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13 March 1939, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. Pianist Sedaka began his songwriting career with lyricist Howard Greenfield in the early 50s. During this high school period, Sedaka dated Carol Klein (later known as Carole King). For a brief period, Sedaka joined the Tokens, then won a scholarship to New Yorks Juilliard School of Music. In 1958, the pianist joine
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Stanley Robert Vinton, 16 April 1935, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, USA. Born of Polish extraction, Vinton was one of the more enduring boy-next-door pop idols who sprang up in the early 60s. He began as a trumpeter before agreeing to front his high school band as featured vocalist. A tape of one such performance reached Epic Records, who signed him in 1960. Composed by Al Byron
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20 April 1939, Jacksonville, Florida, USA. Tillotsons father was a country music disc jockey and Johnny himself was appearing on local radio from the age of nine. His parents encouraged his talent by giving him first a ukulele and then a guitar, and he was influenced by the singing cowboys (Gene Autry, Roy Rogers) and country singer Hank Williams. He appeared regularly
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Walden Robert Cassotto, 14 May 1936, New York, USA, d. 20 December 1973, Los Angeles, California, USA. Darins entry to the music business occurred during the mid-50s following a period playing in New York coffee-houses. His friendship with co-writer/entrepreneur Don Kirshner resulted in his first single, My First Love. A meeting with Connie Francis ma
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Charles Eugene Patrick Boone, 1 June 1934, Jacksonville, Florida, USA. Boone sold more records during the late 50s than any other artist except Elvis Presley. From 1955 to date, only six artists (Presley, the Beatles, James Brown, Elton John, Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder) are ranked above him in terms of total singles sales and their relative chart positions. Boone had a
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Francis Avallone, 18 September 1940, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. This photogenic 50s teen idol started as a trumpet-playing child prodigy. His first recordings in 1954 were the instrumentals Trumpet Sorrento and Trumpet Tarantella on X-Vik Records (an RCA Records subsidiary). In the mid-50s, he appeared on many television and radio shows includin
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One of the leading R&B vocal groups of the 50s, they were the first black group to be accepted as a major chart act and, for a short time, were the most successful vocal group in the world. The Platters were formed in Los Angeles in 1953 by entrepreneur/songwriter Buck Ram (21 November 1907, Chicago, Illinois, USA, d. 1 January 1991). Through his ownership of the Platter
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Brenda Mae Tarpley, 11 December 1944, Lithonia, Georgia, USA. Even in early adolescence, Lee had an adult husk of a voice that could slip from anguished intimacy through sleepy insinuation to raucous lust, even during Lets Jump The Broomstick, Speak To Me Pretty and other jaunty classics that kept her in the hit parade from the mid-50s to 1965.
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Francis Stephen Castelluccio, 3 May 1934 (1937 is also regularly cited), Newark, New Jersey, USA. Originally a solo singer recording under the names Frank Valley and Frank Valley And The Travelers, he joined the Variatones in 1954. They made their first records as the Four Lovers but achieved lasting success when they became the 4 Seasons in 1962. Although he was lead singer
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This highly acclaimed New Jersey, USA vocal group first came together in the mid-50s with a line-up comprising vocalists Frankie Valli (Francis Stephen Castelluccio, 3 May 1934 (1937 is also regularly cited), Newark, New Jersey, USA), brothers Nick and Tommy DeVito (b. 19 June 1936, Belleville, New Jersey, USA) and Hank Majewski. Initially known as the Variatones, then the F
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Terry Parsons, 1 December 1930, London, England, d. 7 February 1985, Ealing, London, England. This velvet-voiced balladeer first played in bands under the pseudonym Al Jordan before adopting the name Monro, allegedly borrowed from Winifred Atwells father. Between stints as a bus driver and singer on the UK Camay soap commercial, he recorded for a number of labels, but
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Formed in 1946 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, USA, the Chordettes were a female singing group whose career extended into the rock era. Initially envisioning themselves as a female barbershop quartet the members were Dorothy Schwartz (lead), Janet Ertel (1913, d. 4 November 1988, Black River, Wisconsin, USA; bass), Carol Buschman (baritone) and Jinny Lockard (d. 19 May 2003, Palm S
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Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero, 12 December 1938, Newark, New Jersey, USA. A popular singer of tearful ballads and jaunty up-tempo numbers, Francis was one of the most successful female artists of the 50s and 60s. She began playing the accordion at the age of four, and was singing and playing professionally when she was 11. After winning an Arthur Godfrey Talent Show, she ch
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