The Caravelles

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The Caravelles were a British pop duo that, in their most successful years from 1963 to 1966, consisted of Lois Wilkinson , who was 19 at the beginning of their career, and Andrea Simpson, who was two years younger. Her big hit You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry reached the top ten in the British and American charts in 1963.

history

Lois Wilkinson and Andrea Simpson were, if the biography of Wilkinson on their website is to be believed, both employees of a car dealership when they decided to sing together. A friend of Wilkinson's parents - guitarist Tony Pitt , who had performed at the Barnet Jazz Club - suggested that she rehearse You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry while visiting her parents' house . The song by Bob Merrill and Terry Shand had been a country hit for Ernest Tubb in 1950 , Moon Mullican , Jimmy Dorsey and Tennessee Ernie Ford had also recorded and published versions. Lois and Andrea recorded a demo version that won them a record deal with the independent label BPR Records , founded by Chris Blackwell , PR expert Chris Peers and Harry Robinson . Manager, producer and composer Bunny Lewis suggested the name The Caravelles for the duo .

Reg Stevens and Terry Wilson tell the story a little differently; afterwards the two young women were brought together by Curly Clayton, who ran a recording studio in Highbury . In their desire for a career in singing, both had asked him independently of one another; he would have suggested that they sing as a duo. Clayton then recorded a demo version of You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry with the duo. The two had chosen the name The Caravelles based on the French airplane .

What is certain is that BPR, under the musical direction of Harry Robinsons, produced the version of the song that was finally released on the Ritz label (Ritz F.11697) on July 12, 1963 on the Decca Records owned Ritz label. As with later recordings, the harmony singing of the two women was reminiscent of the American duo Patience & Prudence , whose two hits they also covered on their only long-playing record. On August 10, 1963, the single was listed for the first time in the British charts and rose to number six in the course of their 13-week stay. It reached number three in Norway. The single was even more successful in the USA, where it was released a little later on the Smash label belonging to Mercury Records : third place on the Billboard Hot 100 and second place on the adult contemporary charts. The single entered the charts on November 2, 1963, two months before the Beatles' first hit . The Caravelles established a run of 38 years, five months and two weeks in which at least one song by a British artist was listed in the Hot 100 - until Craig David's 7 Days fell out of the Top 100 on April 27, 2002 .

The success brought the duo TV appearances, concert tours and longer engagements. Brian Epstein booked her for a four-week tour of the UK with Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas , Johnny Kidd and the Pirates and The Fourmost . They have appeared at events with Cilla Black , Gerry & the Pacemakers , Del Shannon , the Rolling Stones and The Bachelors . In Scotland they took to the stage with the Beatles, whose supporting program they also played at the first Beatles concert in the USA in February 1964 in the Washington Arena. In the same year they performed at the Hamburg Star Club and made recordings for Polydor in German. The Caravelles did not have a second hit ; only in the USA could the second single Have You Ever Been Lonely (Have You Ever Been Blue) briefly make it into the Hot 100; a long-playing record named after the big hit made it to number 127 on the album charts. The duo's later recordings moved inconsistently in different styles, from folk rock to jazz - pop - crossover . The thin, almost whisper- arranged vocals in Close Harmony remained unchanged .

In 1966 the two women parted ways. Lois Wilkinson started a solo career as Lois Lane ; Andrea Simpson kept the band name and stayed with various partners, including Lynne Hamilton , until the 1980s as The Caravelles .

Discography (selection)

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry
  UK 6th 08/14/1963 (13 weeks)
  US 3 December 21, 1963 (13 weeks)
Have You Ever Been Lonely (Have You Ever Been Blue)
  US 94 02/22/1964 (4 weeks)

Singles

  • 1963: You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry / The Last One to Know
  • 1963: I Really Don't Want to Know / I Was Wrong
  • 1964: Have You Ever Been Lonely / Gonna Get Along Without You Now
  • 1964: You Are Here / How Can I Be Sure
  • 1964: I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine / I Like a Man
  • 1964: True Love Never Runs Smooth / Georgia Boy
  • 1965: Love passes silently / I am with you in my thoughts
  • 1965: I don't fall for that / No rose blooms for life
  • 1965: Georgia Boy / So Sad
  • 1965: I Depend On You / True Love Never Runs Smooth
  • 1965: True Love Never Runs Smooth / Georgia Boy
  • 1966: Hey Mama You've Been on My Mind / New York
  • 1967: I Want to Love You Again / I Had to Walk Home Myself
  • 1968: The Other Side of Love / I Hear a New Kind of Music

literature

  • Julia Edenhofer: The Great Oldie Lexicon . Bastei-Lübbe 1991, ISBN 3-404-60288-9 .
  • David Roberts: British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.) . Guinness World Records Limited London, ISBN 1-904994-10-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Date of birth September 9, 1946, place of birth Finchley ; see. Website 45-rpm UK, entry Caravelles
  2. ↑ on the website 45-rpm UK, entry Caravelles
  3. ↑ Entry for You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry at Discogs.com
  4. ↑ a b Richie Unterberger, review of the album You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry: The Complete Caravelles 1963-1968
  5. ^ Neil Warwick, Jon Kutner & Tony Brown: The Complete Book of the British Charts , 3rd ed., Omnibus Press, London 2004, ISBN 1-84449-058-0 ; Entry Caravelles , p. 206
  6. ^ Chart Beat Bonus dated May 2, 2002 on the Billboard website
  7. ↑ cf. Discography at Discogs.com, u. a. Tracks 22-25 of the compilation You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry - The Complete Caravelles 1963-1968
  8. ↑ Single: 94th place; for both cf. Success at Allmusic.com
  9. ↑ Chart sources: UK US