Last month, Little Anthony was interviewed on a Sirius XM broadcast hosted by Bruce Morrow. It was a one hour special which aired April 10, 14 and 18. The interview and Anthony's singing song after hit song was something to hear. Now, you can see it firsthand - live.
On Tuesday evening, June 17th Joe's Pub will present Little Anthony, a piano, a few microphones, some R&B hits like "Hurt So Bad", audience questions and 55 years of show business remembrances.
Little Anthony and the Imperials were one of the finest vocal groups to emerge from the talent-rich New York scene. Moreover, they enjoyed unusual longevity for an act of that type, having hits in both the doo-wop Fifties and the soul-music Sixties. They outlasted their peers by virtue of "Little Anthony" Gourdine's powerful, beseeching vocals and the consummate professionalism of the Imperials, who mastered a broad range of material and knew how to work a stage.
It all started in Brooklyn, where Gourdine and friends grew up in the throes of the vocal-group craze. His first groups were called the Duponts (after the chemical company) and the Chesters. The latter group got signed to music-biz impresario
George Gouldner's End Records. Wanting a name more regal than the Chesters, the label rechristened them the Imperials. It was Alan Freed, then an influential New York disc jockey and concert promoter, who christened Gourdine "Little Anthony," for the youthful quality in his voice. Both Freed and fellow deejay/promoter Murray Kaufman (a.k.a. "Murray the K") liked Little Anthony and the Imperials and helped launch their career with airplay and concert bookings.
"Tears on My Pillow," their first single as the Imperials, was released on End Records. This classic vocal-group ballad was one of the biggest hits of 1958, reaching #2 on the R&B chart and #4 on the pop chart. Little Anthony and the Imperials were suddenly stars. The story might have ended there, with "Tears On My Pillow" fondly recalled as a vocal-group classic from one of the many one-hit wonders from that era. In fact, some of their followup singles did flop, strong as they were. But the group rebounded with an uptempo number, "Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko Bop," that capitalized on a dance craze. - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2009 Inductee)
Tickets
