RB Greaves
RB Greaves (born November 28, 1943 in Georgetown , Guyana as Ronald Bertram Aloysius Greaves III ; † September 27, 2012 in Granada Hills , California ) was an American singer and songwriter , who was best known for his hit Take a Letter, Maria from 1969 became known.
Life
Greaves was born in 1943 on a US Army base. He grew up on an Indian reservation and moved to Great Britain in 1963 .
Greaves died of prostate cancer in 2012 at the age of 68 .
Career
Greaves began his career in Great Britain, as well as in the Caribbean Islands , where he released his records as Sonny Childe with his group The TNTs . His debut single, Take a Letter, Maria , released under the name RB Greaves, was produced by Ahmet Ertegün , President of Atlantic Records .
The song is about a man who dictates a letter to Maria, his secretary, for his wife, who cheated on him the night before. Finally it is mentioned that Mary may have become the man's new love.
The song stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 for 15 weeks , was awarded gold by the RIAA , and sold approximately 2.5 million copies. It was covered by Gary Puckett and Jimmy Ruffin, among others .
After the hit, Greaves took on a couple of cover versions as a hedge, such as Burt Bacharachs and Hal Davids (There's) Always Something To Remind Me or Procol Harum's A Whiter Shade of Pale . After he left Atlantic Records in the early 1970s, he first went to Sunflower Records before being signed to Bareback Records. The only song that still hit the charts under the label was Margie, Who's Watching the Baby .
There was no further commercial success. Greaves is a one-hit wonder .
Discography
Albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US
|
R&B
|
|||
| 1969 | RB Greaves |
US85 (14 weeks) US |
R&B24 (13 weeks) R&B |
|
More albums
- 1977: RB Greaves
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
US
|
R&B
|
A. C.
|
|||
| 1969 | Take a letter, Maria R.B. Greaves |
DE29 (6 weeks) DE |
US2  (15 weeks)US |
R&B10 (9 weeks) R&B |
A. C.3 (4 weeks) A. C. |
Author: RB Greaves
|
| 1970 | (There's) Always Something to Remind Me R.B. Greaves |
- |
US27 (8 weeks) US |
R&B50 (2 weeks) R&B |
A. C.3 (8 weeks) A. C. |
|
| Fire & Rain |
- |
US82 (3 weeks) US |
- |
A. C.37 (2 weeks) A. C. |
Author & Original: James Taylor
|
|
| Georgia Took Her Back |
- |
US88 (2 weeks) US |
- | - | ||
|
A Whiter Shade of Pale |
- |
US82 (2 weeks) US |
- | - |
Author: Keith Reid ; Original: Procol Harum
|
|
| 1977 | Who's Watching the Baby (Margie) RB Greaves |
- | - |
R&B66 (7 weeks) R&B |
- | |
More singles
- 1972: Margie, Who's Watching the Baby
Others
He was the nephew of Sam Cooke , who is considered one of the fathers of soul .
Individual evidence
- ↑ News of Greaves' death. Retrieved February 8, 2020 .
- ^ Story of Take a Letter Maria. Retrieved February 8, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Chart sources: DE US
- ↑ Music Sales Awards: US
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Greaves, RB |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Greaves III, Ronald Bertram Aloysius (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American singer and songwriter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 28, 1943 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Georgetown , Guyana |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 27, 2012 |
| Place of death | Granada Hills , California |