working on a list of potential stage names, and he has stated that he hated the name for years afterwards: "I was pissed off about it for 20 years. I wanted to keep my name and be a one-named performer, just 'Lugee'."^[3]

Christie was frequently written off by critics as an imitator of Frankie Valli, as both men possessed similar falsetto vocals and the ability to change almost effortlessly between the falsetto and their normal registers. Later reviewers have been less harsh, noting that Christie was one of the first singer-songwriters of the era, a status later noted by John Lennon, who referred to Christie as "A truly creative person".

After the C & C release became a Pittsburgh hit, "The Gypsy Cried" was picked up by Roulette Records and charted nationwide, peaking at #24,^[1] selling over one million copies, and receiving a gold disc.^[4] "The Gypsy Cried" was the first of numerous songs Christie co-wrote with his songwriting partner Twyla Herbert, a self-described eccentric and mystic, who was over twenty years older than Christie but also shared his love of classical music.^[1] The two struck up a working relationship after Christie auditioned for her at the age of 15 and began a lifelong friendship which ended only with her death in 2009.

Christie's follow-up single, "Two Faces Have I" in March 1963, was an even bigger hit, peaking at #6 and also selling over a million copies.^[4] He joined Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars Tour. Christie performed his early hits on Clark's American Bandstand and Where the Action Is. He also appeared on local and regional TV in performance during the 1960s.

A third Roulette release, "How Many Teardrops" (written by Milan), stalled at #46 as Christie's career was temporarily derailed by his induction into the US Army. (A copy of "How Many Teardrops" is included on the Milan compilation album Hell Bent for Leather.) Christie would not have another charting single for two and a half years.

Re-establishment and Rhapsody: 1965-1966[link]

While a stint in the military might have ended the careers of many musicians, Christie's career was quickly re-established after his discharge when he signed with the MGM label. MGM reportedly disliked Christie's first single for the label, with MGM's president reportedly throwing the tape into a wastepaper basket. But Christie's new management promoted the record in California, and when it gained some traction (eventually reaching #2 on KHJ the last two weeks of 1965), MGM released it. "Lightnin' Strikes" reached #1 in the U.S. on Christie's 23rd birthday on February 19, 1966; entered the UK Top 20, becoming his first hit in that country; and peaked at #1 in Canada. The song's lyrics featured his signature falsetto and included a female chorus (Bernadette Carroll, Denise Ferri, and Peggy Santiglia, though Fred Bronson's listing, which is largely the basis of this article, stated Linda Scott and Ellie Greenwich instead^[5]) shouting "Stop!" in counterpoint to the lead vocal:

When I see lips begging to be kissed (Stop!)

I can't stop, (Stop!) no I can't stop myself! (Stop! Stop!)

But Christie's next release would ignite a firestorm of controversy and censorship. Released in the spring of 1966, "Rhapsody In The Rain" featured a haunting melody inspired by Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet", telling of a teenager's regret over his sexual experience in the back seat of a car during a rainstorm as the windshield wipers made a rhythmic sound of "together, together".^{[citation needed]} Later after the romance ends, the wipers seem to say "never, never".^{[citation needed]} Many radio stations banned the song, and MGM insisted on a re-recorded version that toned down the lyrical content.^{[citation needed]} Despite the edited version, many stations instead played two older songs re-released by other labels Christie had once recorded for: "Outside the Gates of Heaven" (front side of "The Gypsy Cried", but in 1966 on Co & Ce Records, successor to C & C) peaked at #45, while "Big Time" (on Colpix Records) managed to hit #95. All three singles hit nationally within three weeks of one another, in March 1966, while "Lightnin' Strikes" was falling off.

Whether it was the controversial lyrics or competition from the other singles released simultaneously, "Rhapsody" only managed to hit #16 in the US and #37 in the UK. Christie's career seemed to be derailed once again as his followup for MGM, "Painter", which also borrowed a melody from classical music - this time from Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly - stalled at #81. Two further MGM releases (produced by Jack Nitzsche) from 1966 missed the Billboard Hot 100 entirely, even though "If My Car Could Only Talk" (peaking at #118) seemingly revisits the ill-fated lovers from Rhapsody.^{[citation needed]}

Resurgence and Romeo: 1969-1970[link]

After being dropped by MGM and an unfruitful stint with Columbia Records in the late 1960s, Christie teamed up with Buddah Records (a move prompted by his business manager Stan Polley) and bubblegum music record producer Tony Romeo and had a surprise Wall of Sound constant uptempo hit "I'm Gonna Make You Mine" (which Romeo wrote) in the early autumn of 1969. Helped by two promotional videos distinctly different from each other, the song peaked at #10 in the US but across the Atlantic climbed to #2 on the UK Singles Chart and thus became his biggest hit there.

A follow up, "She Sold Me Magic" charted only in the UK, peaking at #25, and was later covered by Elton John. Conversely, "Are You Getting Any Sunshine?" only charted in America, where it reached #73.

Recoveries and Remakes: 1971 to present[link]

Christie spent the early 1970s between London and New York. In 1971 he released a concept album called Paint America Love and was married in London to former UK beauty queen Francesca Winfield. In 1974, Christie would try another new musical style, going country on his Beyond The Blue Horizon album. The title track, a remake of a hit song from 1930, written for the film Monte Carlo, features one of Christie's strongest non-falsetto vocal performances.^{[citation needed]} The song missed the Country charts entirely and only made #80 on the pop chart but managed a respectable showing at #12 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The song has been used in several film soundtracks, including 1988's Rain Man.

Christie became active on the oldies circuit starting in the early 1980s, even scoring a final US chart hit, credited as "Summer '81 medley" by The Cantina Band (featuring Lou Christie), in 1981 - and, coincidentally, peaking at #81, performing a medley of Beach Boys classics. In 1997 Christie recorded his first all-new album since the 1970s entitled Pledging My Love, produced by Alan Grossman & Jimm Mosher of Hit Music Studio in Spencer, NC...in which Billboard Magazine labeled this new album "Most Impressive Comeback" album. Although Lou Christie's hit-making career is a long one, stretching back to the early 1960s, he hadn't really cut a new album in quite some time until this 1997 effort. It was worth the wait, as Christie didn't opt for the obvious and do a common album of oldie covers, or worse yet, update recuts of his oldies but goodies. Instead, fans were treated to an album of new material, most of it penned by Christie himself, presented in a contemporary manner without being buried in maddening dance-mix sludge. Songs like "What Happened to the Nights," "Techno Pop" (despite the title, an excellent diatribe about the loss of communication in our lives), and "I Sure Fell in Love" are as strong as anything he's ever recorded, and his well-chosen covers of the Critters' "Mr. Dieingly Sad" and Johnny Ace's title tune are equally as fine. This was an album with "loaded with AOR hits" written all over it. ~ Cub Koda Arrangers: Jimmy Mosher; Richard Putnam. Personnel: Alan Grossman (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Dave Moody, Mike Pope (electric guitar); Tony Visconti (accordion); Rick Almond (saxophone); Richard Putnam (piano); Ken Walker (acoustic bass); Jimmy Mosher (drums, percussion). In 2004 Christie released his first concert album, Greatest Hits Live From The Bottom Line, which featured studio recording "Christmas In New York" as a bonus track. In addition to the occasional new release, Christie remains a popular concert act on the oldies circuit in the US and UK. He has also hosted a series of programs on SiriusXM radio for the 60's channel.

Discography[link]

Hit singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Lou Christie & The Tammys Egyptian Shumba Home Page
• Bio at Yahoo! Music
• Bio at ClassicBands.com
• Lou Christie: Lightening is Still Striking, author - Linda Alexander

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2008)

Robert Thomas Velline (born April 30, 1943), known as Bobby Vee, is an American pop music singer. According to Billboard magazine, Vee has had 38 Hot 100 chart hits, 10 of which hit the Top 20.

Career[link]

Born in Fargo, North Dakota, to Sydney Ronald Velline and Saima Cecilia Tapanila, he had his first single with "Suzie Baby", an original song penned by Vee that nodded towards Buddy Holly's "Peggy Sue" for the Minneapolis-based Soma Records in 1959; it drew enough attention and chart action to be purchased by Liberty Records, which signed him to their label later that year. His follow-up single, a cover of Adam Faith's UK number 1 "What Do You Want?", charted in the lower reaches of Billboard in early 1960; however, it was his fourth release, a revival of The Clovers' doo-wop ballad "Devil or Angel", that brought him into the big time with U.S. buyers. His next single, "Rubber Ball", was the record that made him an international star.

Vee's 1961 summer release "Take Good Care of My Baby" went to No.1 on the Billboard U.S. listings and number 3 in the UK Singles Chart.^[1] Known primarily as a performer of Brill Building pop material, he went on to record a string of international hits in the 1960s, including "Devil or Angel" (U.S. #6), "Rubber Ball" (1961, U.S. #6), "More Than I Can Say" (1961, U.K. #4), "Run to Him" (1961, U.S. #2), "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" (1963, U.S. #3), and "Come Back When You Grow Up" (U.S. #3). When Vee recorded "Come Back When You Grow Up" in 1967, he was joined by a band called "The Strangers".

Vee was also a pioneer in the music video genre, appearing in several musical motion pictures as well as in the Scopitone series of early film-and-music jukebox recordings. He is a 1999 inductee of the North Dakota "Roughrider Award". He is mentioned in the movie No Direction Home, regarding his brief musical association with Bob Dylan and Dylan's suggestion that he was "Bobby Vee" after Vee's regional hit.

EMI/UK released The Very Best of Bobby Vee on May 12, 2008. This package charted in the UK top five. On January 17, 2011, EMI/UK released Rarities, a double CD package with 61 tracks, many of which had been previously unreleased. Others included were alternate takes and first-time stereo releases, as well as tracks from the Bobby Vee Live on Tour album minus the "canned" audience.

In 2009 Bobby Vee was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. On March 28, 2011, he became the 235th inductee into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

The Day The Music Died[link]

Vee's career began amid tragedy. On "The Day the Music Died" (February 3, 1959), the three headline acts in the line-up of the traveling 'Winter Dance Party'—Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper—were killed, along with 21-year-old pilot Roger Peterson, in the crash of a 1947 Beechcraft Bonanza v-tailed aircraft (registration #N3974N) near Clear Lake, Iowa, while en route to the next show on the tour itinerary in Moorhead, Minnesota. Velline, then aged 15, and a hastily-assembled band of Fargo, North Dakota, schoolboys calling themselves The Shadows volunteered for and were given the unenviable job of filling in for Holly and his band at the Moorhead engagement. Their performance there was a success, setting in motion a chain of events that led to Vee's career as a popular singer.

In 1963, Bobby Vee released a tribute album on Liberty Records called "I Remember Buddy Holly". In the sleeve notes accompanying the album, Vee recalled Holly's influence on him and the events surrounding the tragic death of Holly thus: 'Like so many other people, I became a Buddy Holly fan the very first time I heard him sing. I've been a fan ever since and I guess I always will be. I remember a few years ago when Buddy was scheduled to appear at a dance in my home town of Fargo, North Dakota. It was going to be a big event for the whole town, but even more so for me. I was anxiously looking forward to seeing Buddy in action.'

Vee continued, 'The day he was to arrive disaster struck, taking Buddy's life, along with the lives of two other fine singers, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. The shocking news spread through Fargo very quickly. The local radio station broadcast a plea for local talent to entertain at the scheduled dance. About a week before this, I had just organized a vocal and instrumental group of five guys. Our style was modelled after Buddy's approach and we had been rehearsing with Buddy's hits in mind. When we heard the radio plea for talent, we went in and volunteered. We hadn't even named the group up to that time, so we gave ourselves a name on the spot, calling ourselves "The Shadows". We appeared at the dance and were grateful to be enthusiastically accepted. Soon afterwards, I made my first record. It was called "Suzie Baby" and I was pretty lucky with it; it was a fair-sized hit.'

Vee concluded, 'For some time now, I have wanted to make an album in tribute to Buddy, but I wasn't sure it was the proper thing to do. However, during the past year, I have received many requests to do such an album. These requests came not only from my fans and from DJs, but also from Buddy's loyal following---still a large group of devoted fans. It.... gave me the confidence to do the album. From "Suzie Baby" to this present album, I have made many records, but I have never forgotten Buddy Holly and his influence on my singing style and my career.'

Despite the circumstances of his debut, Vee went on to become a bona fide star, and regularly performs at the Winter Dance Party memorial concerts in Clear Lake, and often some tribute concerts to the event are performed by his son Robbie along with Jay Richardson, the son of The Big Bopper. Winter Dance Party tribute concerts are also performed by both his son Robbie along with the Big Bopper's son Jay Richardson.

Personal[link]

As a child, Bobby spent summers on the Tuomala Family Farm in Perth, North Dakota, with his cousins. He is half Finnish through his mother who was Saima Cecelia Tapanila. He lived in Beverly Hills, for decades, but relocated to St. Cloud, Minnesota, then to nearby Collegeville. He is currently located in Cold Springs, Minnesota.

Vee married Karen Bergen of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, December 28, 1963, and fathered three sons and a daughter. His children include: Jeffery Robert Velline (born January 3, 1965), Thomas Paul Velline (born October 25, 1966), Robert Bryon Velline (born August 4, 1967), and Jennifer Joanne Velline (born May 31, 1972). A number of his children join him on tour backing as his band. He is still active and touring internationally as a performer as of 2008^[update], along with his backup band, The Vees, which includes his two elder sons, Jeff and Tommy Vee. His youngest son, Robby Vee, is also a recording and performing artist. Bobby Vee is a recipient of the state of North Dakota's Roughrider Award and his contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. In 2009 Bobby Vee was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

Bobby Vee and his sons in the Vees traveled to Perth, North Dakota, summer after summer to entertain people for the Music on the Prairie concert series and to participate in the Tuomala and Tapanila family reunions as both families came together from Canada and America.

Bobby announced on 29 April 2012 on his website that he was diagnosed a year before as in the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease.^{[2] [3]}

Current activities[link]

Vee concluded a long-running engagement at Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater in Branson, Missouri.^[4] He performed in the 8:00 pm 'Original Stars at American Bandstand' show with Fabian, Chris Montez, Brian Hyland, and The Chiffons.

In October 2007, he was on tour performing in 'The Last of the Big Rock Shows' along with Lesley Gore and Billy "Crash" Craddock in Australia.

In fall of 2011 he was in the recording studio working on a new album and writing new songs.

Lore[link]

Early in Vee's career, a musician named Elston Gunnn briefly toured with the band.^[5][6][7] "Gunnn", whose birth name was Robert Allen Zimmerman, later went on to fame as Bob Dylan.

In his autobiography, Chronicles, Volume One, Dylan makes special mention of Vee and shares significant and complimentary details about their friendship, both professional and personal.

Discography[link]

Films[link]

• Swingin' Along (1962), Lippert Films, color, 74 minutes, director: Charles Barton, producer: Jack Leewood, screenplay: Arthur Morton

A comedy about a songwriting contest, originally released in 1961 as Double Trouble. Scenes were added of Ray Charles (doing "What'd I Say") and Bobby Vee (doing "More Than I Can Say").

• Play it Cool (1962), Allied Artists, black and white, 82 minutes, director: Michael Winner, producers: Leslie Parkyn, Julian Wintle, screenplay: Jack Henry

Selection of early 1960s performers woven through a plot about a bratty, rich teenage girl looking for her boyfriend. Vee sings "At A Time Like This."

• Just for Fun (1963), Columbia Pictures, black and white, 85 minutes, director: Gordon Fleming, producer and screenplay: Milton Subotsky

British teens win the right to vote, so the two major political parties strive to win this new voting bloc to their sides. Meanwhile, there's a parade of pop stars including Freddy Cannon, Ketty Lester, Jeremy Lloyd, Bobby Vee, The Crickets, The Springfields, Jet Harris, Tony Meehan, Joe Brown and the Bruvvers, The Tornadoes, Brian Poole and the Tremeloes and Johnny Tillotson. Vee sings "All You Gotta Do Is Touch Me" and "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes."

• C'mon, Let's Live a Little (1967), Paramount Pictures, color, 85 minutes, director: David Butler, producers: John Herelandy, June Starr, screenplay: June Starr

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bobby Vee info from history-of-rock.com
• Official Bobby Vee website
• Bobby Vee fansite^{[dead link]}
• Classicbands.com

Sandy Posey (born June 18, 1944)^[1] is an American popular singer, who enjoyed success in the 1960s with singles such as her 1966 recording of Martha Sharpe's composition, "Single Girl." She is often described as a country singer, although, like Skeeter Davis (to whom she has been frequently compared) her output has varied. Later in her career, the term "countrypolitan," associated with the "Nashville sound", was sometimes applied.^[2] Posey had four hit singles in the United States, three of which peaked at number 12 in the sales charts.^[3]

Session singer[link]

Sandy Posey was born Sandra Lou Posey in Jasper, Alabama.^[4] She graduated from high school in West Memphis, Ar. in 1962.^[5] Posey obtained work as a session singer, after she was recommended by an aunt to an acquaintance who worked in television. In addition to working as a receptionist at a studio in Memphis, she took part in recordings across the Deep South and appeared, for example, on recording sessions produced by Lincoln “Chips” Moman for Elvis Presley and on Percy Sledge’s "When a Man Loves a Woman" (a number one hit in the US in 1966). Other singers whom she backed included Joe Tex, Bobby Goldsboro and Tommy Roe.

Solo career[link]

Posey's first single record, under the name Sandy Carmel was "Kiss Me Goodnight" (1965), written by William Cates, which was coupled with "First Boy". This was released by Bell Records, but received minimal publicity and made little impact. Assisted by Gary Walker, a music publisher who became her manager, Posey then made a demonstration recording of "Born a Woman", written by Martha Sharpe.^[6] According to Posey, Chips Moman "went wild" when he heard this and helped her to obtain a contract with MGM in Nashville.^[7]

Born a Woman[link]

Posey had her first hit with "Born a Woman", which Moman produced in Nashville on March 15, 1966.^[8] This reached number 12 on the U.S. Billboard sales charts in August 1966. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.^[9] "Born a Woman" was a somewhat melodramatic ("You're born to be stepped on, lied to, cheated on") but musically adept song featuring prominent piano, understated strings and horns, and distinctive multi-tracked vocals.^[10] Posey received two Grammy Award nominations for "Born a Woman" in the categories of vocal performance (female) and contemporary (R&R) solo vocal. "Born A Woman" was later covered by Nick Lowe (Bowi EP) and Hubble Bubble.

Single Girl[link]

Posey's next single release was "Single Girl", also written by Martha Sharpe, which was notable for the gentle crescendo and piano refrain of its final verse. Recorded in Nashville on August 19, 1966,^[8] this also reached number 12 in America in January 1967 and number 15 in Great Britain, where it benefited from airplay on pirate radio (peaking, for example, at number 7 in Radio London's non-sales-based Fab 40 on New Year's Day, 1967^[11]). It followed "Born a Woman" by selling in excess of one million copies.^[9] "Single Girl" was re-released in Britain in 1975 and reached the top 50 for a second time.^[12]

Other work[link]

Posey’s final pop top 20 hit was "I Take It Back", another US number 12 in July 1967, although she made other recordings for MGM Records until 1968, including "What A Woman In Love Won't Do" that peaked at number 31 in the US in late 1967. These were mostly produced by Moman, but a few, including a version of the Shirelles' hit "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" (1968), were produced by Joe South.

Country Recordings[link]

Posey turned to the country music field in 1971, signing with Columbia Records and produced by Billy Sherrill. Sherrill had just successfully turned another 1960's pop star, Jody Miller into a leading country female vocalist and it appeared Posey might be another one when the first single, "Bring Him Safely Home to Me" hit the top 20. However it was not to be with only two other singles barely scraping into the top 40. Posey signed with Monument Records in 1976 with just one single to chart and later in the year moved to Warner Bros. Records. Her first single for the label inauspiciously peaked at #93 but in 1978and 1979 enjoyed three top 30 country hits before this brief comeback faded away with the new decade.

Posey occasionally recorded as a solo artist into the early 1980s but she reverted to occasional background session work and later briefly performed as a background vocalist for Skeeter Davis on an international tour. She made a number of country recordings with a religious theme after embracing Christianity in 1974.^[2][13]

In 1983, Posey had another charted single on the country charts, titled "Can't Get Used To Sleeping Without You". In 2004, Posey recorded an album for King Records in Nashville, Tennessee. She is now signed with Crossworlds Entertainment of Lebanon, Tennessee. During 2007, Posey released several songs through Crossworlds Entertainment which have been available for purchase online.

The Elvis connection[link]

In 1968, Posey married Wade Cummings, who performed as an impersonator of Elvis Presley under the name of Elvis Wade. Posey appeared with Presley during an engagement in Las Vegas in 1969.^[14]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Allmusic
• Countrypolitan
• Sandy Posey: MGM home page (with extensive discography)

Just Me may refer to:

• Just Me (Brian McKnight album)
• Just Me (Keith Sweat album)
• Just Me (Sarah Geronimo album)
• Just Me (Tiffany album)
• Just Me (Tina Arena album)
• JUST Me or MC Shadow, Canadian rapper
• Just Me (fragrance), a fragrance endorsed by Paris Hilton

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Bobby Goldsboro (born January 18, 1941)^[2] is an American country and pop singer-songwriter. He had a string of Pop and Country hits during the 1960s and 1970s, including his signature #1 classic "Honey," which sold well over one million copies in the United States.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Goldsboro was born in Marianna, Florida.^[2] In 1941, Goldsboro's family moved 35 miles north from Marianna to Dothan, Alabama.^[1] He graduated from Dothan High School in 1959 and later enrolled at Auburn University. Goldsboro left college after his second year to pursue a musical career. He played guitar for Roy Orbison from 1962 to 1964 while releasing a few unsuccessful singles.

Career[link]

Goldsboro's solo career picked up steam with the "Top Ten" hit "See the Funny Little Clown." The single, penned by Goldsboro, reached #9 on the U.S. national charts in early 1964. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.^[2] It was to be the first of a string of similar awards. Goldsboro would go on to have 11 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and 12 on the country chart.^[1][3] In 1966 he recorded "Too Many People" with "It's Too Late" on the B-side. Although Goldsboro was not a prolific performer of dance music, both of these songs were popular within Northern soul and were played at Wigan Casino.^[4] His biggest hit was 1968's "Honey," a maudlin tearjerker about the death of a man's young wife.^[1][3] The song, written by Bobby Russell, was recorded in one take.^[5] It topped the Hot 100 for five weeks, reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart on two separate occasions (1968 and 1975),^[6] and was a #1 single in Australia, selling in excess of one million copies there.^[2] It also became his first country hit and marked a career transition, as his songs became more successful on the country chart than on the pop side. Bobby remained a fixture in the country top 40 into the early 1980s.

From 1973 to 1975, Goldsboro hosted the syndicated television variety series The Bobby Goldsboro Show.

One of Goldsboro's compositions, "With Pen in Hand," was recorded by several artists, including a Grammy-nominated pop version by Vikki Carr that reached the "Top 40," in 1969; Johnny Darrell had taken the song to #3 on the US country chart a year earlier. Goldsboro's "The Cowboy and The Lady" became a "Top 10" country hit as "The Cowgirl and The Dandy" for Brenda Lee in 1980; Dolly Parton had also covered it in 1977, and John Denver had a hit with the song in 1981.

"Summer (The First Time)", a 1973 reminiscence about a first sexual experience, was a Top 25 hit in the U.S. and reached number 9 in the UK Top 50 and was Goldsboro's last top 40 hit on the Hot 100.^[6] Using a powerful repeating piano riff, 12-string guitar, some organ playing, and a dramatic orchestral string arrangement, the song was suggestive enough to spark some controversy. A followup, "Hello Summertime," was written by Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway and hit #14 in the UK in late 1974.^[6]

Goldsboro retired from full-time performing in the 1980s. In the 1990s, he scored the soundtrack to the CBS situation comedy Evening Shade. In 1995, he launched the children's television series The Swamp Critters of Lost Lagoon. Besides his musical activities, Goldsboro sells his paintings on his official website.^[7]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Key: ¹ Indicates titles that were awarded gold disc status.^[2]

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Allmusic
• Wood, Gerry (1998). "Bobby Goldsboro." In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 205.

External links[link]

• Official website
• Bobby Goldsboro at the Internet Movie Database
• Bobby Goldsboro discography at Discogs
• Bobby's recent radio interview show with Ronnie Allen