Tommy Edwards

Tommy Edwards ( born February 17, 1922 in Richmond, Virginia; † 22 October 1969 in Henrico County, Virginia ) was an American singer and songwriter of R & B, jazz and pop music. His most famous recording was It's All in the Game, a number -one hit in the U.S. and in the UK.

Life

Beginnings in Virginia

Edwards grew up in Richmond, Virginia, at the age of nine and was in show business operates. He played the piano and sang. In the 1940s he had his own radio show. He wrote songs, including 1946 That Chick 's Too Young to Fry, taken from the R & B singer Louis Jordan.

Successes in New York

1950 Edwards moved to New York, where he made some demo recordings of his songs, including All Over Again in order to sell them better. He sang them himself, and convinced the manager of MGM Records more with his voice than with the songs to give him a record deal. All Over Again was a hit in the R & B charts; two more songs moved in 1951 to the pop charts, The Morning Side of the Mountain ( # 24 ) and It's All in the Game ( 18th place). Edwards then took on more records, but could bring long time no further singles in the charts.

Leader with an oldie

1958 MGM was about to run out Edwards ' contract. But shortly before the stereo recording was invented, and because Edwards should still take a last record, it was decided at MGM, to use it as a demonstration of the new technology. Edwards played in these recordings, among others, his old hit It's All in the Game in a new arrangement, similar to the current rock and roll sound on. Those responsible at MGM liked the result so much that they released the song in August 1958 as a single. He came into the Top 100, and on September 14, Edwards sang it on television on The Ed Sullivan Show. 15 days later broke It's All in the Game Domenico Modugnos Volare ( Nel blu di blu dipinto ) at the top position of the Billboard charts from and did not displace six weeks. In Britain, the title reached No. 1

After the big hit

Edwards was never able to build on the success of It's All in the Game sold 3.5 million records again correctly. In the following two years, although he had more chart success in the United States, 1958 with Love Is All We Need, 1959 with Please Mr. Sun and The Morning Side of the Mountain, both new recordings of his titles in 1951 and 1952. According to a recent top 20 hit in 1960 I Really Do not Want To Know. 1960 was his last single in the U.S. charts - it was just It's Not the End of Everything (about: "It's not the end of everything "). In all his recordings since 1958, he was accompanied by LeRoy Holmes Orchestra.

With 47 years Tommy Edwards died of a brain aneurysm.