Best-remembered for his hits "Sheila" (1962), "Sweet Pea" (1966) and "Dizzy" (1969), Roe was "widely perceived as one of the archetypal bubblegum artists of the late 1960s, but cut some pretty decent rockers along the way, especially early in his career," wrote the AllMusic journalist Bill Dahl.[1]
Roe was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, where he attended Brown High School.[2] After graduating, he landed a job at General Electric soldering wires.
Tommy Roe first recorded his original song "Sheila" in 1960 for Jud Phillips's Judd label. "I wrote this poem for a girl I had a crush on in high school, and her name was Freda," recalled Roe in 2015.[3] "[Jud Phillips said,] 'Son, I like that song but we gotta do somethin' about that title.' So he sent me home and Aunt Sheila was visiting that weekend. The rest is history!" The Judd single, misspelled "Shelia" and credited to "Tommy Roe and the Satins," is simpler than the more famous hit, with a standard vocal, rhythm combo, and backing chorus. It was a regional hit but did not chart nationally.
Roe re-recorded the song for ABC-Paramount in 1962, with a new hook: an insistent drum paradiddle modeled on the 1957 hit "Peggy Sue." Roe's slight Southern accent and his interpolation of a hiccup in the vocal invited comparisons with Buddy Holly.
This was deliberate, according to Roe: "Felton (producer Felton Jarvis) said, 'We're gonna do it different. You know there's a vacuum left of Buddy Holly. There are still a lot of Buddy Holly fans out there so we need to draw attention to you, so I'm gonna put Buddy Holly drums on "Sheila."' I wasn't really crazy about that whole idea because I was a big fan of Buddy Holly's and I felt like we were sponging off of him and his whole sound."[4] The new arrangement of "Sheila" became a Billboard number 1 hit in the U.S. and Australia in 1962. A buildup of global sales of "Sheila" meant that the Recording Industry Association of America did not present the gold record until 1969.[2] When "Sheila" became a hit in 1962, ABC-Paramount asked him to go on tour to promote the hit. He was reluctant to give up his secure job at GE until ABC-Paramount advanced him $5,000.[5]
However, in March 1963, the UK music magazine NME reported that he and Chris Montez had both been upstaged by the Beatles and their fans on a 21-day UK tour.[6] Late that year, Roe scored a Top 10hit with "Everybody", which reached US number 3 and UK number 9, and "The Folk Singer" (number 4 UK)[7] written by Merle Kilgore was also popular.
Following a more successful tour of the United Kingdom by his friend Roy Orbison, Roe toured there and then moved to England where he lived for several years. In 1964, Roe recorded a song written by Buzz Cason entitled "Diane From Manchester Square", about a girl who worked at EMI House when it was based in London's Manchester Square. Sales of this single in the UK were poor, and it failed to chart. During the 1960s, he had several more Top 40 hits, including 1966's number 8 "Sweet Pea" (number 1 Canada) and number 6 "Hooray for Hazel" (number 2 Canada).[2]
Roe guest-starred in an episode of the American sitcom Green Acres, titled "The Four of Spades", airing on November 8, 1969.
His final Top 10 single, a track co-written with Freddy Weller, titled "Jam Up and Jelly Tight", became his fourth gold record, peaking at number 8 in the U.S. and number 5 in Canada in 1970.[2]
Although his style of music declined in popularity with the 1970s mass market, Roe maintained a following and continued to perform at a variety of concert venues, sometimes with 1960s nostalgia rock and rollers such as Freddy Cannon and Bobby Vee. He recorded numerous singles in the late 1970s and 1980s aimed at the country music market. In 1986, Roe was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, and his pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
Roe's autobiography, originally published in 2016, named From Cabbagetown to Tinseltown and places in between, was co-written with Michael Robert Krikorian.[8]
On February 7, 2018, Roe officially announced his retirement on his Facebook page with this statement:
Today I am announcing my retirement. I have so many great memories of the music and of my fans who have supported me through the years. Fifty five years to be exact. What a gift it has been for me to share this time with you. I hope my music will continue to bring a smile to your hearts and joy to your life. ...I will stay in touch through our Facebook page. But for now I am stepping out of the spotlight from scheduled concerts and interviews. Thank you again for your loyal support. I love you all, and may God Bless you. Tommy
On May 2, 2022, Roe released a new single titled "80" to commemorate his 80th birthday.[9] Roe also appeared as a guest on several oldies-oriented podcasts throughout 2022 and 2023 to discuss his music career.[10][11][12]
On January 5, 2023, Roe released a new album titled From Here to Here on the independent label Solar Music.[13] In a February 2023 interview with Goldmine, Roe officially confirmed his return to music, stating "Yes, I’m still at it. It is something that I love doing and it is part of my DNA. I have to do it. I guess I will carry on until I can’t do it anymore."[14] On April 16, 2023, Roe announced concert dates for Nashville on May 9 and Holmdel on June 8, his first live performances since the 2018 retirement announcement.[15]
Personal life
A resident of Atlanta, Georgia, and Beverly Hills, California, he was married to actress Josette Banzet until her death in 2020.[16] He has a daughter named Cynthia, three grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren who all live in Georgia.[citation needed]
Charles Hardin Holley, known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas, during the Great Depression, and learned to play guitar and sing alongside his siblings. Holly's style was influenced by gospel music, country music, and rhythm and blues acts, which he performed in Lubbock with his friends from high school.
The Crickets were an American rock and roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer-songwriter Buddy Holly in January 1957. Their first hit record, "That'll Be the Day", released in May 1957, peaked at number three on the Billboard Top 100 chart on September 16, 1957. The sleeve of their first album, The "Chirping" Crickets, shows the band line-up at the time: Holly on lead vocals and lead guitar, Niki Sullivan on rhythm guitar, Jerry Allison on drums, and Joe B. Mauldin on bass. The Crickets helped set the template for subsequent rock bands, such as the Beatles, with their guitar-bass-drums line-up, performing their own material. After Holly's death in 1959, the band continued to tour and record into the 1960s and beyond with other band members through to the 21st century.
Arthur Alexander was an American country-soul songwriter and singer. Jason Ankeny, music critic for AllMusic, said Alexander was a "country-soul pioneer" and that, though largely unknown, "his music is the stuff of genius, a poignant and deeply intimate body of work on par with the best of his contemporaries." Alexander's songs were covered by such stars as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Otis Redding, Tina Turner, Pearl Jam, and Jerry Lee Lewis.
"That'll Be the Day" is a song written by Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison. It was first recorded by Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes in 1956 and was re-recorded in 1957 by Holly and his new band, the Crickets. The 1957 recording achieved widespread success. Holly's producer, Norman Petty, was credited as a co-writer, although he did not contribute to the composition.
Bernard William Jewry, known professionally as Shane Fenton and later as Alvin Stardust, was an English rock singer and stage actor. Performing first as Shane Fenton in the 1960s, Jewry had a moderately successful career in the pre-Beatles era, hitting the UK top 40 with four singles in 1961–62. However, he became better known for singles released in the 1970s and 1980s as Alvin Stardust, a character he began in the glam rock era, with hits including the UK Singles Chart-topper "Jealous Mind", as well as later hits such as "Pretend" and "I Feel Like Buddy Holly".
The Hollies are an English rock and pop band formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the band as a Merseybeat-type group in Manchester, although some of the band members came from towns further north, in east Lancashire. Nash left the group in 1968 to form Crosby, Stills & Nash, though he has reunited with the Hollies on occasion.
The Tremeloes are an English beat group founded in 1958 in Dagenham, England. They initially found success in the British Invasion era with lead singer Brian Poole, scoring a UK chart-topper in 1963 with "Do You Love Me".
The UK singles chart was first compiled in 1969. However, the records and statistics listed here date back to 1952 because the Official Charts Company counts a selected period of the New Musical Express chart and the Record Retailer chart from 1960 to 1969 as predecessors for the period prior to 11 February 1969, where multiples of competing charts coexisted side by side. For example, the BBC compiled its own chart based on an average of the music papers of the time; many songs announced as having reached number one on BBC Radio and Top of the Pops prior to 1969 may not be listed here as chart-toppers since they do not meet the legacy criteria of the Charts Company.
"Please Please Me" is a song released by the English rock band the Beatles. It was their second single in the United Kingdom, and their first in the United States. It is also the title track of their first LP, which was recorded to capitalise on the success of the single. It is a John Lennon composition, although its ultimate form was significantly influenced by producer George Martin.
Harold Allan Clarke is an English rock singer, who was one of the founding members and the original lead singer of the Hollies. He achieved international hit singles with the group and is credited as co-writer on several of their best-known songs, including "On a Carousel", "Carrie Anne", "Jennifer Eccles" and "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress". He retired from performing in 1999, but returned to the music industry in 2019. Clarke was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.
"Dizzy" is a song originally recorded by Tommy Roe that became an international hit single in 1969. Instrumental backing was provided by the Los Angeles session musicians known as the Wrecking Crew.
"Heartbeat" is a rockabilly song originally recorded by Bob Montgomery and credited to Norman Petty. It was recorded most famously by Buddy Holly in 1958. The B-side of the single was "Well... All Right". "Heartbeat" reached the UK top 10 twice: once in 1975 for Showaddywaddy at number seven and again in 1992 for Nick Berry, recorded as the theme to the television series Heartbeat, which reached number two.
"Oh, Boy!" is a song written by Sonny West, Bill Tilghman and Norman Petty. The song was included on the album The "Chirping" Crickets and was also released as the A-side of a single, with "Not Fade Away" as the B-side. The song peaked at number 10 on the US charts, number 3 on the UK charts in early 1958, and number 26 in Canada.
"Sheila" is a song written and recorded by Tommy Roe. The single reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on September 1, 1962, remaining in the top position for two weeks and peaking at number six on the US Billboard R&B chart.
"Tribute to Buddy Holly" is a song written by Geoff Goddard, first recorded by Mike Berry and the Outlaws as a single, which was released in September 1961 on His Master's Voice records. His first chart success, it reached number 24 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1961. The song was banned by the BBC for being too "morbid", regarding the death of 1950s rock and roll singer Buddy Holly, who died in a plane crash on 3 February 1959.
"More Than I Can Say" is a song written by Sonny Curtis and Jerry Allison, both former members of Buddy Holly's band the Crickets. They recorded it in 1959 soon after Holly's death and released it in 1960. Their original version reached No. 42 on the British Record Retailer Chart in 1960. It has been notably performed by singers Bobby Vee and Leo Sayer.
"Raining in My Heart" is a song recorded by Buddy Holly on October 21, 1958 at the Pythian Temple on West 70th Street in New York City, with the orchestral backing by Dick Jacobs. The music and lyrics are written by the songwriting team of Felice Bryant and Boudleaux Bryant. It was released as a single on Coral Records in 1959, peaking at number 88 on the Billboard chart as the B-side of "It Doesn't Matter Anymore". This recording was included on Buddy Holly's first "greatest hits" compilation album, The Buddy Holly Story, that was released in March 1959.
"It's So Easy!" is a rock-and-roll song written by Buddy Holly and Norman Petty. It was originally released as a single in 1958 by the Crickets but failed to chart. It was the final release by the Crickets when Holly was still in the band.
"Everybody" is a song written and performed by Tommy Roe. The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #9 on the UK Singles Chart in 1963. The song appeared on his 1966 album, Sweet Pea.
"If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody" is a song written by Rudy Clark and first recorded by James Ray in 1961. Ray's recording on the Caprice label, arranged by Hutch Davie and produced by Gerry Granahan, reached number 10 on the US Billboard R&B chart and number 22 on the Hot 100 in early 1962.
↑ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1sted.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p.118. CN 5585.
1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19thed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p.467. ISBN1-904994-10-5.
↑ Tommy Roe; Michael Robert Krikorian (January 22, 2016). From Cabbagetown to Tinseltown and places in between. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN978-1523646814.
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