From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Tue Jan 8, 2002  1:16 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Little Anthony

LITTLE ANTHONY

Born Anthony Gourdine, 8 January 1940, Brooklyn, New York City

Featuring the high-pitched vocals of Anthony Gourdine and a brace of
solid material, Little Anthony & the Imperials had a much longer chart
run than the majority of doo wop acts from the '50s. When the dust
finally settled, the group clocked in with a total of 19 entries in the
Hot 100 between 1958 and 1974.
Gourdine formed the group in the mid-'50s after his previous group,
the Duponts, disbanded. Grabbing friends Clarence Collins, Ernest
Wright, Tracy Lord and Nat Rodgers, the group was originally called
the Chesters, but had their name changed to the Imperials by popular
New York disc jockey Alan Freed. They cut one single before joining
the End label in 1958. Their first release on End, "Tears On My Pillow"
was the biggest hit of their career, peaking at # 4. In 1960 the group
split up, but it was reformed in 1964 as a quartet, with new member
Sammy Strain, who would leave in 1975 to join The O'Jays. The sound
changed from doo wop to a harder, more uptown R&B sound, best
exemplified on hits like "Goin' Out Of My Head" (# 6, 1964) and "Hurt
So Bad" (# 10, 1965). Little Anthony decided to work as a solo artist in
1975, became a born-again Christian and came back with an inspirational
LP, "Daylight", in 1980, produced by B.J. Thomas.

CD recommendation: The Best Of Little Anthony & the Imperials (Rhino)