GARY US BONDS
A move from his Florida birthplace to Norfolk, Virginia instigated young Gary Anderson's (born June 6, 1939) interest in music. It was there he joined the local church choir and then the high school band, The Turks. Before he'd reached 21, he was spotted by local music legend Frank Guida, who convinced him to join his Legrand label. It was Guida who changed Anderson's name to U.S. Bonds, hoping that DJ's would play his records, mistakenly thinking they were public service announcements. His first release was the Guida composition "New Orleans" (1960), featuring Bonds trademark soulful voice and Guida's innovative production, including a deliberately muddied sound with the vocals often double or triple tracked . The record's raunchy, "outer-space" sound grabbed the public's imagination and it was a smash. There followed a string of hits including "Quarter To Three" (1961), "School Is Out" (1961) and "Dear Lady Twist" (1962) all sterling recordings with an imaginative, gritty edge. The hits dried up for Bonds in the mid-sixties, and little was heard from him. But he came roaring back in the eighties, releasing a number of imaginative solo albums including "Dedication" (1981). SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
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