Cat. No. VV 1206: DEE CLARK ~ KEEP IT UP. CHARLY CRB 1010

USED VINYL RECORD. PART OF A COLLECTION NOW UP FOR SALE.

DEE CLARK (DELECTUS CLARK, JR.) WAS BORN IN BLYTHEVILLE, ARKANSAS AND MOVED TO CHICAGO IN 1941. HIS MOTHER WAS A GOSPEL SINGER AND ENCOURAGED DEE TO PURSUE HIS LOVE OF MUSIC. DEE MADE HIS FIRST RECORDING IN 1952 AS A MEMBER OF THE HAMBONE KIDS WHO ENJOYED SOME SUCCESS WITH A RECORDING OF "HAMBONE" ON THE OKEH LABEL. IN 1953, HE JOINED AN R&B GROP CALLED THE GOLDENTONES WHO LATER BECAME THE KOOL GENTS WHO WERE SIGNED TO VEE-JAY LABEL'S SUBSIDIARY FALCON/ABNER. THE GROUP RECORDED FOR FALCON/ABNER IN 1956 AND ALSO RECORDED A NOVELTY RECORD AS "THE DELEGATES"

DEE EMBARKED ON A SOLO CAREER IN 1957, INITIALLY FOLLOWING THE STYLES OF CLYDE McPHATTER AND LITTLE RICHARD. WHEN LITTLE RICHARD TEMPORARILY ABANDONED HIS MUSIC CAREER TO STUDY THE BIBLE, DEE FULFILLED RICHARD'S REMAINING LIVE DATES. AS HE SOUNDED SO MUCH LIKE LITTLE RICHARD AND MOST OF THE AUDIENCE HAD NEVER SEEN RICHARD THEY WERE NOT AWARE OF THE SUBSTITUTE. HE ALSO RECORDED WITH HIS BACKING BAND, THE UPSETTERS. OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS HE LANDED SEVERAL MODERATE HITS, TWO OF WHICH "JUST KEEP IT UP" AND "HEY LITTLE GIRL" REACHED THE TOP 20 ON THE BILLBOARD HOT 100. HIS BIGGEST SINGLE, "RAINDROPS" WAS RELEASED IN THE SPRING OF 1961 AND BECAME HIS BIGGEST HIT, SOARING TO #2 ON THE POP CHART AND #3 ON THE R&B CHART. IT SOLD OVER A MILLION COPIES AND WAS AWARDED A GOLD DISC. "RAINDROPS" WAS ALSO AN INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS, REACHING #1 IN NEW ZEALAND AND REACHING THE TOP TEN IN SOUTH AFRICA AND BELGIUM AND SELLING WELL IN JAPAN.

THIS ALBUM ON THE RENOWNED REISSUE LABEL CHARLY RECORDS CONTAINS 16 TRACKS RECORDED WITH A VARIETY OF GROUPS INCLUDING THE KOOL GENTS, THE DELEGATES, THE DELLS, THE UPSETTERS AND INCLUDES SOME GREAT ROCKERS ALONG WITH SOME GOOD BALLADS. THE SLEEVE IS GRADED AS NEAR MINT WITH ALMOST NO SIGNS OF WEAR EXCEPT FOR A COUPLE OF VERY, VERY SMALL CREASES ALONG THE SPINE. THERE IS VIRTUALLY NO OTHER SIGNS OF WEAR. THE RECORD IS GRADED AS NEAR MINT.

TRACK LISTING: Side 1 - Your Friends (with The Dells) / Nobody But Me / You're Telling Our Secrets / Walk Away From Me / Bring Back My Heart (prev. unissued) / I'm A Soldier Boy / Shook Up Over You / Raindrops. Side 2 - Hey Little Girl / The Convention (with The Delegates) / Emma Jean (prev. unissued) / Oh Little Girl (with The Upsetters) / Wondering (with The Upsetters) / Nobody But You / When I Call On You (with The Kool Gents prev. unissued) / Just Keep It Up.

12" VINYL RECORD