This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2010) |
Pop-Tops | |
---|---|
Origin | Madrid, Spain |
Genres | Pop |
Years active | 1967-1974 |
Labels | Barclay Sonoplay (Spain) Explosion (Spain) Bellaphon (Germany) |
Past members | Phil Trim Julián Luis Angulo Alberto Vega Enrique Gómez Ignacio Pérez José Lipiani Ray Gómez Francisco Urbano Romero Rafael Guillermo Gertrudis |
Pop Tops (or Los Pop-Tops) were a vocal/instrumental band, formed in 1967 in Madrid, Spain, with Phil Trim from Trinidad and Tobago as lead singer. Their sound was a blend of baroque pop with the soulful vocals of Trim.
Original set-up included
Some changes occurred in members:
Their first release to gain attention was "Oh Lord, Why Lord" (1968), written by Jean Marcel Bouchety and Phil Trim. [1] It was the first pop song to incorporate the melody of Pachelbel's Canon in D. That single's b-side, "The Voice of the Dying Man" (based on a Johann Sebastian Bach composition) was also recorded in Spanish as "La Voz del Hombre Caido".
They are best known for their 1971 hit "Mamy Blue", [2] referring to a son's poignant song addressed to his departed mother about his childhood memories and life in general, sometimes spelled "Mommy Blue", "Mammy Blue" or "Mummy Blue", which was a Top 10 hit throughout much of Europe, Japan (#2), and Canada (#42), and a minor Billboard Hot 100 chart hit in the United States (#57). It was covered in the US by the Stories peaking at No. 50 in 1973. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a platinum record. [3] [ where? ] The composer and lyricist of the French song "Mamy Blue" was Hubert Giraud. [3] English lyrics were written by Phil Trim. The Pop Tops also recorded Italian and Spanish versions, with lyrics by Gefingal.
As follow-up singles they released "Suzanne Suzanne" (early 1972) and "Hideaway" (mid 1972), which were only minor hits in some European countries.
Title | Year | Peak positions |
---|---|---|
GER | ||
Canarios | 1968 | — |
Mamy Blue | 1971 | 30 |
Top Pops of Pop Tops | 1976 | — |
Title | Year | Peak positions | Album | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AUS [4] | AUT | GER | ESP | SWI | UK | US | |||
"Oh Lord, Why Lord" | 1968 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 78 | Canarios |
"Mamy Blue" [5] | 1971 | — | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 35 | 57 | Mamy Blue |
"Suzanne Suzanne" | 1972 | — | — | 16 | — | — | — | — | Top Pops of Pop Tops |
"Hideaway" | — | — | 22 | — | — | — | — | ||
"My Little Woman" | 1973 | 75 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Barclay, Spain
Explosion, Spain
Bellaphon, West Germany
Gloria Richetta Jones is an American singer and songwriter who first found success in the United Kingdom, being recognized there as "The Queen of Northern Soul". She recorded the 1965 hit song "Tainted Love" and has worked in multiple genres as a Motown songwriter and recording artist, backing vocalist, and as a performer in musicals such as Hair. In the 1970s, she was a keyboardist and vocalist in Marc Bolan's glam rock band T. Rex. She and Bolan were also in a committed romantic relationship and had a son together.
Cynthia Ann Birdsong is an American singer who became famous as a member of The Supremes in 1967, when she replaced co-founding member Florence Ballard. Birdsong had previously been a member of Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles.
David Thomas Mason is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic, and went on to play and record with many notable pop and rock musicians, including Paul McCartney, George Harrison, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Steve Winwood, Fleetwood Mac, Delaney & Bonnie, Leon Russell, and Cass Elliot.
Oh What a Feeling: A Vital Collection of Canadian Music is a 4-CD box set released in 1996 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Juno Awards. A second box set, Oh What a Feeling 2, was released in 2001 to mark the awards' 30th anniversary, and a third set, Oh What a Feeling 3, was released in 2006 for the 35th anniversary. All of the sets feature popular Canadian songs from the 1960s onward. The sets were titled for the song "Oh What a Feeling" by rock band Crowbar. The original 25th anniversary box set peaked at No. 3 on the Canadian Albums Chart and was certified Diamond in Canada.
BZN was a Dutch pop group that had a string of hits from 1966 to 2007 on. BZN recorded mostly in English and French, but also had success with material in Dutch and German.
Dan Penn is an American songwriter, singer, musician, and record producer, who co-wrote many soul hits of the 1960s, including "The Dark End of the Street" and "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" with Chips Moman and "Cry Like a Baby" with Spooner Oldham. Penn also produced many hits, including "The Letter", by The Box Tops. He has been described as a white soul and blue-eyed soul singer. Penn has released relatively few records featuring his own vocals and musicianship, preferring the relative anonymity of songwriting and producing. Dan Penn produced an album on Ronnie Milsap in 1970 on Warner Bros.
Michael Holm is a German singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. He is primarily known as a singer of Schlager music. Although his first appearance in the hit parade was in 1962, he had his first big hit in 1969. "Mendocino", the German adaptation of a song by the Sir Douglas Quintet, was the biggest selling single that year in (Germany). The record was released in September 1969, reached number three for five weeks, selling over a million copies. Ariola presented him with a gold record in October 1970.
The Return of the Magnificent Seven is the second collaborative album between Motown label-mates The Supremes and Four Tops, released in 1971. The production only featured two covers compared to their first album together, The Magnificent 7, that included more than eight. Although the three albums the Supremes recorded with the Four Tops did not match the commercial success of the Supremes/Temptations duet albums, what they did have instead were original tunes, soulful lead vocals by Jean Terrell and Levi Stubbs and high production values in terms of arrangements and orchestration.
Terence Sylvester is an English musician and songwriter. He is a former member of the Escorts, the Swinging Blue Jeans (1966–1969), and the Hollies. In the latter role, he took on the high parts formerly sung by Graham Nash, who had left the band in December 1968.
Dandy Livingstone is a British-Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and reggae musician and record producer, best known for his 1972 hit, "Suzanne Beware of the Devil", and for his song, "Rudy, A Message to You", which was later a cover hit for The Specials. "Suzanne Beware of the Devil", reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart and number 78 in Australia. In the early 1960s, Livingstone recorded some of the bestselling UK-produced ska singles of the era.
Lloyd Buonconsiglio, known professionally as Ian Lloyd, is an American rock singer and songwriter best known as the lead singer of the band Stories. The band's single "Brother Louie" rose to No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in August 1973.
Anarchic System was a French pop group formed in the early 1970s.
"Mamy Blue" is a 1970 song by French songwriter Hubert Giraud. Originally written with French lyrics, the song was rendered in English in 1971 to become an international hit for the Pop-Tops, Joël Daydé and Roger Whittaker. A hit in Italy with Italian lyrics for Dalida and in France in its original French for Nicoletta, "Mamy Blue" was also rendered in a number of other languages in cover versions recorded by a good number of local recording artists across continental Europe, while a "local cover" of the English-language version by Charisma reached #1 in South Africa. The song's title is sometimes spelled "Mammy Blue" in the English-speaking world.
The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit, Michigan. They were one of the most commercially successful American pop music groups of the 1960s and helped propel the Motown label to international fame. The group's repertoire has included aspects of soul, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes.
The History of Rock and Roll is a radio documentary on rock and roll music, originally syndicated in 1969, and again in 1978 and 1981. It is currently distributed as both a 2+1⁄2-minute short feature on internet networks, and a two-hour weekly series hosted by Wink Martindale, distributed to radio stations nationwide. This list below reflects the contents of the more widely heard 1978 version of The History of Rock & Roll.
James Radcliffe was an American soul singer, composer, arranger, conductor and record producer.
Carpenters is the third studio album by American music duo the Carpenters. Released on May 14, 1971, it was their most successful studio album, reaching number two on the Billboard 200 chart and number 12 in the UK, as well as being certified 4× Platinum by the RIAA. The album contained the hit songs "For All We Know", "Rainy Days and Mondays" and "Superstar".
Josephine Armstead, also known as "Joshie" Jo Armstead, is an American soul singer and songwriter. Armstead began her career singing backing vocals for blues musician Bobby "Blue" Bland before becoming an Ikette in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in the early 1960s. She also had some success as a solo singer, her biggest hit being "A Stone Good Lover" in 1968. As a songwriter, Armstead teamed up with Ashford & Simpson. The trio wrote hits for various artists, including Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Tina Britt, Ronnie Milsap, and Syl Johnson. In the 1970s, Armstead appeared in the Broadway musicals Don't Play Us Cheap and Seesaw.
Completely Cilla: 1963–1973 is a compilation album released of music by British pop singer Cilla Black. The compilation album is a prelude to Black's 50th anniversary in show business – it is the largest released compilation album of her music containing 139 digitally remastered recordings.
Nicoletta Grisoni, longer name Nicole Fernande Grisoni-Chappuis, better known by her mononym Nicoletta is a French pop singer. Becoming very popular on French radio and television, where she had a number of hits in the 1960s and the 1970s, she was considered as part of what is known as the French yé-yé generation heavily influenced by American music, particularly Rhythm and blues, Rock and roll and Beat music. She is mostly known for her version of "Mamy Blue".
MAMMY BLUE.
{{cite book}}
: |author=
has generic name (help)