Thurston Harris | |
---|---|
Born | Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | July 11, 1931
Died | April 14, 1990 58) Pomona, California, U.S. | (aged
Genres | Rhythm and blues, Rock And Roll |
Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
Years active | 1953–1990 |
Formerly of | The Sharps |
Thurston Harris (July 11, 1931 – April 14, 1990) [1] [2] was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his 1957 hit "Little Bitty Pretty One".
Harris first appeared on record in 1953. He was the vocalist for South Central Los Angeles R&B band the Lamplighters. [3] He remained with the band as it evolved through several name changes, from the Tenderfoots to the Sharps. In 1954, the Lamplighters appeared at the Tenth Cavalcade of Jazz concert at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles produced by Leon Hefflin Sr. alongside Count Basie, Louis Jordon, the Flairs, Perez Prado, Christine Kittrell, and Ruth Brown. [4]
In 1957, Harris signed as a solo artist for Aladdin Records. His former band backed him when he released his version of Bobby Day's "Little Bitty Pretty One". [5] [6] It reached number 6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The track sold over one million records, achieving gold disc status. [3] The Sharps would go on to another name change to become The Rivingtons, achieving fame with the single "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow".
Unusually, "Little Bitty Pretty One" was released on labels of three different colors: purple, blue and maroon. The song appeared on the soundtracks to films or television dramas, such as Telling Lies in America , Matilda , Lipstick on Your Collar , and Christine .
Harris had a second and final hit in 1958 with "Do What You Did", which reached the Top 20. His other best known song was "Runk Bunk", recorded in 1959 (Aladdin 3452). Harris later recorded on Cub, Dot, Imperial, Intro, Reprise and United Artists.
Harris died in his sleep of a heart attack on April 14, 1990. [7]
The Rivingtons were a 1960s doo-wop band, known for their 1962 novelty hit "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow". The members were lead vocalist Carl White, tenor Al Frazier, baritone Sonny Harris and bassist Turner "Rocky" Wilson Jr. Frazier was replaced by Madero White for a period in the late 1970s.
Robert James Byrd, known by the stage name Bobby Day, was an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, and songwriter. He is best known for his hit record "Rockin' Robin", written by Leon René under the pseudonym Jimmie Thomas. Day also wrote the top-10 Billboard hits "Little Bitty Pretty One" and "Over and Over".
Lookin' Through the Windows is the sixth studio album by the Jackson 5, released on the Motown label in May 1972. It has sold 3.5 million copies worldwide
Roy James Brown was an American blues singer who had a significant influence on the early development of rock and roll and the direction of R&B. His original song and hit recording "Good Rockin' Tonight" has been covered by many artists including Wynonie Harris, Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Joe Ely, Ricky Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Pat Boone, James Brown, the Doors, and the rock group Montrose. Brown was one of the first popular R&B singers to perform songs with a gospel-steeped delivery, which was then considered taboo by many churches. In addition, his melismatic, pleading vocal style influenced notable artists such as B.B. King, Bobby Bland, Elvis Presley, Jackie Wilson, James Brown and Little Richard.
Joseph Christopher Liggins, Jr. was an American R&B, jazz and blues pianist and vocalist who led Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers in the 1940s and 1950s. His band appeared often on the Billboard magazine charts. The band's biggest hit was "The Honeydripper", released in 1945. Joe Liggins was the older brother of R&B performer Jimmy Liggins.
"Shakin' All Over" is a song originally performed by Johnny Kidd & the Pirates. It was written by leader Johnny Kidd, and his original recording reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in August 1960. The song is sometimes credited to Frederick Albert Heath, which is Kidd's real name. Kidd's recording was not a hit outside Europe. In other parts of the world the song is better known by recordings from other artists.
"Little Bitty Pretty One" is a 1957 song written and originally recorded by Bobby Day. The same year, the song was popularized by Thurston Harris. Produced by Aladdin Records, and featuring the Sharps on backing vocals, Harris's version reached No. 6 on the U.S. Billboard Best-Sellers chart and No. 2 on the R&B chart. The Bobby Day version reached No. 11 in the Canadian CHUM Chart.
"Surfin' Bird" is a song performed by American surf rock band the Trashmen, containing the repetitive lyric "the bird is the word". It has been covered many times. It is a combination of two R&B hits by the Rivingtons: "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" and "The Bird's the Word".
"Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" is a novelty nonsensical doo-wop song by the Rivingtons in 1962. It peaked at number 48 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 35 on the Cashbox charts. The band released two similar follow-up songs over the next several months, "Mama-Oom-Mow-Mow " and "The Bird's the Word".
The Hollywood Flames were an American R&B vocal group in the 1950s, best known for their No. 11 hit "Buzz-Buzz-Buzz" in 1957.
Jewel Eugene Akens was an American singer and record producer.
The Freshmen were among the most popular Irish showbands of the 1960s and 1970s. They specialised in recreating the complex vocal harmonies of international acts such as The Beach Boys and The 5th Dimension. They had nine top 20 hit singles in Ireland, including a reworking of The Rivingtons' song "Papa Oom Mow Mow", featuring the deep voice of lead singer, Derek Dean.
"What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?" is a song written by Joseph McCarthy, Howard Johnson and James V. Monaco in 1916 for the Broadway production Follow Me, in which it was performed by Henry Lewis.
Miki & Griff were a British country music duo, who had several hit singles on the UK Singles Chart in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Miki was Barbara Macdonald Griffith ; Griff was born Emyr Morus Griffith.
Ain't Living Long Like This is the debut studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell, released in 1978 by Warner Bros. Records. It failed to enter the Top Country Albums chart. The songs, "Elvira", "Song for the Life" and "(Now and Then, There's) A Fool Such as I" were released as singles but they all failed to chart within the top 40. Despite this, Ain't Living Long Like This is considered one of Crowell's best and most influential albums. Brett Hartenbach of Allmusic says it "not only showcases his songwriting prowess, but also his ability to deliver a song, whether it's one of his own or the work of another writer". Most of the songs on this album were later covered by other artists including The Oak Ridge Boys and Alan Jackson. When the album was re-released in 2002 the font on the cover was enlarged to make it more legible.
Children of the Light is a compilation album released in 1993 featuring the music of the Jackson 5. It is one of the three compilations of the group's music not produced by Motown or CBS Records.
"Santa and the Satellite" was the fifth single released by Buchanan & Goodman, known for their break-in records. Dickie Goodman again supplies most of the dialogue, and features disc jockey Paul Sherman in place of Bill Buchanan.
The Epic Masters is a box set compilation comprising ten remastered albums by Shakin' Stevens. Released on 16 November 2009, the set contains nine albums originally released by Epic Records between 1980 and 1990, plus an exclusive CD of 12" extended mixes. The set was also made available as a download through iTunes.
Take One! is a 1980 album by British rock and roll singer Shakin' Stevens. It was his first release on Epic Records and his first album to enter the UK charts. The album also featured Stevens' first UK charting single "Hot Dog".
Weekend in London is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Dave Clark Five. It contains the single "Come Home" and covers of "Blue Suede Shoes" by Carl Perkins and "Little Bitty Pretty One" by Thurston Harris. The album also features "Hurting Inside" and "'Till the Right One Comes Along", both of which later appeared on The Dave Clark Five (1971) compilation album. In Canada, it was released as Encores on Capitol Records.
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