- Little Eva
Infobox musical artist 2
Name =Little Eva
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name =Eva Narcissus Boyd
Born =June 29 ,1943
Died = death date and age|2003|4|10|1943|6|29
Origin =Belhaven, North Carolina ,United States
Genre =dance-pop
Associated_acts =Carole King ,Gerry Goffin ,Don Kirshner
Occupation =Singer
Years_active = 1962–2001 (singer)
Label =Dimension Records ,Collectables Records ,Westside UK records ,Disky Records
URL =Eva Narcissus Boyd (
June 29 ,1943 –April 10 ,2003 ), known by the stage name of Little Eva (after a character from "Uncle Tom's Cabin "), was an Americansinger .Biography
Born in
Belhaven, North Carolina , she moved to theBrighton Beach section ofBrooklyn ,New York at a young age. As a teenager, she worked as a maid and earned extra money as a babysitter for songwritersCarole King andGerry Goffin . Amused by Boyd's individual dancing style, they wrote "The Loco-Motion " for her and had her record it as a demo (the record was intended forDee Dee Sharp ).Fact|date=June 2007 Music producerDon Kirshner was impressed by the song and Boyd's voice and had it released just the way it was.Fact|date=June 2007 The song became an instant smash, reaching #1 in theUnited States in 1962. The two songwriters also wrote the song "He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss) ", performed byThe Crystals , after Boyd revealed that her boyfriend regularly beat her. When asked why she put up with it, she replied that it showed that he loved her.After the success of "The Loco-Motion", Boyd was stereotyped as a dance-craze singer and was given limited material.
Boyd's other hits are "
Keep Your Hands Off My Baby ", "Some Kinda Wonderful ", "Let's Turkey Trot" and a remake of theBing Crosby standard "Swinging On A Star ," recorded withBig Dee Irwin (though Boyd was not credited on the label).She continued to tour and record throughout the sixties, but her commercial potential plummeted after 1964. She retired from the music business in 1971.
Interviewed between 1987 and 1988 after the success of the
Kylie Minogue cover version of "The Loco-Motion", Boyd stated that she did not like the new version; however its then-current popularity allowed her to make a comeback in show business.Fact|date=June 2007She returned to live performing with other artists of her era on the
cabaret andoldies circuits. She also occasionally recorded new songs.She continued performing until she was diagnosed with
cervical cancer in October of 2001. She died two years later at age 59 and is buried in a small cemetery in Belhaven, North Carolina. Her gravesite was sparsely marked until July 2008, when a report byWRAL-TV ofRaleigh, North Carolina highlighted deteriorating conditions at the cemetery and efforts by the city of Belhaven to have it restored. [http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3293033/ ] Eva Boyd's site has since been marked by a simple white cross.Discography
Standard albums
*1962: "The Loco-Motion "
*1989: "Back on Track "Compilations
*1988: "The Best ofLittle Eva "
*2001: "Llll-Little Eva !: The Complete Dimension Recordings"External links
* [http://www.spectropop.com/remembers/LEobit.htm Spectropop remembers LITTLE EVA (1943 - 2003)] , a biography of the singer
* [http://www.history-of-rock.com/little_eva.htm History-of-Rock]
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