The Walker Brothers
They weren't British, they weren't brothers, and their real names weren't Walker, but Californians Scott Engel, John Maus, and Gary Leeds were briefly huge stars in England (and small ones in their native land) at the peak of the British Invasion. Engel and Maus were playing together in Hollywood when drummer Leeds suggested they form a trio and try to make it in England. And they did -- with surprising swiftness, they hit the top of the British charts with "Make It Easy on Yourself" in 1965. "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" repeated the feat the following year, and the group also had U.K. hits with "My Ship Is Coming In," "(Baby) You Don't Have to Tell Me," "Another Tear Falls," and others. For a few months they experienced frenzied adulation almost on the level of the Beatles and the Stones, though in the U.S. (where they rarely performed) only "Make It Easy on Yourself" and "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" entered the Top 20.
While the Walkers looked the part of British Invaders with their shaggy mop-top hairstyles, they were far more pop than rock. Nor did they play on most of their records. With producer Johnny Franz and veteran British arrangers like Ivor Raymonde (who also worked with Dusty Springfield) and Reg Guest, they favored orchestrated ballads that were a studied attempt to emulate the success of another brother act who weren't really brothers: the Righteous Brothers. Not as soulful as the Righteous Brothers, lead singer Scott Walker's deep croon betrayed strong debts to non-rock vocalists like Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra. While their biggest hits were covers of songs by American pop songwriting teams like Bacharach-David and Mann-Weil, Scott (and occasionally John Walker) could write brooding originals in a more personal, less overblown style when given the chance.
In the intensely competitive days of 1967, the Walkers' brand of pop suddenly become passé, and the group disbanded in the face of diminishing success and Scott's increasingly fruitful solo career. Scott ran off a series of Top Ten British solo albums in the late '60s, which have attracted a sizable cult with their idiosyncratic marriage of Scott's brooding, insular songs and ornate orchestral arrangements. Gary Walker released a few singles and an album with his group the Rain in a much harder-rocking guitar-oriented format. The Walkers reunited for a while in the mid-'70s, which produced a final British hit ("No Regrets"). Much of the Walkers' story is retold in the biography Scott Walker: A Deep Shade of Blue, published only in Britain.
© Richie Unterberger /TiVo
Discography
21 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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No Regrets - The Best Of Scott Walker & The Walker Brothers 1965 - 1976
The Walker Brothers, Scott Walker
Pop - Released by UMC (Universal Music Catalogue) on 1 Jan 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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After The Lights Go Out - The Best Of 1965 - 1967
Pop - Released by Island Mercury on 1 Jan 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Images (Deluxe Edition)
Pop - Released by Mercury Records on 1 Mar 1967
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
If You Could Hear Me Now
Pop/Rock - Released by Columbia on 17 Sep 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore
Pop - Released by Mercury Records on 1 Jan 1966
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Introducing The Walker Brothers
Pop - Released by Mercury Records on 1 Dec 1965
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Portrait (Deluxe Edition)
Pop - Released by Mercury Records on 1 Aug 1966
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Take It Easy With The Walker Brothers (Deluxe Edition)
Pop - Released by Mercury Records on 26 Nov 1965
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine
Scott Walker, The Walker Brothers
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by UMC (Universal Music Catalogue) on 1 Jan 1966
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore
Pop - Released by UMC (Universal Music Catalogue) on 1 Jan 1966
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Walker Brothers Superhits
Pop/Rock - Released by Sony Music UK on 8 Oct 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Take It Easy With The Walker Brothers
Pop - Released by Mercury Records on 26 Nov 1965
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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In Japan (Live In Japan)
Pop - Released by UMC (Universal Music Catalogue) on 1 Mar 1968
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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