Jewel Akens

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Jewel Akens (born September 12, 1933 in Houston , Texas , † March 1, 2013 in Inglewood , California ) was an American singer . In the mid-1960s it landed an international hit with the title The Birds And The Bees .

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
The Birds And The Bees
  US 3 03/20/1965 (14 weeks)
  UK 29 March 31, 1965 (8 weeks)
  DE 32 05/15/1965 (6 weeks)
Georgie Porgie
  US 68 05/29/1965 (5 weeks)

Life

Akens first grew up in Houston, where he sang in the church choir. In the late 1940s, his family moved with him to Los Angeles . He made his first musical steps as a member of the band The Four Dots , with whom he recorded several singles. At the same time he was active together with his friend Eddie Daniels as a duo Akens & Daniels.

His most successful period began when the record producer Herb Newman signed him as a background singer for his label Era Records . In early 1965, Newman took with him on the song The Birds and the Bees , whose rhymes allegedly Newman's son had written. The pleasant melody quickly became popular, climbed to number 3 on the US Billboard charts and was also able to place itself in the European charts. In the German-speaking world, Drafi Deutscher made the cover version Today I paint your picture Cindy Lou for a further popularization of the composition. Drafi Deutscher's title reached number 1 in the German singles hit parade.

For Akens, the recording remained the only big hit of his career. The follow-up single Georgie Porgie , knitted according to the same pattern, missed the success of his solo debut by far. His album The Birds And The Bees , on which he covered numerous R&B and country standards in addition to his two singles, was unsuccessful. He later went on tour with the band The Monkees and in 1973 produced their joint duet album for Ted Taylor and Little Johnny Taylor .

Discography (selection)

Singles

  • (Dancing) The Mashed Potatoes / Wee Bit More Of Your Lovin '(1962)
  • It's The Only Way To Fly / You Sure Know How To Hurt A Fella (1965)
  • Dancing Jenny / A Wee Bit More Of Your Lovin '(1965)
  • A Slice Of The Pie / You Better Believe It (1965)
  • I've Arrived / You Don't Need A Crown (1965)
  • Georgie Porgie / Around The Corner (From My House) (1965)
  • The Birds And The Bees / Tic Tac Toe (1965)
  • My First Lonely Night (Sukiyaki) / Mama Take Your Daughter Back (1966)
  • Born A Loser / Little Bitty Pretty One (1967)
  • It's A Sin To Tell A Lie / You Better Move On (1968)
  • He's Good For Me / Helplessly In Love (1969)

Albums

  • The Birds And The Bees (1965)

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ PASSINGS: Donald A. Glaser, Jewel Akens
  2. ↑ Jewel Akens, who sang 1960s hit "The Birds and the Bees," this in So. Cal at 79 .
  3. ↑ Charts DE Charts UK Charts US
  4. ↑ Catalog number Era 3141
  5. ^ Joel Whitburn: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993 . Record Research, Menomonee Falls WI 1994, p. 8
  6. ^ Günter Ehnert (Ed.): Hit balance sheet. German chart singles 1956-1980 . Taurus Press, Hamburg 1990, p. 60
  7. ↑ Catalog number Era 3142
  8. ↑ For more information on the album with the US catalog number Era EL 110 see: KD Tilch : Rock LPs 1955-1970. Vol. 1: AE . 3rd ext. Edition Taurus Press, Hamburg 1990, p. 13
personal data
SURNAME Akens, Jewel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American singer
DATE OF BIRTH September 12, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH Houston , Texas
DATE OF DEATH 1st of March 2013
Place of death Inglewood , California