Gary U.S. Bonds | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Gary Levone Anderson |
Born | Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. | June 6, 1939
Genres | R&B, rock and roll, pop rock |
Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Years active | 1956–present |
Labels | Legrand Top Rank Stateside Razor & Tie EMI Sue[ citation needed] |
Website |
garyusbonds |
Gary U.S. Bonds (born Gary Levone Anderson, June 6, 1939) [1] is an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, known for his hits " New Orleans" and " Quarter to Three".
Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Bonds lived in Norfolk, Virginia, in the 1950s when he began singing publicly in church and with a group called the Turks. [1] He joined record producer Frank Guida's small Legrand Records label where Guida chose Anderson's stage name, U.S. Bonds, in hopes that it would be confused with a public service announcement advertising the sale of government bonds and thereby garner more DJ attention. [2] His first three singles and first album, Dance 'Til Quarter to Three, were released under the U.S. Bonds name, but people assumed it was the name of a group. To avoid confusion, subsequent releases, including his second album Twist Up Calypso, were made under the name Gary (U.S.) Bonds. The parentheses were discarded in the 1970s. [3] [4]
"Quarter to Three" sold one million records, earning a gold disc. [1] Subsequent hits, under his modified name, included " School Is Out" (#5), " Dear Lady Twist" (#9), "School Is In" (#28) and " Twist, Twist Senora" (#9) in the early 1960s. In a 1963 tour of Europe, he headlined above the Beatles. His hits featured solos by the saxophonist Gene Barge. [3]
"Quarter to Three" appears on The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list. [5]
In the early 1980s, Bonds had a career resurgence with two albums, both of them recorded with Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, and the E Street Band. Dedication was released in 1981, and On the Line followed in 1982. The albums spawned several hits including " This Little Girl" (his comeback hit in 1981, which reached No. 11 on the pop chart in Billboard and No. 5 on the mainstream rock chart), "Jolé Blon" and " Out of Work". [3]
Bonds released an album in 2004 called Back in 20, the title referencing his repeated sporadic pop-ups of popularity (his first hits were in the 1960s, then again in the 1980s, and another significant album in the early 2000s, each 20-odd years apart). The album features guest appearances by Springsteen and Southside Johnny. [3]
In 2009, he released a new album, Let Them Talk, and toured the UK as a special guest of Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings. [6] In 2010, Bonds contributed duet vocals on the song "Umbrella in My Drink" on Southside Johnny's album Pills and Ammo. [7]
While Bonds is mostly known for achievements within rhythm and blues and rock and roll, some of his songs are equally at home in other genres; for example, " She's All I Got", co-written by Jerry Williams, Jr. (better known as Swamp Dogg), was nominated for the Country Music Association's "Song of the Year" in 1972 when it was a big hit for Johnny Paycheck. ( Freddie North also charted his only pop hit with a soul cover of the same song.) Bonds is also a 1997 honoree of the Rhythm & Blues Foundation. He is an accomplished golfer and often plays celebrity PGA Tour events. [8]
Year | Album | Chart positions | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [9] |
US R&B [9] |
AUS [10] |
UK [11] | ||
1961 | Dance 'Til Quarter to Three with U.S Bonds | 6 | — | — | — |
1962 | Twist Up Calypso | — | — | — | — |
1981 | Dedication | 27 | 34 | 27 | 43 |
1982 | On the Line | 52 | — | 92 | 55 |
1984 | Standing in the Line of Fire | — | — | — | — |
1996 | Nothing Left to Lose | — | — | — | — |
2004 | Back in 20 | — | — | — | — |
2009 | Let Them Talk | — | — | — | — |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart. |
Year | Title | Chart positions | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Pop [9] |
US R&B [9] |
US Rock [9] |
UK [13] [11] | |||
1960 | "New Orleans" | 6 | 5 | ― | 16 | |
"Not Me" | - | - | - | - | ||
1961 | "Quarter to Three" | 1 | 3 | ― | 7 | |
"School Is Out" | 5 | 12 | ― | ― | ||
"School Is In" | 28 | ― | ― | ― | ||
1962 | "Twist, Twist Senora" | 9 | ― | ― | ― | |
"Seven Day Weekend" | 27 | ― | ― | ― | ||
"Dear Lady Twist" | 9 | 5 | ― | ― | ||
"Copy Cat" | 92 | ― | ― | ― | ||
1981 | "This Little Girl" | 11 | ― | 5 | 43 | |
"Jolé Blon" | 65 | ― | 29 | 51 | ||
"It's Only Love" | ― | ― | ― | 43 | ||
1982 | "Soul Deep" | ― | ― | ― | 59 | |
"Out of Work" | 21 | 82 | 10 | ― | ||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart. |