# The Strange Magic of: Little Anthony and the Imperials



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

And now the final installment in a quartet of Pop love songs: More love, and more pain. More wailing and crying, too. One of the most consistent groups throughout the late 1950s and well into the 1960s was Little Anthony and the Imperials. Little Anthony Gourdine and his group, with his high voiced delivery, followed in the footsteps of Frankie Lyman and the Teenagers, and would later be eclipsed by young Michael Jackson & Family. The Imperials, though, were one of the few groups to successfully transition from Doo-*** into R&B/Pop, keep their careers going enough to sustain them over the decades, and ended up being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. Here they sing their great classic of anguish, _Hurt So Bad_. I know how it feels; how about you? (Linda Ronstadt's cover is quite good also.)


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## Keef (Jun 30, 2016)

_Hurt So Bad_ is brilliant as is _Going Out Of My Head_ (I think they did the original version of this). I prefer their 60s sould material to the earlier doo ***.


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## regenmusic (Oct 23, 2014)

I like good similar music from that time. This is in the same line for me, that classic production, great background vocals:





The Royalettes - It's Gonna Take A Miracle


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

The Strange Magic of Teddy Randazzo on display here. He penned both Hurt So Bad and Gonna Take A Miracle, and loads of other wonderful songs of this genre. Laura Nyro latched on to Randazzo and made Miracle one of her best covers.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_Randazzo


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

_Tears on My Pillow_ is one of my all-time favorite songs. Mostly for the memories.

Little Anthony is still singing, isn't he?


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Manxfeeder said:


> _Tears on My Pillow_ is one of my all-time favorite songs. Mostly for the memories.
> 
> Little Anthony is still singing, isn't he?


He and group appear to be still touring. Good material, well presented over a long career.


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## Belowpar (Jan 14, 2015)

Mr SM your taste is indeed eclectic.

(PS did you know if you click on the third icon from the right, on the bar at the top of any new post you write, and then insert your links into that you get the visual link as well? It looks like two frames from a a strip of celuloid and if you hover over it, it says "Insert Video")


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

I believe Little Anthony and the Imperials were an inspiration for the Beatles' _Happiness is a Warm Gun_.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Belowpar said:


> Mr SM your taste is indeed eclectic.
> 
> (PS did you know if you click on the third icon from the right, on the bar at the top of any new post you write, and then insert your links into that you get the visual link as well? It looks like two frames from a a strip of celuloid and if you hover over it, it says "Insert Video")


Belowpar, you are Abovepar in my book! I am indeed eclectic in my tastes, following only my own enthusiasm wherever it leads. Like Auda Abu Tayi in _Lawrence of Arabia_, I go to Aqaba "because it is my pleasure". (Actually, Auda doesn't say that; Lawrence ascribes that motivation to him.). I know no other guide.

I will look into your suggestion about handling videos, though being a wet-lipped idiot in matters of modern technology, it will likely not take.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Again, the magic of Little Anthony and the Imperials as they lip-sync through _Going Out of my Head_, another Teddy Randazzo gem he penned for them.....


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Tom Waits namechecked the group in his song _Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis_.


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