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Little Anthony & The Imperials

 
Artist: Little Anthony & the Imperials
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Little Anthony & the Imperials

Group Members:

Little Anthony, Nat Rogers, Clarence Collins, Ernest Wright, Jr., Sam Strain, Kenny Seymour, Tracy Lord

Similar Artists:

The Videos, The Students, The Wrens, Lee Andrews & the Hearts, The Shields, The Jewels, The Genies, Robert & Johnny, The Eternals, The Willows, Shep & the Limelites, The Orioles, The Gladiolas, Norman Fox & The Rob Roys, The Flamingos, The Five Satins, The Silhouettes, The Rainbows, The Five Discs, The Five Crowns, The Fiestas, The Fascinators, The Ravens, The Valentines, The Solitaires, The Monotones, The Teenagers, The Chessmen, The Danleers, The Moonglows, Johnnie & Joe, The Tokens, The Spaniels, The El Dorados, The Skyliners, The Schoolboys, The Passions, Louie Lymon, The Impalas, Danny & the Juniors, The Crows, The Chords, The Regents, The Pastels, The Mellows, The Harptones, The Dubs, The Chordettes, The Elegants, The Velvets, The Turbans, The Shells, The Platters, The Penguins, The Paragons, The Nutmegs, The Mystics, The Mello-Kings, The Marcels, Frankie Lymon, Little Caesar & the Romans, The Jesters, The Jacks, Hollywood Flames, The Heartbeats, The Five Keys, The Edsels, The Drifters, Dion, The Dells, The Del Vikings, The Crests, The Coasters, The Clovers, The Cleftones, The Charts, The Chantels, The Channels, The Capris, The Cadillacs, Jerry Butler, The Imperials, Crescents

Followers:

The Zombies

Performed Songs By:

Sylvester Bradford, Sydney Robin, Harold Adamson, Bob Weinstein, Clyde Otis, Al Lewis, Bobby Hart, Richard Barrett, Teddy Randazzo, Jimmy McHugh, Jimmy Henderson

Formal Connection With:

Duponts, Teddy Randazzo
See Little Anthony & the Imperials Lyrics
  • Formed: 1958, Brooklyn, NY
  • Disbanded: 1975
  • Genres: Rhythm & Blues
  • Representative Albums: "The Best of Little Anthony & the Imperials," "The Best of Little Anthony," "25 Greatest Hits"
  • Representative Songs: "Goin' Out of My Head," "Tears on My Pillow," "Hurt So Bad"

Biography

Little Anthony & the Imperials enjoyed one of the longest career runs of any doo wop group, adapting their honey-smooth style to fit the sweet uptown soul sound of the mid-'60s. Right from the beginning, Little Anthony's aching way with a ballad was the group's calling card, but their repertoire was balanced by more R&B-inflected dance tunes. Little Anthony was born Jerome Anthony Gourdine in 1940, and grew up in Brooklyn's Fort Greene projects. While in high school, he sang in a doo wop group called the Duponts, who recorded a single called "Prove It Now" in 1957. They disbanded after graduation, however, and Gourdine joined another group called the Chesters, which had been formed by his friend Clarence Collins (baritone) and also featured longtime friend Ernest Wright, Jr. (tenor); the other members were Tracy Lord (tenor) and Nat Rogers (bass). After a one-off single for Apollo, they landed a record deal with the End label in 1958, at which point their name was changed to the Imperials. ("Little Anthony" was later tagged onto the beginning by DJ Alan Freed.)

The Imperials' first single for End was the classic heartache ballad "Tears on My Pillow," a Top Five smash on both the pop and R&B charts. Little Anthony's dramatic interpretation was certainly helped in the public eye by his youthful-sounding voice and name, which recalled the recently popular Frankie Lymon. The single's B-side, "Two People in the World," was also something of a hit, making the Imperials one of the hottest vocal groups around. Landing a follow-up hit proved difficult, however; the group charted several singles -- "So Much," "Wishful Thinking," "A Prayer and a Juke Box" -- without even approaching their earlier success. Finally, the novelty dance track "Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop" caught on in 1960 and returned Little Anthony & the Imperials to the upper reaches of the charts (though it missed the Top Ten). The follow-ups "My Empty Room" and "Please Say You Want Me" flopped, however, and Little Anthony decided to try a solo career in late 1961.

The Imperials continued on with a new lineup of Collins, Wright, Sammy Strain, and George Kerr, the latter of whom was replaced by Kenny Seymour in 1962. Neither Little Anthony nor his erstwhile group had any luck on their own, and in late 1963 he returned to the fold, replacing Seymour. The next summer, the reconstituted Imperials signed with the DCP label, where producer/songwriter Teddy Randazzo made them a priority. His first effort with the group, "I'm on the Outside (Looking In)," reached number 15 on both the pop and R&B charts in 1964, reestablishing the Imperials as a commercial presence. The follow-up, "Goin' Out of My Head," was a smash, returning them to the pop Top Ten for the first time since "Tears on My Pillow"; it was covered quite often in the years that followed, and grew into something of a pop standard. The Imperials' streak of good fortune continued with the equally dramatic ballad "Hurt So Bad," another Top Ten hit that also became their second R&B Top Fiver in 1965. A couple of smaller hits followed later that year in "I Miss You So" and the pop/R&B Top 20 "Take Me Back."

Little Anthony & the Imperials continued to chart singles over the next several years, but only one -- 1969's "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" -- breached the Top 50 on either the pop or R&B sides. That same year, the group switched labels to United Artists, and Ernest Wright, Jr. departed to join singer Tony Williams' latter-day version of the Platters. He was replaced by a returning Kenny Seymour, who was in turn replaced by Bobby Wade in 1971, the year of the group's last chart single, "Help Me Find a Way (To Say I Love You)." Sammy Strain left in 1972 and wound up joining the O'Jays four years later; his replacement was Harold Jenkins. Little Anthony himself left the group a second time in 1975 to pursue solo recording as well as an acting career, which effectively spelled the end of the road; nonetheless, a Collins-led lineup did manage to score one last hit in the U.K., 1977's "Who's Gonna Love Me." Little Anthony became a born-again Christian in 1978 and subsequently recorded a gospel album, Daylight. Anthony, Collins, Wright, and Strain reunited in 1992 and toured the oldies circuit steadily thereafter. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
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For the CCM group, see The Imperials.
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Little Anthony & The Imperials is a rhythm and blues/soul/doo-wop vocal group from New York, first active in the 1950s. Lead singer Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine was noted for his high-pitched falsetto voice influenced by Jimmy Scott. The group was announced as inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 14[1]. They were inducted on April 4, 2009.

Little Anthony & the Imperials in concert at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California on December 31 2005

Contents

Career

In 1957, a doo-wop group known as The Chesters existed with members Clarence Collins, Tracy Lord, Nathaniel Rodgers, and Ronald Ross. Anthony Gourdine, a former member of The Duponts, joined as lead vocalist. Ernest Wright took over for Ross, and the group recorded shortly for Apollo Records.

Little Anthony & The Imperials in 2005, New York City

Changing their name to The Imperials, they signed with End Records in 1958. Their first single was "Tears on My Pillow", which was an instant hit. (While playing this song, D.J. Alan Freed dubbed the name "Little Anthony".) The B side, "Two Kinds of People" was also a hit. The group followed up with "Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko Ko Bop" in 1960. When their success dwindled in 1961, Little Anthony left to attempt a solo career. Some members left, and the line-up then became Collins, Wright, Sammy Strain, and George Kerr. Kerr was replaced by Kenny Seymour after a short time. This line-up had little success.

Little Anthony returned in 1963, replacing Seymour. The group's classic line-up; "Little Anthony" Gourdine, Ernest Wright, Clarence Collins, and Sammy Strain, was now complete. With the help of record producer/songwriter Teddy Randazzo (a childhood friend of the group), the Imperials found success on the new DCP (Don Costa Productions) label with the dramatic pop-soul records "I'm On The Outside (Looking In)" (1964), Goin' Out Of My Head (1964), "Hurt So Bad" (1965), "I Miss You So" (1965), "Take Me Back" (1965),"Hurt" (1966), and "Out of Sight, Out Of Mind" (1969).In 1965 The Imperials appeared on the CBS-TV special Murray The K - It's What's Happening, Baby, where they delivered an explosive performance of their late 50's hit,"I'm Alright" before a live audience in New York.

The Imperials then joined United Artists Records and were assigned to its Veep Records subsidiary, and then to the parent label itself, where they recorded "World Of Darkness", "Better Use Your Head", "If I Remember To Forget", "Yesterday Has Gone" and the Thom Bell produced "Help Me Find A Way (To Say I Love You"); arguably their best song from this period. Albums during this time included Reflections, Payin' Our Dues, Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind (named after their hit cover of The Five Keys song), and Movie Grabbers, which included a rendition of "You Only Live Twice", the James Bond motion picture theme.

They then went on to Janus Records, where they recorded the one-off single "Father Father" (which they performed on the Merv Griffin Show), and then on to Avco Records in the early 1970s and recorded their album On A New Street [2], and charted with the songs "La La La (At the End)", and "I'm Falling In Love With You". This album was produced by both Bell and Randazzo. All of these recordings did well on the national R&B charts, although not as successful on the Pop charts as their earlier DCP material. A second LP for Avco Records entitled 'Hold On' was withdrawn from sale in the USA after the failure of the title track to sell and AVCO's subsequent financial difficulties. It did however appear in Venezuela.They also appeared on Soul Train on 26 May 1973. By this time, Sammy Strain and Ernest Wright had left the group, although both would eventually return.

Ernest Wright left in 1971 to join Tony Williams' Platters. He was replaced by the returning Kenny Seymour, who was again replaced after a short time by Bobby Wade. Strain left in 1972 to join The O'Jays, and was replaced by Harold Jenkins (who had already been functioning as the group's choreographer). Jenkins and Seymour had previously performed together in The Impacts. Little Anthony left for a second (more successful) attempt at a solo career. The trio of Collins, Wade, and Jenkins continued as "The Imperials."

Clarence Collins left in 1988, and was replaced by Sherman James. They then toured as "Bobby Wade's Imperials". James left in 1992, and was replaced by Ron Stevenson. That same year, Collins, Wright, Strain, and Little Anthony reunited for a concert at Madison Square Garden. This reunion proved to be a success. When the decision was made for the foursome to tour together again, Wade relinquished the Imperials name, with his group becoming "Bobby Wade's Emperors". They became the house band at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. At this point Sammy Strain left the O'Jays, and permanently returned to the Imperials. Interestingly, 1992, the year of the group's reformation, just happened to also be the 40th anniversary of Dick Clark's American Bandstand, and he invited The Imperials to appear as part of the televised special celebration.

The lineup of Anthony, Sammy Strain, Ernest Wright, and group founder Clarence Collins is considered the "classic" and "definitive" Imperials lineup, as this was the unit that is the best known, and that had virtually all of the group's big 1960s hits. This is also the lineup that has been seen by millions of fans on television programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show, American Bandstand, Shindig!, Hullabaloo, Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall, The Mike Douglas Show, and other national network programs. On August 30, 1997, they were also featured on NBC's Today show as part of that show's "Summer Concert Series", and appeared on two popular PBS specials; "Rock, Rhythm, and Doo Wop", and "Soul Spectacular: 40 Years Of R&B" in 2002 and 2003, respectively. Also, during this period, they recorded two new CDs: "Little Anthony & The Imperials-Live: Up Close & Personal" (The group's first ever live album), and "Pure Acapella",[3] an all a capella CD showcasing the group's vocal talents without music on several classic 50's Doo- Wop songs, including their own hit, "Two People In The World", which was written by Imperials member Ernest Wright. These two recordings marked the first time that the classic lineup had recorded together in over 30 years.

Anthony, Collins, Wright, and Strain continued touring as "Little Anthony and the Imperials", until Strain retired in 2004, and Harold Jenkins returned to take his place. As of 2009, the Imperials are (along with The Dells), the only late 50's era R&B groups still touring with the great majority of their original members (Gourdine, Collins and Wright), as most other groups of that era such as The Platters, The Coasters and The Drifters have very few (if any).

They are also one of the very few late '50s-based groups to successfully re-invent themselves and go on to maintain consistent recording success well into the '60s and '70s.

Their songs have been covered by a wide range of artists, including Frank Sinatra, Linda Ronstadt, Sergio Mendez,The Delfonics,Wes Montgomery,Ray Conniff,Ella Fitzgerald,Luther Vandross, Reba McEntire, The Miracles, Chris Montez, and The Lettermen. On their Discovery album, the electronic music duo Daft Punk sampled Little Anthony & the Imperials' 1977 recording of "Can You Imagine" for the track "Crescendolls".

Little Anthony & the Imperials were inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15, 2006, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999, and received The Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Pioneer Award in 1993.

Little Anthony & The Imperials released their first new LP in several years in Oct. 2008 entitled, "You'll Never Know" and they performed on "Late Show With David Letterman" on Tuesday, August 26. There's also a Jeff Greenfield interview with Anthony and Clarence featured on CBS Sunday Morning which aired on Feb. 8th 2009. as well. Their new site address is littleanthonyandtheimperials.net which heralds their 50th anniversary.

Little Anthony and the Imperials are mentioned in the Tom Waits song "Christmas card from a Hooker in Minneapolis" from the album Blue Valentine (1980). Their Top 20 Pop hit, "Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko Bop" was sung by young actors Jared Rushton and David Moscow in a scene in the 1988 Tom Hanks hit movie "Big" .

In late 2008 , The Imperials appeared on The David Letterman Show, and announced the release on their latest CD "You'll Never Know". They also celebrated their 50th Anniversary.

On January 14 2009 it was announced that Little Anthony & The Imperials have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Imperials member Sammy Strain is one of the few artists in popular music history that is a double RRHOF inductee, (having been inducted with The O'Jays in 2005, and The Imperials in 2009).

Aside from the group's induction into the Rock HOF on April 4 (the induction concert aired live nationally on Fuse TV), they will also did a select concert at Cleveland's legendary Agora Ballroom on April 3.

Their last "Doo Wop reunion show" headlined the Izod Center - Meadowlands, New Jersey on June 13, 2009. Anthony explained, "the half-hour sets are too short and limited our performance. The audience did not like our shortened sets and that was that. Something had to give and the Doo Wop shows had to go. Little Anthony & The Imperials have always been an R&B group anyway. I know - I was there."

As an added note, Little Anthony now writes a weekly column on [vegascommunityonline.com] - click onto the "columns" section and scroll down to "An Imperial Life - This And That". The column is currently on hiatus due to the death of our the publisher Marleen Marino - "we miss you Marleen".

On the 29th of October 2009, Little Anthony & The Imperials will return to Madison Square Garden but not for a "doo wop reunion show". They are performing as a part of the Rock Hall of Fame's 25th anniversary concerts. They will be featured in a segment devoted to "the origins of New York rock". HBO will air the concerts over the Thanksgiving Day weekend.

Discography

Hit singles

  • "Tears On My Pillow / Two People In the World". End 1027 (July 1958) - POP #4, R&B #2
Original pressings shown as by "The Imperials", later changed to "Little Anthony and The Imperials"
  • "So Much / Oh Yeah". End 1036 (December 1958) - POP #87, R&B #2
  • "Wishful Thinking / When You Wish Upon A Star". End 1039 (March 1959) - POP #79
  • "A Prayer And A Juke Box / River Path". End 1047 (June 1959) - POP #81
  • "Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop / I'm Still In Love With You". End 1060 (November 1959) - POP #24, R&B #14
  • "My Empty Room / Bayou, Bayou, Baby". End 1067 (April 1960) - POP #86
  • "Please Say You Want Me / So Near Yet So Far". End 1086 (February 1961) - POP #104
  • "I'm On The Outside (Looking In) / Please Go". DCP 1104 (August 1964) - POP #15, R&B #8
Re-released in 1966 on Veep 1240
  • "Goin' Out Of My Head / Make It Easy On Yourself". DCP 1119 (October 1964) - POP #6, R&B #6
Re-released in 1966 on Veep 1241
  • "Hurt So Bad / Reputation". DCP 1128 (January 1965) - POP #10, R&B #3
Re-released in 1966 on Veep 1242
  • "Take Me Back / Our Song". DCP 1136 (June 1965) - POP #16, R&B #15
Re-released in 1966 on Veep 1243
  • "I Miss You So / Get Out Of My Life". DCP 1149 (September 1965) - POP #34, R&B #23
Re-released in 1966 on Veep 1244
  • "Hurt / Never Again". DCP 1154 (December 1965) - POP #51
Re-released in 1966 on Veep 1245
  • "Better Use Your Head / The Wonder Of It All". Veep 1228 (April 1966) - POP #54; UK #42
  • "You Better Take It Easy Baby / Gonna Fix You Good (Every Time You're Bad)". Veep 1233 (August 1966) - POP #125
  • "It's Not The Same / Down On Love", a/ANTHONY & The IMPERIALS. Veep 1248 (October 1966) - POP #92
  • "Don't Tie Me Down / Where There's A Will There's A Way To Forget You", a/ANTHONY & The IMPERIALS. Veep 1255 (February 1967) - POP #123
  • "I'm Hypnotized / Hungry Heart", a/ANTHONY & The IMPERIALS. Veep 1278 (February 1968) - POP #98
  • "Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind / Summers's Comin'In". United Artists 50552 (July 1969) - POP #52, R&B #38
  • "The Ten Commandments Of Love / Let The Sunshine In". United Artists 50598 (October 1969) - POP #82
  • "Don't Get Close / It'll Never Be The Same Again". United Artists 50625 (January 1970) - POP #116
  • "World Of Darkness / The Change". United Artists 50677 (June 1970) - POP #121
  • "Help Me Find A Way (To Say I Love You) / If I Love You". United Artists 50720 (November 1970) - POP #92, R&B #32
  • "I'm Falling In Love With You / What Good Am I Without You". Avco 4635 (April 1974) - POP #86, R&B #25
  • "Hold On (Just A Little Bit Longer) / I've Got To Let You Go (Part 1)", a/ANTHONY & The IMPERIALS. Avco 4651 (March 1975) - POP #106, R&B #79
  • "Who's Gonna Love Me / Better Take Time To Love", a/The IMPERIALS. Omni 5501 (May 1978) - R&B #73

Albums

  • We Are The Imperials, featuring Little Anthony -- End LP 303 (1959)
  • Shades of the 40's -- End LP 311 (1960)
The above two albums were issued only in mono
  • I'm On The Outside Looking In -- DCP DCL-3801 (Mono)/DCS-6801 (Stereo) (1964) -- Pop #135
Re-released in 1966 on Veep VP 13510 (Mono)/VPS 16510 (Stereo)
  • Goin' Out Of My Head -- DCP DCL-3808/DCS-6808 (1965) -- Pop #74
Re-released in 1966 on Veep VP 13511/VPS 16511
  • The Best Of Little Anthony & The Imperials -- DCP DCL-3809/DCS-6809 (1965) -- Pop #97
Re-released in 1966 on Veep VP 13512/VPS 16512
  • Payin' Our Dues -- Veep VP 13513/VPS 16513 (1966)
  • Reflections -- Veep VP 13514/VPS 16514 (1967)
  • Movie Grabbers -- Veep VP 13516/VPS 16516 (1967)
  • The Best of Anthony & The Imperials, Volume 2 -- Veep VPS 16519 (1968)
The above four albums shown as by "Anthony & The Imperials"
  • Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind -- United Artists UAS 6720 (1969) -- Pop #172
  • On A New Street -- Avco AV-11012 (1973)

References

  1. ^ [1]

George Dassinger/Dassinger Creative PR - (973)890-1008 - dassingercreative@hotmail.com

External links

RATE IT ALL: Little ANTHONY & THE IMPERIALS


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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