Thurston Harris (born
Thurston Theodore Harris, July 11, 1931, Indianapolis
, Indiana
— died April
14, 1990, Pomona
, California
) was a male American
singer, briefly popular in the early to mid
1950s.
Career
Harris first appeared on
record as
the featured
vocalist with The Lamplighters
in 1953.
Indeed, he recorded with the
Lamplighters, one of the many groups on the early R&B scene in South Central
Los Angeles
, throughout the early 1950s. The group later
evolved into The Tenderfoots, then The Sharps. The Sharps, without
Thurston, went on to become [The Rivingtons] of
"[Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow]" fame.
He is
widely regarded as a one-hit wonder,
who popularized the song "Little Bitty Pretty One", written by Bobby Day,
and sung by Harris in 1957, with the Sharps It reached #6 on the
U.S.
Billboard Hot 100. The track sold
over one million
records,
achieving
gold
disc status.
Much later, the song appeared on the
soundtracks to
films or
television dramas, such as
Telling Lies in America,
Lipstick on Your
Collar, and
Christine.
In 1958, Harris scored a Top 20 R&B
hit with "Do What You Did," but he failed to
have any
chart success afterwards. His
other best known song was "Runk Bunk", recorded in 1959, and
released by
Aladdin Records
(Aladdin 3452).
Cover versions
- Frankie Lymon's highest charting
solo hit was a cover of "Little Bitty
Pretty One", which peaked at number 58 on the R&B charts in
1960.
- A
cover of "Runk Bunk" was one of the
first songs recorded by the UK
pop star, Adam Faith.
Death
In 1990, Harris died of a
heart
attack in Pomona, California, at the age of 58.
Legacy
Today, "Little Bitty Pretty One" remains a popular song from the
late 1950s.
See also
List
of 1950s one-hit wonders in the United States.
References
- The Dead Rock Stars Club 1990 - 1991
- Thurston Harris - AOL Music
- This date in musical history: April 14
- [1]
- 01
- 15 July
- allmusic ((( Thurston Harris > Biography
)))
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