Little Eva
Little Eva (born June 29, 1943 as Eva Narcissus Boyd in Belhaven , North Carolina , † April 10, 2003 in Kinston , North Carolina) was an American singer who became known in 1962 through the hit The Loco-Motion .
biography
Eva Narcissus Boyd grew up with fifteen siblings. To complete her schooling, she moved to live with relatives in Brighton Beach near New York in 1959 , where she sang in the church choir. She then worked as a babysitter at the New York songwriter -Ehepaar Carole King and Gerry Goffin . She was given the opportunity to work as a background singer on recordings of Ben E. King and The Cookies .
Little Eva's first solo recording was the song The Loco-Motion, written by King and Goffin . The title was released in June 1962 by the newly founded record company Dimension under the stage name "Little Eva" and quickly reached first place on the Billboard Hot 100 . The title was also an international success. In the UK he came in second place. In Germany it reached number 23 on the charts. The following recordings could not repeat this success, but came to 1963 more Little Eva titles in the Hot 100. In 1963, she went on a tour of Great Britain and France with Brian Hyland .
Little Eva's popularity declined from 1964 onwards due to the British Invasion , especially caused by The Beatles . In 1965 their last single was released by Dimension, after which records were released by some small record companies at irregular intervals. In 1970 she said goodbye to the music business and returned to her native Belhaven. In her final years she fought against cancer, which forced her to withdraw from the public from 2001. She died at the age of 59 in 2003 at Lenoir Memorial Hospital in Kinston, North Carolina. She left behind her husband James Harris, whom she married in 1962, and two daughters and a son.
Discography
Studio albums
- 1962: Llllloco-Motion (Dimension Records DLP-6000)
- 1963: Swinging on a Star (with Big Dee Irwin)
Compilations
- 1988: The Best of Little Eva
- 1991: Greatest Hits and Rare Items
- 1996: The Loco-Motion
- 1997: Lllllittle Eva! The Complete Dimension Recordings
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 UK
|
 US
|
R&B
|
|||
| 1962 |
The Loco-Motion Llllloco-Motion |
DE23 (14 weeks) DE |
UK2 (31 weeks) UK |
US1 (16 weeks) US |
R&B1 (12 weeks) R&B |
First published: June 1962
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Number 359 on the Rolling Stone 500 (2010 list) Number 230 in the Songs of the Century ( RIAA , 2001 list) Authors: Gerry Goffin , Carole King |
| Keep Your Hands Off My Baby |
- |
UK30 (5 weeks) UK |
US12 (12 weeks) US |
R&B6 (10 weeks) R&B |
First published: October 1962
Authors: Gerry Goffin, Carole King |
|
| 1963 | Let's Turkey Trot |
- |
UK13 (12 weeks) UK |
US20 (10 weeks) US |
R&B16 (9 weeks) R&B |
First published: January 1963
Authors: Gerry Goffin, Carole King |
|
Swinging on a Star Swinging on a Star |
- |
UK7 (17 weeks) UK |
US38 (10 weeks) US |
- | ||
| Old Smokey Locomotion |
- | - |
US48 (6 weeks) US |
- |
First published: May 1963
Authors: Gerry Goffin, Carole King |
|
more publishments
- 1963: What I Gotta Do (To Make You Jealous) (Release: July)
- 1963: Let's Start the Party Again (release: November)
- 1963: I Wish You a Merry Christmas (with Big Dee Irwin; release: November)
- 1964: Makin 'with the Magilla (release: October)
- 1965: Wake Up John (released February)
- 1965: Stand by Me (release: November)
- 1966: Bend It (release: November)
- 1967: Take a Step in My Direction (release: July)
- 1968: Get Ready-Uptight (as Little Eva Harris; released July)
- 1970: Mama Said (release: February)
- 1970: Night After Night (release: November)
swell
- ↑ Chart sources: DE UK1 UK2 Billboard Hot 100
- ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot R&B Songs 1942–2010: 6th Edition, ISBN 978-0-89820-186-4 .
- ↑ RS500 Songs (List 2010)
- ↑ Songs of the Century, RIAA (List 2001)
Web links
- Little Eva at Allmusic (English)
- Little Eva at Discogs (English)
- Literature by and about Little Eva in the catalog of the German National Library
- Little Eva in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Little Eva in the nndb (English)
- Biography at www.spectropop.com
- Discography at www.45cat.com
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Little Eva |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Boyd, Eva Narcissus (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 29, 1943 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Belhaven , North Carolina , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 10, 2003 |
| Place of death | Kinston , North Carolina , United States |