Little Anthony & The Imperials is a rhythm and blues/soul/doo-wop vocal group from New York, first active in the 1950s. Lead singer Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine was noted for his high-pitched falsetto voice influenced by Jimmy Scott.
In 1957, a doo-wop group known as The Chesters existed with members Clarence Collins, Tracy Lord, Nathaniel Rodgers, and Ronald Ross. Anthony Gourdine, a former member of The Duponts, joined as lead vocalist. Ernest Wright took over for Ross, and the group recorded shortly for Apollo Records.
Changing their name to The Imperials, they signed with End Records in 1958. Their first single was "Tears on My Pillow", which was an instant hit. (While playing this song, D.J. Alan Freed dubbed the name "Little Anthony".) The B side, "Two Kinds of People" was also a hit. The group followed up with "Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko Ko Bop" in 1960. When their success dwindled in 1961, Little Anthony left to attempt a solo career. Some members left, and the line-up then became Collins, Wright, Sammy Strain, and George Kerr. Kerr was replaced by Kenny Seymour after a short time. This line-up had little success.
Little Anthony returned in 1963, replacing Seymour. The group's classic line-up; "Little Anthony" Gourdine, Ernest Wright, Clarence Collins and Sammy Strain was now complete. With the help of record producer/songwriter Teddy Randazzo (a childhood friend of the group), the Imperials found success on the new DCP (Don Costa Productions) label with the dramatic pop-soul records "I'm On The Outside Looking In" (1964), "Goin' Out Of My Head" (1964), "Hurt So Bad" (1965), "I Miss You So" (1965), "Take Me Back" (1965),"Hurt" (1966), and "Out of Sight, Out Of Mind" (1969).
The Imperials then joined United Artists Records and were assigned to its Veep Records subsidiary, and then to the parent label itself, where they recorded "World Of Darkness", "You Better Use Your Head","If I Remember To Forget", "Yesterday Has Gone" and the Thom Bell produced "Help Me Find A Way (To Say I Love You"); arguably their best song from this period. Albums during this time included Reflections, Payin' Our Dues, Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind (named after their hit cover of The Five Keys song), and Movie Grabbers, which included a rendition of "You Only Live Twice", the James Bond motion picture theme.
They then went on to Janus Records, where they recorded the one-off single "Father Father" (which they performed on the Merv Griffin Show), and then on to Avco Records in the early 1970s and recorded their album On A New Street, and charted with the songs "La La La (At the End)", and "I'm Falling In Love With You". This album was produced by both Bell and Randazzo. All of these recordings did well on the national R&B charts, although not as successful on the Pop charts as their earlier DCP material. A second LP for Avco Records entitled 'Hold On' was withdrawn from sale in the USA after the failure of the title track to sell and AVCO's subsequent financial difficulties. It did however appear in Venezuela.They also appeared on Soul Train on 26 May 1973. By this time, Sammy Strain and Ernest Wright had left the group, although both would eventually return.
The lineup of Anthony, Strain, Wright, and Collins is considered the "classic" and "definitive" Imperials lineup, as this was the unit that is the best known, and that had virtually all of the group's big 1960s hits. This is also the lineup that has been seen by millions of fans on television programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show, American Bandstand, Shindig!, Hullabaloo, Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall, and other national network programs.
Little Anthony & the Imperials were inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15, 2006, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999, and received The Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Pioneer Award in 1993.
Tags: doo wop
