3 recording artists from the 1960's

5 April 1932, Wilmington, North Carolina, USA. Billy Bland was an R&B singer whose best-known recording was the 1960 US Top 10 hit, ‘Let The Little Girl Dance’. Bland, the youngest of 19 children, began his career in 1947 in New York City, where he performed in the bands of Lionel Hampton and Buddy Johnson before starting his own group, the Four Bees. He was brought to New Orleans by producer Dave Bartholomew in 1954 and sang on a single for Imperial Records, ‘Toy Bell’. Bland signed to Old Town Records in 1955 and recorded singles that were hits regionally, such as ‘Chicken In The Basket’ and ‘Chicken Hop’. He recorded the bouncy ‘Let The Little Girl Dance’ in late 1959, also for Old Town, and it reached the charts in early 1960, eventually climbing to number 7. Bland had three further singles in the pop charts, but recorded no albums. He retired in the 70s.

Harold Kenneth Dorman (1931-1988) was an American rock & roll singer/songwriter. Dorman wrote a song called "Mountain of Love", which he released as a single in 1960 on the "Rita" record label. The song became a hit in the U.S., reaching #7 on the Black Singles chart and #21 on the Billboard Hot 100. Though it was Dorman's only hit record, it proved to be a popular song for covers; Charley Pride, Johnny Rivers, and Ronnie Dove all hit the U.S. charts with the song, and it was also recorded by Bruce Springsteen, The Beach Boys, Tommy Cash, and Narvel Felts. Bear Family Records reissued an

album of Dorman's recordings in 1999.

Maurice Williams is one of the most extraordinarily durable figures in the history of classic rhythm-and-blues and rock 'n roll. "Stay," became one of the classic singles in the history of rock 'n roll and r&b-a No. 1 mega-hit upon its release in 1960 on Al Silver's Herald label, and a popular favorite for decades since, revived in 1987 with its prominent use in the movie Dirty Dancing. Williams has remained active as a performer and, periodically, as a recording artist and songwriter, ever since. Maurice Williams was born in Lancaster, S.C. in 1940 (one source indicates Apr. 26, 1938), and showed himself musically inclined from a very early age-he started learning the piano from his older sister in the late 1940's, practicing daily so that by the time he was 10 years old he was having friends from elementary school over for informal jam sessions at his house. Williams had sung in church, but his interest lay more in popular music, and in 1953, he and his friends were ready to form a group that they called the Royal Charms. The group's original membership, in addition to Williams, included Earl Gainey (tenor, guitar) Willie Jones (baritone), William Massey (tenor, baritone, trumpet), and Norman Wade (bass). They played school events and talent shows, winning several and acquiring a local following, before they finally got a paying gig at the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post. The year they'd started out, 1953, Williams had also written two songs that were to have a pivotal effect on his life and career, and the group's history: "Little Darling" and "Stay." He and his band had a one hit wonder which is theresong stay in the 1960;s