Then and now: Dion

You can find him on Facebook :)

Petula Clark... Why Petula? :)

Born in 1932, her name is Petula Sally Olwen Clark. Her father gave her the first name, jokingly it was a combination of the names of two former girlfriends, Pet and Ulla :)

Petula Clark is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.

Her professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio, during World War II. During the 1960s she became known internationally for her popular upbeat hits, including "Downtown", "I know a place", "My love" or "Colour my world". She has sold in excess of 68 million records throughout her career.

"Downtown" ( must see the dancers ;) )

"This is my song"

Then and Now: Paul Anka

He recorded his first single at 14 years old and became famous at 16, with "Diana":). This song is one of the best selling singles ever by a Canadian recording artist. Here's the oldie video!

Then and Now: Chubby Checker, the twister :)

Leslie Gore

Lesley Gore (born Lesley Sue Goldstein) is an American singer-songwriter of the "girl group era". She is perhaps best known for her 1963 pop hit "It's My Party", which she recorded at the age of 16. Following the hit, she became one of the most recognized teen pop singers of the 1960s.

Lesley was a junior at the Dwight School for Girls in nearby Englewood when "It's My Party" became a no. 1 hit. It was later nominated for a Grammy Award for rock and roll recording. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

Gore's first hit was followed by many other songs, including "Judy's Turn to Cry" - the sequel to "It's My Party", "She's a Fool", the proto-feminist "You Don't Own Me" which held at no. 2 for four weeks behind The Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand", "That's the Way Boys Are", "Maybe I Know" and Grammy nominated for Contemporary Rock and Roll female vocal performance "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows". Her record producer was Quincy Jones, who would later become one of the most famous producers in American music. "You Don't Own Me" also sold a million copies, and was awarded gold disc status.

Instead of accepting the television and movie contracts that came her way, Gore chose to attend Sarah Lawrence College in New York. This limited her public career to weekends and summer vacations and undoubtedly hurt her career. Nevertheless, throughout the mid 1960s Gore continued to be one of the most popular female singers in the United States and Canada.

Gore was given first shot at recording "A Groovy Kind of Love", but Shelby Singleton, a producer, recommended that she not record a song with the word "groovy" in it. The Mindbenders went on to record the song, and it went to no. 2 on the Billboard charts.

Gore announced in 2005 that she is a lesbian. Some commentators consider the lyric content of some albums to contain implicit references to Gore's sexuality. For example, she covered the song "You're the One That I Want" (from the film Grease), altering the line "'cause I need a man" to "'cause I need a friend". Leslie Gore currently lives with her partner of more than 23 years.


Source: wikipedia.org

Little Peggy March

Peggy March is an American pop singer, primarily remembered for her 1963 million-selling song "I Will Follow Him".

Her real name is Margaret Annemarie Battavio.. but why did she choose the name "Little Peggy March"? She was discovered at age thirteen singing at her cousin's wedding and was introduced to the record producer partnership Hugo & Luigi. They gave her this nickname because she was only 1.47 m (4'10") in height, she was only thirteen, the first record she did with them was "Little Me", and her birthdate was in the month of March.

In 1963, when she was only 14 years old, she released the single "I Will Follow Him", which soared to number one on the U.S. charts. March became the youngest female artist with a number one hit, a record that still stands for the Billboard Hot 100. The recording also took the number one spot in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan, and Scandinavia.

As in many cases, the success also came with financial trouble. She was a minor and the Coogan Law prevented her parents from managing her money. The responsibility was placed on her manager, Russell Smith. It was discovered in 1966 that he had squandered the fortune away, leaving her with $500. But she soon had a new manager, Arnie Harris, who later on became her husband.

Although she is remembered by some as a one-hit wonder, her singles "I Wish I Were a Princess" and "Hello Heartache, Goodbye Love" made the Top 30 in the United States. She began making a strong presence in the European and Asian music markets (you should see this video :)), and she moved to Germany in 1969. Her commercial success in Germany continued through much of the 1970s and she also tried her luck in representing Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969, only to be placed second in the national final. March made another Eurovision attempt in 1975. Again she was placed second.

Source: wikipedia.org