From:   "Dik de Heer"  
Date:  Wed Jul 23, 2003  1:11 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Bert Convy
 
BERT CONVY

Born Bernard Whalen Convy, 23 July 1933, St. Louis, Missouri
Died 15 July 1991, Los Angeles, California

Bert Convy was the lead singers of the Cheers, a West Coast group,
who had a # 6 hit in the autumn of 1955 with "Black Denim Trousers
and Motor Cycle Boots". The Cheers featured Bert Convy, Gil Garfield 
and Sue Allen. The songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller 
used the group to sing demo records that Jerry and Mike had written. 
All five A-sides of their Capitol singles are Leiber-Stoller compositions
and some of the B-sides too.

"Black Denim Trousers" was covered for the French market by none
other than Edith Piaf, as "L'Homme A La Moto". I recently heard this
version for the first time ; to my surprise, my daughter had it in her 
collection. Not exactly rock 'n' roll, but interesting, to say the least.

After recording two more singles in 1957 for Mercury, the Cheers broke
up towards the end of that year. Convy decided to become an actor and
later became a very popular television personality, playing in countless 
TV shows and hosting his own long-running show "Tattletales". He kept 
making occasional solo records, like the monster novelties "The Monster's
Hop"/"The Gorilla" on Contender Records. At the end of "The Gorilla", the
Purple People Eater ends up being eaten by a gorilla.
The late 70s and early 80s brought continued success to Mr. Convy, 
including a nomination for an Emmy Award. In 1990, Bert became ill with 
a brain tumor and passed away on July 15, 1991, aged 57.

More info on the Cheers: http://www.thecheers.com/
Website: http://www.bertconvy.net/