Little Anthony & The Imperials: “Tears On My Pillow” / “A Prayer and a Jukebox” (1958)
Little Anthony & The Imperials were among the few doo-wop groups to enjoy multiple hits (see also “Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop” and “Goin’ Out of My Head”) and a lengthy career, thriving well into the ‘70s, including successful residencies in Vegas.
But 1958’s “Tears On My Pillow” remains their signature tune – an absolute monster smash that peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard charts, and became a pillar of the entire doo-wop genre.
Jerome Anthony Gourdine hailed from Brooklyn, NY, and got his start with The DuPonts before moving on to front The Chesters, who became The Imperials, completed by Clarence Collins, Ernest Wright Jr., Glouster ‘Nate’ Rogers, and Tracy Lord (uuhhh, no relation to the ‘80s porn starlet).
And though Anthony soon came to resent – and then outright reject – the “Little” nickname bestowed upon him by D.J. Alan Freed (prior to his ruinous downfall over the first payola scandals), it obviously stuck.
This Roulette Records reissue (the original emerged on a long-forgotten imprint called End Records) swapped out the single’s original B-Side, “Two People in the World,” for ‘59’s “A Prayer and a Jukebox,” and its introductory organ sounds like the 7th inning stretch … until the words of romance begin.
As for Mr. Gourdine, he’s still with us today, aged 78, and most recently toured with Mr. Wright and replacement Imperials, proving that the classics never die.
More Doo-Wop: The Channels, The Crests, The Del-Vikings, The Drifters, The Duprees, The Edsels, The Flamingos, The Hollywood Flames, The Jive Five, Ruben & The Jets, The Skyliners, The Penguins, The Teen Queens, The Turbans, The Willows, Maurice Williams and The Zodiacs.
