Gary U.S. Bonds
Encyclopedia
Gary U.S. Bonds is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

 and rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 singer. He is also a prolific songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

.

Career

Born in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...

 Bonds was living in Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

, in the 1950s when he began singing publicly in church, and with a group called The Turks. He joined record producer Frank Guida
Frank Guida
Frank Guida was a Sicilian-American songwriter and music producer credited with discovering Gary U.S. Bonds, whose hits, including "New Orleans" and "Quarter to Three", he produced. He was also a songwriter for Leroy Toombs...

's small Legrand Records label, and Guida changed Anderson's name to U.S. Bonds in hope that it would be confused with a Public Service Announcement advertising the sale of government bonds and thus get more radio airplay. His first three singles and first album Dance 'Til Quarter to Three were released under the "U.S. Bonds" name, but people mistook it for the name of a group, so to avoid the confusion subsequent releases, including his second album Twist Up Calypso, were released under the name Gary (U.S.) Bonds; the parentheses were discarded in the 1980s.

Bonds's first hit was the song "New Orleans" (reached #6), which was followed by "Not Me", a flop for Bonds but later a hit for The Orlons
The Orlons
The Orlons are an American R&B group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that formed in 1960. They received gold discs for the million selling achievements of three of their singles...

, and then by his only number one hit, "Quarter to Three
Quarter to Three
"Quarter to Three" is a popular song, adapted and expanded from "A Night with Daddy 'G' - Part 1" , an instrumental by the Church Street Five, which was written by Gene Barge, Frank Guida and Joseph Royster, and sung by Gary U.S. Bonds...

" in June 1961. "Quarter To Three" sold one million records, earning a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...

. Subsequent hits, under his modified name, included "School Is Out" (#5), "Dear Lady Twist" (#9), "School Is In" (#28) and "Twist, Twist, Señora" (#10) in the early 1960s. In a 1963 tour of Europe, he headlined above The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

. His hits often featured solos by the saxophonist Gene Barge
Gene Barge
Gene Barge, a founding member of the 1960s band The Church Street Five, was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1926, is an accomplished tenor and alto saxophonist and composer in several bands....

.

"Quarter to Three" appears on The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.

In the early 1980s, Bonds had a career resurgence with two albums Dedication
Dedication (Gary U.S. Bonds album)
Dedication is an album released by Gary U.S. Bonds in 1981, the first of two Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band collaborated albums from Bonds, the second being On the Line, released the next year in 1982. The musicians accompanying Bonds on the album include many members of the E Street Band...

and On the Line
On the Line (album)
On the Line is an album released by Gary U.S. Bonds in 1982, the second of two Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band collaborated albums from Bonds, the first being Dedication, released the previous year in 1981. The musicians accompanying Bonds on the album include many members of the E Street Band...

, working off collaborations with Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...

, Steven Van Zandt
Steven Van Zandt
Steven Van Zandt is an Italian-American musician, songwriter, arranger, record producer, actor, and radio disc jockey, who frequently goes by the stage names Little Steven or Miami Steve...

, and the E Street Band
E Street Band
The E Street Band has been rock musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Tom Morello, Sting, Ian...

. Later hits included "This Little Girl" (his comeback hit in 1981, which reached #11 on the pop chart and #5 on the mainstream rock chart), "Jolé Blon" and "Out of Work". Bonds continues to release albums sporadically, and today is a mainstay of the nostalgia concert circuit.

While Bonds is mostly known for achievements within rhythm and blues and rock and roll, he often transcends these genres, e.g. his song "She's All I Got
She's All I Got
"She's All I Got" is a moderate up-tempo song written by Gary U.S. Bonds and Jerry Williams, Jr. in which the male narrator pleads to someone else not to take away his lover. It has been recorded by several artists. The first version, released in 1971 by Freddie North, was a Top 40 U.S. pop hit,...

", co-written by Jerry Williams, Jr. (better known as Swamp Dogg), was nominated for the Country Music Association
Country Music Association
The Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre...

's "Song of the Year" in 1972 when it was a big hit for Johnny Paycheck
Johnny Paycheck
Johnny Paycheck was the legal name of Donald Eugene Lytle , a country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member most famous for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It"...

. He is also an honoree of the Rhythm & Blues Foundation. Bonds is an accomplished golfer and often plays celebrity PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...

 events.

Bonds released an album in 2004 called Back in 20
Back in 20 (album)
Back In 20 is a rock album released by Gary U.S. Bonds in 2004 on the M.C. Records label. The album features guest appearances by Bruce Springsteen, Southside Johnny, Dickey Betts, and Phoebe Snow...

, the title referencing his repeated sporadic pop-ups of popularity (his first hits were in the 1960s, then again in the 1980s, and now another significant album in the early 2000s, each 20-odd years apart). The album features guest appearances by Bruce Springsteen and Southside Johnny
Southside Johnny
Southside Johnny is an American singer-songwriter, who usually fronts his band Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes.-Early days:...

. Bonds was also inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame
Long Island Music Hall of Fame
The Long Island Music Hall of Fame is an organization whose office is located in Port Jefferson, New York. It was incorporated in July 2005 under the New York State Board of Regents as a non profit organization and holds a provisional charter to operate as a museum in the state of New York...

 on October 15, 2006.

In 2009 he released a new album Let Them Talk and toured the UK as a special guest of Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings. Most recently, in 2010, Bonds contributed duet vocals on the song "Umbrella In My Drink" on Southside Johnny
Southside Johnny
Southside Johnny is an American singer-songwriter, who usually fronts his band Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes.-Early days:...

's album Pills and Ammo.

Discography

Studio albums:
  • Dance 'til Quarter to Three (1961)
  • Twist Up Calypso (1962)
  • Dedication
    Dedication (Gary U.S. Bonds album)
    Dedication is an album released by Gary U.S. Bonds in 1981, the first of two Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band collaborated albums from Bonds, the second being On the Line, released the next year in 1982. The musicians accompanying Bonds on the album include many members of the E Street Band...

     (1981)
  • On the Line
    On the Line (album)
    On the Line is an album released by Gary U.S. Bonds in 1982, the second of two Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band collaborated albums from Bonds, the first being Dedication, released the previous year in 1981. The musicians accompanying Bonds on the album include many members of the E Street Band...

     (1982)
  • Standing in the Line of Fire
    Standing in the Line of Fire (album)
    Standing In the Line of Fire is an album released by Gary U.S. Bonds in 1984, under the band title of "Gary U.S. Bonds and the American Men"...

     (1984)
  • Nothing Left to Lose
    Nothing Left to Lose (album)
    Nothing Left to Lose is an album released by Gary U.S. Bonds on the Global Village Market label in 1996. The album was produced by Yank Barry as part of Barry's international Global Village Market initiative. The track "Young Blood" features a duet with Ben E. King. The track "1950's Kind of Mood"...

     (1996)
  • Back in 20 (2004)
  • Let Them Talk (2009)


Live albums:
  • King Biscuit Flower Hour (Live) (2001)
  • Live! (2002)
  • From the Front Row... Live! (2003)
  • In Concert (2005)


Compilations:
  • The Best of Gary U.S. Bonds (60's Material) (1990)
  • Take Me Back to New Orleans (60's Singles Compilation) (1994)
  • The Best of Gary U.S. Bonds (80's Material) (1996)
  • The Very Best of Gary U.S. Bonds: The Original Legrand Masters (60's Material) (1998)
  • Certified Soul (Singles from 1968–1970) (2008)

Billboard's Hot 100

Title Position Year
"New Orleans" #6 1960*
"Quarter to Three
Quarter to Three
"Quarter to Three" is a popular song, adapted and expanded from "A Night with Daddy 'G' - Part 1" , an instrumental by the Church Street Five, which was written by Gene Barge, Frank Guida and Joseph Royster, and sung by Gary U.S. Bonds...

"
#1 1961*
"School Is Out" #5 1961*
"School Is In" #28 1961*
"Dear Lady Twist" #9 1961*
"Twist Twist Señora" #10 1962*
"Seven Day Weekend" #27 1962*
"Copy Cat" #92 1962*
"This Little Girl" #11 1981
"Jolé Blon" #65 1981
"Out of Work" #21 1982
* Produced by Frank Guida
Frank Guida
Frank Guida was a Sicilian-American songwriter and music producer credited with discovering Gary U.S. Bonds, whose hits, including "New Orleans" and "Quarter to Three", he produced. He was also a songwriter for Leroy Toombs...

. over the past 15 years

Philanthropy and humanitarianism

Gary is a member of Global Village Champions Foundation. Global Village Champions has provided over 417 million meals over the past 17 years. Gary's was presented with the Global Village Champion of the Decade award in 2009.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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