From: "Dik de Heer" Date: Tue Aug 27, 2002 1:34 am Subject: Born To Be With You : Tommy Sands TOMMY SANDS (By Jean-Marc Pezet) Born Thomas Adrian Sands, 27 August, 1937, Chicago, Illinois When Tommy had his first hit record with "Teenage Crush" in 1957, from the film "The Singin' Idol", he was no newcomer, having been in the music business for more than 7 years. Born in Chicago to a professional piano playing father and a mother who used to sing for the Art Kassel's Big Band, but raised mainly in Louisiana by his mother, Tommy took a very early interest in music, listening to the radio all the time. At 8, he was already singing on the radio for money and he made his debut at the Grand Ole Opry in 1947, only aged 10! He also made his acting debut around the same time. Tommy cut his first record for the R&B Houston label Freedom in 1951, but it was through Colonel Tom Parker (who represented him through his Jamboree Attractions company) that he signed to RCA for which he cut 7 singles between 1953 and 1955. It was in 1954 that he encountered Capitol's Ken Nelson while dee jaying at a radio in Houston and 1955 also proved fruitful with shows in Houston with Elvis Presley. A year later, Elvis had promised Tommy a role in his new movie and the Sands moved to Hollywood, Tommy getting a spot on Cliffie Stone's Hometown Jamboree. Tommy was offered the leading role in NBC's "The Singin' Idol", a play loosely based on Elvis' story and was signed to Capitol Records. An overnight sensation, his new single "Teenage Crush", with the TV exposure, reached the Top Three the day after broadcast! Things got off for Tommy and his next singles proved to be very successful, placing him as one of best selling of the teen idols of the era. Surprisingly, Tommy acted backwards, and with time passing by, recorded more and more hard rockin' material, culminating in mid-1958, in the famous "The Worryin' Kind" and "Blue Ribbon Baby", backed by The Raiders, featuring ace guitarist Scotty Turner. Other rock 'n' roll singles followed until late 1959 when Capitol pushed a more smoochy Tommy accompanied by the Nelson Riddle Orchestra (Good Lord!), leading him to the supper-club circuit. More singles followed on Vista, ABC-Paramount, Liberty, Imperial, Brunswick and, in 1965, after his divorce from Nancy Sinatra, Tommy more or less quit the business and moved to Hawaii where he has worked for 20 years. Finally, he was brought to England for his first appearance in 1990. Tommy has been hugely underrated and his more rockin' sides, collected on the Bear Family CD, stand up well compared to his contemporaries. Robert Gordon made no mistakes when he cut a great cover of "Worryin' Kind" for his Bad Boy LP in 1980. Recommended listening: "The Worryin' Kind" - Bear Family BCD 15643 (features the best of the Capitol rockin' tracks 1957-1962) More info: http://www.celebhost.net/tommysands/