Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple Black (née Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, and public servant, most famous as Hollywood's number-one box-office star from 1935 through 1938. As an adult, she entered politics and became a diplomat, serving as United States Ambassador to Ghana and later to Czechoslovakia, and as Chief of Protocol of the United States.

Temple began her film career in 1932 at the age of three. In 1934, she found international fame in Bright Eyes, a feature film designed specifically for her talents. She received a special Juvenile Academy Award in February 1935 for her outstanding contribution as a juvenile performer to motion pictures during 1934, and film hits such as Curly Top and Heidi followed year after year during the mid-to-late 1930s. Licensed merchandise that capitalized on her wholesome image included dolls, dishes, and clothing. Her box-office popularity waned as she reached adolescence. She appeared in a few films of varying quality in her mid-to-late teens, and retired completely from films in 1950 at the age of 22. She was the top box-office draw in Hollywood for four years in a row (1935–38) in a Motion Picture Herald poll.

Shirley Temple (beverage)

A Shirley Temple is a non-alcoholic mixed drink traditionally made with ginger ale, a splash of grenadine and garnished with a maraschino cherry. Modern Shirley Temple recipes may substitute lemon-lime soda or lemonade and sometimes orange juice in part, or in whole.

Shirley Temples are often served to children dining with adults in lieu of real cocktails, as is the similar Roy Rogers.

The cocktail may have been invented by a bartender at Chasen's, a restaurant in Beverly Hills, California, to serve then child actress Shirley Temple. However, other claims to its origin have been made.

Temple herself was not a fan of the drink, as she told Scott Simon in an NPR interview in 1986: "The saccharine sweet, icky drink? Yes, well...those were created in the probably middle 1930s by The Brown Derby Restaurant in Hollywood and I had nothing to do with it. But, all over the world, I am served that. People think it's funny. I hate them. Too sweet!"

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Traditional Shirley Temple served in tall glass minus cherry garnish

Little Darlin'

"Little Darlin'" is a popular Top 40 song, made famous by the Diamonds.

The Gladiolas' version

It was written by Maurice Williams with both melody and doo-wop accompaniment strongly emphasizing the clave rhythm. It was first recorded by Excello Records in January 1957 and quickly released as a rhythm-and-blues song by Williams' R&B group, The Gladiolas. The song is noted for its spoken recitation by the lead singer ("My Darlin' I need you..."). The Gladiolas, featuring Williams, were from Lancaster, South Carolina, where they had been together since high school. Their original version of the song was on the small Excello label. (Excello primarily recording "swamp blues" songs in Crowley, Louisiana.) The Gladiolas song peaked at No. 11 on the R&B charts in April 1957, but barely dented the hot 100. By 1959, Williams' group became "Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs" with the rock 'n roll-R&B hit "Stay."

The Diamonds' version

The Diamonds' version followed a month later. The Diamonds were soon covering Little Darlin' successfully.The Diamonds were a Canadian pop group that evolved into a Doo-Wop group. The Diamonds' version reached number two in sales for eight weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. Billboard ranked this version as the No. 3 song for 1957.

Little Darling (I Need You)

"Little Darling (I Need You)" is a 1966 single written and produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland and recorded and released by Marvin Gaye on the Tamla label.

This song was released after the modest success of the Miracles-produced single "Take This Heart of Mine" in hopes that Gaye's work with the hit-making trio Holland-Dozier-Holland would bring him back to the pop top ten.

Similarly conceived with the same musical background as their previous collaboration, "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", the song has the singer declaring to his woman to stay beside him promising her that he'll be "(her) number-one fool".

While it reached the top forty of the Billboard Top R&B Singles chart peaking at number sixteen, it didn't perform as well as "Take This Heart of Mine" on the pop charts, peaking at number 47.

The song was subsequently covered by The Doobie Brothers for their 1977 release Livin' on the Fault Line.

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