- Gary U.S. Bonds
Infobox musical artist
Name = Gary U.S. Bonds
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Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Gary Anderson
Alias =
Born = Birth date and age|1939|6|6|mf=yJacksonville, Florida
Died =
Instrument =Vocals
URL =Gary U.S. Bonds (born Gary Anderson,
6 June 1939 ) is an Americanrhythm and blues androck and roll singer . He is also a prolificsongwriter .Career
Born in
Jacksonville, Florida , Bonds was living inNorfolk, Virginia in the 1950s when he began singing publicly in church, and with a group called The Turks. He joinedrecord producer Frank Guida 's small Legrandrecord label and Guida changed Anderson's name to U.S. Bonds in hope that it would be confused with apublic service announcement advertising the sale ofgovernment bonds and thus get moreairplay .His first album was released under U.S. Bonds, but people mistook it for the name of a group. His second album was released under Gary "U.S." Bonds to avoid the confusion.
Bonds' first hit was the
song "New Orleans" (which reached #6), which was followed by "Not Me ", a flop for Bonds, but later a hit forThe Orlons , and then by his only Number One hit, "Quarter To Three " in June 1961. Subsequent hits, under the name Gary U.S. Bonds, included "School Is Out " (#5), "Dear Lady Twist " (#9), "School Is In " (#28) and "Twist, Twist, Señora " (#10) in the early 1960s. In a 1963 tour ofEurope , he headlined aboveThe Beatles . His hits had an infectious joyfulness and a unique sound: some have described them as seeming to have been recorded under water."Quarter To Three" appears on
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.In the early 1980s, Bonds had a career resurgence, working off collaborations with
Bruce Springsteen ,Steven Van Zandt , and theE Street Band . Later hits included "This Little Girl" (his comeback hit in 1981, which reached #11), "Jolé Blon" and "Out Of Work". Bonds continues to releasealbum s sporadically, and today is a mainstay of the nostalgia concert circuit.While Gary U.S. Bonds is mostly known for achievements within rhythm and blues and rock and roll, he often transcends these genres, e.g. his song "
She's All I Got ", co-written byJerry Williams, Jr. (better known asSwamp Dogg ), was nominated for theCountry Music Association 's "Song of the Year" in 1972 when it was a big hit forJohnny Paycheck . He is also an honoree of theRhythm & Blues Foundation . Bonds is an accomplished golfer and often plays celebrityPGA Tour events.He was inducted into the
Long Island Music Hall of Fame on15 October 2006 .Billboard's Top 100
*"New Orleans" # 6, 1960 *
*"Quarter To Three" # 1, 1961 *
*"School Is Out" # 5, 1961 *
*"School Is In" # 28, 1961 *
*"Dear Lady Twist" # 9, 1961 *
*"Twist Twist Señora" # 10, 1962 *
*"Seven Day Weekend" # 27, 1962 *
*"Copy Cat" # 92, 1962 *
*"This Little Girl" # 11, 1981
*"Jole Blon" # 65, 1981
*"Out of Work" # 21, 1982: * = produced by Frank Guida
External links
* [http://www.garyusbonds.com/index1.shtml Official Website]
* [http://concerts.wolfgangsvault.com/dt/gary-u-s-bonds-concert/20052510-2555.html Live Concert Recording of Gary US Bonds at the Stone Pony on November 25, 2000]
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