Better Use Your Head

Last updated
"Better Use Your Head"
Better Use Your Head.jpg
Single by Little Anthony & The Imperials
B-side "Gonna Fix You Good"
Released1976
Genre Modern soul, funk
Length2:49
Label Silver Spotlight Series UP 36141
Songwriter(s) Teddy Randazzo, Victoria Pike
Producer(s) Teddy Randazzo

"Better Use Your Head" is a song and single by American R&B group, Little Anthony & The Imperials written by Teddy Randazzo, who also produced it, and his wife Victoria Pike. [1] [2]

Contents

Credits: The Imperials

Other credits

Chart performance

"Better Use Your Head", was originally released in the US on the Veep label in 1966 with "The Wonder of It All" as the B-side, [3] it reached # 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 . [4] It was later re-released in 1976 following its gain in popularity after having been played in clubs on the Northern soul scene in the UK. It made number 42 in the UK charts in July 1976 and was Little Anthony & The Imperials only UK chart success. [5]

Related Research Articles

The Tornados were an English instrumental rock group of the 1960s that acted as backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions and also for singer Billy Fury. They enjoyed several chart hits in their own right, including the UK and US No. 1 "Telstar", the first US No. 1 single by a British group. Today Dave Watts has his own version of the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Costa</span> American recording artist, conductor, record producer, music arranger, jazz guitarist

Dominick P. "Don" Costa was an American conductor and record producer. He discovered singer Paul Anka and worked on several hit albums by Frank Sinatra, including Sinatra and Strings and My Way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Anthony and the Imperials</span> Rhythm and blues/soul vocal group from New York

Little Anthony and the Imperials is an American rhythm and blues/soul vocal group from New York City founded by Clarence Collins in the 1950s and named in part for its lead singer, Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine, who was noted for his high-pitched voice. In addition to Collins and Gourdine, the original Imperials included Ernest Wright, Gloster "Nate" Rogers, and Tracy Lord, the last two of whom were subsequently replaced by Sammy Strain. The group was one of the very few doo-wop groups to enjoy sustained success on the R&B and pop charts throughout the 1960s. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 4, 2009, 23 years after the group's first year of eligibility for induction.

"Prisoner of Love" is a 1931 popular song, with music by Russ Columbo and Clarence Gaskill and lyrics by Leo Robin.

"Who Can I Turn To?" (alternatively titled "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)") is a song written by English composer-lyricists Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley and first published in 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Hiller</span> Musical artist

Anthony Toby Hiller was an English songwriter and record producer. He was best known for writing and/or producing hits for Brotherhood of Man, including "United We Stand" (1970) and "Save Your Kisses for Me" (1976).

"Raise Your Hand" is a song written by Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd, and Alvertis Isbell. It was recorded by Floyd and appeared on his 1967 debut album Knock on Wood. It was released as a single that year, where it reached #16 on the Black Singles Chart and #79 on the Pop Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teddy Randazzo</span> American singer-songwriter

Alessandro Carmelo "Teddy" Randazzo was an American pop songwriter, singer, arranger and producer, who composed hit songs such as "Goin' Out of My Head", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle", "Pretty Blue Eyes", and "Hurt So Bad" in the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goin' Out of My Head</span>

"Goin' Out of My Head" is a song written by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein, initially recorded by Little Anthony and the Imperials in 1964. Randazzo, a childhood friend of the group, wrote the song especially for them, having also supplied the group with their previous Top 20 Hit "I'm on the Outside ". Their original version of the song was a Billboard Top 10 Pop smash, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 in the Canadian RPM-list in 1965. The song peaked at No. 8 on Cashbox magazine's R&B chart. The Little Anthony and the Imperials original recording is the best-known version of the song, although it has since been covered by many other artists, including the Zombies, who released a rendition as their last single on Decca Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurt So Bad</span>

"Hurt So Bad" is a song written by Teddy Randazzo, Bobby Weinstein, and Bobby Hart. It is a 1965 Top 10 hit ballad originally recorded by Little Anthony & The Imperials. Linda Ronstadt also had a Top 10 hit with her cover version in 1980. The song has been re-recorded by numerous artists including The Lettermen, who took the song to number twelve in September 1969.

"Take Me Back" was a song composed by songwriter Teddy Randazzo, and was a 1965 hit song by Little Anthony and the Imperials.

"I'm on the Outside (Looking In)" is a 1964 hit song by Little Anthony and the Imperials, issued on DCP Records. It was a Billboard top 20 pop hit, peaking at number 15, and number 12 in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's Gonna Take a Miracle</span> 1965 single by the Royalettes

"It's Gonna Take a Miracle" is a song written by Teddy Randazzo, Bobby Weinstein, and Lou Stallman. It was first an R&B hit in 1965 for The Royalettes, which reached the Top 30 on the U.S. R&B chart and peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 37 on Cash Box.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurt (Roy Hamilton song)</span> 1954 song

"Hurt" is a 1954 song by Jimmie Crane and Al Jacobs. "Hurt" was originally performed by Roy Hamilton, whose version peaked at number eight on the R&B Best Seller chart and spent a total of seven weeks on the chart. A version by Ricky Denell also received considerable radio airplay in 1954 on pop radio stations. The song is considered to be the signature hit of Timi Yuro, whose version went to number four on the Billboard pop chart in 1961. Juice Newton's 1985 version scored number one on Billboard's Country chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Taylor (singer)</span> Musical artist

Theodore Taylor was an American blues singer.

Robert Weinstein was an American songwriter, singer, and music industry executive, whose hit songs, mostly co-written with Teddy Randazzo, include "Goin' Out of My Head", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" and "I'm on the Outside ".

<i>It Hurts to Be in Love</i> (album) 1981 studio album by Dan Hartman

It Hurts to Be in Love is the fourth studio album from American singer and songwriter Dan Hartman, released by Blue Sky in 1981. It was produced by Hartman and mixed by Neil Dorfsman.

<i>Reddy</i> (album) 1979 studio album by Helen Reddy

Reddy is the eleventh studio album release by Australian-American pop singer Helen Reddy. Between 1971 and 1978, Reddy had ten studio albums released by Capitol Records, the label also having issued her Greatest Hits album and a concert album: Live in London, the latter issued in December 1978 - which same month Reddy filed suit claiming Capitol Records had shortchanged her $1,793,000, the suit being an apparent bid to win release from the label. However Reddy, issued in June 1979, would be released by Capitol Records, Reddy's tenure with the label extending to include her twelfth studio album: Take What You Find, issued in 1980.

"Ain't Got No Home" is a song written and originally recorded by American rhythm-and-blues singer and pianist Clarence "Frogman" Henry. It was released as a single in the United States on December 15, 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lost Without You (Teddy Randazzo song)</span> 1964 single by Teddy Randazzo

"Lost Without You" is a song written by American songwriters Teddy Randazzo and Billy Barberis and first released by Randazzo as a single in September 1964. It was not as successful as some of his previous releases, only peaking at number 130 on the Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100. The song had more success in the UK after it was covered by English singer Billy Fury, who released his version titled "I'm Lost Without You".

References

  1. "Better Use Your Head". www.discogs.com. 16 July 1976. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  2. "Artist Profile - Teddy Randazzo - Bio". Jango.com. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
  3. "Better Use Your Head - 1966". www.discogs.com. 1966. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  4. Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 505.
  5. "Little Anthony & The Imperials". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 26 October 2013.