Pop Music
It is not unusual in this first era of rock and roll to look at songs from earlier decades in a new way. It gives new sparkle to golden oldies. One such example is “Deep Purple” by Nino Tempo and April Stevens. Peter DeRose wrote “Deep Purple” as a piano composition in the 1930s. It became very popular, and Mitchell Parish added lyrics a few years later. In 1963, this version by siblings Nino Tempo and April Stevens went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won the Grammy Award for Best Rock and Roll Record. The way April Stevens speaks the lyrics adds to the feeling of a love now gone. The record sold more than one million copies and earned them an RIAA gold record.
Nino Tempo was born Antonino LoTempio in Niagara Falls, New York, in 1935. He is a musician, singer, and actor. Tempo is known for his jazz clarinet and tenor saxophone playing. He has appeared in the films The Red Pony, The Glenn Miller Story, and Operation Petticoat. He was worked with Maynard Ferguson, the Modern Jazz Quarter, and as a member of The Wrecking Crew session musicians for Phil Spector.
April Stevens, born Carol LoTempio in Niagara Falls, New York, in 1936. started recording when she was just a teenager. At 15, she recorded Cole Porter’s “I’m in Love Again” with the Henri René Orchestra, which went to #6 on the U.S. Pop Chart. She also had success with “Whispering,” “All Strung Out,” “The Coldest Night of the Year,” and “Wanting You.
1 Comment
I like “Deep Purple” but I like “Whispering” better. I have the 45’s on ATCO Records. The flip side of Deep Purple is “I’ve Been Carrying a Torch for You So Long That I Burned a Great Big Hole in My Heart” written by LoTempio. Could that be one of the longest song titles on record? It’s longer than Lonnie Donegan’s “Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor (On the Bedpost Overnight)”, The flip side of “Whispering” is “Tweedle Dee” written by Winfield Scott.