Rock and Roll

Jimmy Jones, who was from Birmingham, started his career as a tap dancer. He joined The Berliners, a doo wop group, in 1954. The Berliners changed their name and became Sparks of Rhythm. Jones and Otis Blackwell wrote “Handy Man” in 1955, and Sparks of Rhythm (sans Jones) recorded it in 1956. Then in 1959, Jones and Blackwell re-worked and recorded the song. Their version went to #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1960 and earned an RIAA gold record. There have been numerous covers since, including those by Del Shanno,  James Taylor, Conway Twitty, and Frank Black and Teenage Fanclub.

Jones also had Top 10 charting success with “Good Timin'” in 1960. That went to #3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, 1 in the U.K, and #7 in Australia.

Here are the lyrics to “Handy Man” by Jimmy Jones:

” Come, come, come, come on
Come, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Hey girls, gather round
Because of what I’m putting down
Hey babe, I’m your handy man

I’m not the kind to use a pencil or rule
I’m handy with love and I’m no fool
I fix broken hearts, I know I truly can

If your broken heart should need repair
I’m the man to see
I whisper sweet things, you tell all your friends
They’ll come runnin’ to me

Here is the main thing I want to say
I’m busy 24 hours a day
I fix broken hearts, I know  I truly can

If your broken heart should need repair
I’m the man to see
I whisper sweet things, you tell all your friends
They’ll come runnin’ to me

Here is the main thing I want to say
I’m busy 24 hours a day
I fix broken hearts, I know  I truly can

Come, come, come, come on
Come, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Come, come, come, come on
Come, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah”

For More Golden Oldies Music                                

The Daily Doo Wop Rec Room has daily featured doo wop music, rock and roll hits, R&B, or rockabilly songs that were hits during the first era of rock and roll (that is, from about 1952 until the British invasion in 1964). After a song is featured, it then goes into the juke box. You are welcome to listen to any of the 40+ selections there. Every weekend, there is a Golden Oldies Juke Box Saturday Night, and the juke box is full of song requests from the 1950s and 1960s.

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