Tommy Hunt
Pittsburgh-born vocalist Tommy Hunt's recording career began at age 20, when he cut singles with his first group, the Five Echoes, in 1953. It was five years later, however, that he made his greatest mark on popular music, rock & roll, and R&B, as a member of the Flamingos from 1958 through 1961. Those years coincided with the group's being signed to End Records, and the release of their biggest, most identifiable hit, "I Only Have Eyes for You" -- Hunt's dramatic background singing, coupled with the restrained piano backing, made it one of the transcendent documents of '50s R&B. He can also be seen singing lead in a killer jump-blues performance in the juke box movie classic Go, Johnny, Go, as the group (back to a five-piece) mimes to their End recording of "Jump Children."
Hunt left the Flamingos in 1962 and signed as a solo artist with Florence Greenberg's Scepter Records in New York. Greenberg reportedly wasn't impressed with Hunt as a singer or an individual, but Luther Dixon, the company's chief of A&R and general music director, loved Hunt's voice, providing him with "Human," which became a number five R&B hit in late 1961. Hunt continued with the label for another three years, until 1964, cutting a complete album (I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself) in late 1962. His version of the title track was never a single, but it predated the more famous hit by Dusty Springfield by nearly two years. In late 1963, following the departure of Dixon from Scepter, Ed Townsend became the company's music director, and one of his very first productions was Tommy Hunt's recording of Townsend's "I Am a Witness," which featured Bernard Purdie on drums and Mickey Baker on guitar, with Hunt's vocals backed up by the Shirelles, Dee Dee Warwick, and the Sweet Inspirations. The single was Hunt's last chart entry for the label, reaching number 71.
Hunt left Scepter in 1964, and later moved to the Dynamo label, for which he charted a single in 1967. He later moved to Europe, and continues to perform in Germany and other Central European countries in the '90s. Hunt's only album, for Scepter, has never been reissued, but tracks from it, as well as his hit singles from the label and several other sides, turned up on Capricorn's 1992 Scepter Records Story double-CD set.
© Bruce Eder /TiVo
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Diskografie
13 Album, -en • Geordnet nach Bestseller
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The Very Best Of
Soul - Erschienen bei Master Classics am 29.03.2013
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A Sign Of The Times: The Spark Recordings 1975-1976
Funk - Erschienen bei Cherry Red Records am 28.10.2013
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Loving on the Losing Side
Funk - Erschienen bei Private Stock Records am 22.06.1976
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The Very Best of
Vokalmusik (weltlich und geistlich) - Erschienen bei Master Series, Inc. am 04.10.2011
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Until My Arms Fall Off (Digitally Remastered)
Soul - Erschienen bei Essential Media Group am 10.09.2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Until My Arms Fall Off
Soul - Erschienen bei S.D.E.G. Records am 10.09.2013
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Human (Billboard Hot 100 - No 48)
Soul - Erschienen bei Music Manager am 03.12.2020
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Searchin' for Love
Soul - Erschienen bei Sunset Blvd. Records am 11.05.2018
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Soul in the City: New York, Vol. 5
Dionne Warwick, Sam & Dave, Tommy Hunt
Soul - Erschienen bei 21-Music am 10.10.2013
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The Electric Liberation Project
Jazz - Erschienen bei Tommy Hunt am 06.01.2006
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The Door Is Open (Billboard Hot 100 - No 92)
Soul - Erschienen bei Music Manager am 03.12.2020
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Nation of Provocation
Soul - Erschienen bei Boopop Publishing am 18.06.2013
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I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself
R&B - Erschienen bei Milestones Records am 16.02.2018
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