April Stevens
April Stevens (born April 29, 1936 in Niagara Falls , New York ; according to other information 1929 ; actually Carol LoTempio ) is an American singer. She is best known for her musical collaboration with her brother Nino Tempo ( Antonino LoTempio ), who is almost the same age . In the early 1960s, the duo had a number of hits on Atlantic Records , including their number 1 hit Deep Purple .
life and work
April Stevens grew up with her brother Antonino and six younger sisters in a middle-class Italian-American family. From the age of eight she successfully took part in singing and music competitions.
In 1948 the "Lo Tempios" moved with their children to Los Angeles in order to promote the musical careers of their two elders there. She sang with the Hoagy Carmichael Teenagers at Belmont High School and made demo tapes with other artists. Her first record, No No No Not That , was recorded in 1950 at Laurel Records' record studio under Tony Sepe. To avoid her name being associated with the somewhat suggestive song, the record was released under her new stage name April Stevens .
After the collapse of Laurel Records , she moved with her then-manager Al Piantadosi to Society Records and recorded a series of songs like Do not Do It , Shadow Waltz , The Envelope and the Rope , End of Desire , in a Toyland and Subway Express on , arranged by Russ Garcia .
In 1951, Henri Rene persuaded her to move to RCA . Rene was head of the A&R department there and looked after artists such as Frankie Laine , Dinah Shore and Eartha Kitt . Her greatest success so far was a 6th place in the top ten with I'm in Love Again at RCA and in the same year position 10 with Gimme A Little Kiss, Will Ya, Huh? and position 27 with And So to Sleep Again .
After an unhappy love affair with a married oil boss, she continued her career in 1959 under Henri Rene, now with Imperial Records , and others. a. with the title Teach Me Tiger , which - incorrectly - is often associated with Marilyn Monroe . Monroe never sang this song himself. Two years later, she and her brother Nino recorded the duet High School Sweetheart for the music department of United Artists .
The national and international breakthrough for Nino Tempo and April Stevens came in 1963 with their number 1 hit Deep Purple , a title with which Larry Clinton and his orchestra took first place on the charts in 1939. The following recordings were also new recordings of titles from the 1920s and 1930s. After another Top 20 hit with Whispering , Stardust , Tea For Two , I'm Confessin '(That I Love You) mostly landed in the middle of the charts.
Other records such as I Love How You Love Me , Sea Of Love and Hey Baby followed, more successes were once again All Strung Out (1966), and Wake Up And Love Me , which was released in 1974 under the stage name "April".
After her father's death in 1982, April married Bill Perman in 1983, with whom she now lives in Arizona. In 1985 she started again with recordings, again with her brother Nino, which she continued until the late 1990s. In October 1999, April and Nino were inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame .
Discography
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| Solo singles | ||||
| 1959 | Teach me tiger | - |
US86 (3 weeks) US |
|
| with Nino Tempo | ||||
| 1962 | Sweet and Lovely | - |
US77 (4 weeks) US |
|
| 1963 | Deep Purple |
UK17 (11 weeks) UK |
US1 (15 weeks) US |
|
| Whispering |
UK20 (8 weeks) UK |
US11 (9 weeks) US |
||
| 1964 | Stardust | - |
US32 (6 weeks) US |
|
| I'm Confessin '(That I Love You) | - |
US99 (1 week) US |
||
| 1965 | Tea for Two | - |
US56 (5 weeks) US |
|
| 1966 | All Strung Out | - |
US26 (8 weeks) US |
|
| 1967 | I Can't Go On Livin 'Baby Without You | - |
US86 (2 weeks) US |
|
| 1973 | Sister James | - |
US53 (8 weeks) US |
|
| 1974 | Wake Up And Love Me | - |
US93 (4 weeks) US |
|
Autobiography
- Teach me tiger! My autobiography , 2013, ISBN 9781490434650
Individual evidence
- ↑ Review of her autobiography on kirkusreviews.com ( Memento from August 29, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Recorded with the Don Ralke Orchestra, published under Imperial 5626; see. Joel Whitburn: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993 . Menomonee Falls / Wisconsin: Record Research Inc., 1994, p. 571
- ^ Joel Whitburn: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993 . Menomonee Falls / Wisconsin: Record Research Inc., 1994, p. 593
- ↑ Chart sources: UK US1 US2
Web links
- April Stevens in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- More about April and Nino
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Stevens, April |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | LoTempio, Carol (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 29, 1936 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Niagara Falls |