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Biography
Infobox musical artist| name = Tommy Edwards| image =| caption =| image_size =| background = solo_singer| birth_name =| alias =| Born = Birth date|1922|02|17 Richmond, Virginia|Richmond , Virginia , United States|U.S. | Died = Death date and age|1969|10|22|1922|02|17 Henrico County, Virginia|Henrico County , Virginia| origin =| instrument =| genre = Rhythm and blues|R& B , jazz , Pop music|pop | occupation = Singing|Singer , songwriter | years_active = 1946-69| label = MGM Records|MGM | associated_acts =| website =| current_members =| past_members = Tommy Edwards (February 17, 1922 — October 22, 1969)cite web |first= |last= |url=Allmusic|class=artist|id=p24274|pure_url=yes |title=Biography by Ron Wynn |publisher=Allmusic.com |accessdate=7 January 2008 was a singing|singer and songwriter . His biggest-selling gramophone record|record was with the multi-million-selling song, " It's All in the Game (song)|It's All in the Game ."
Career
Born Thomas Edwards in Richmond, Virginia|Richmond , Virginia , Edwards was an Rhythm and blues|R& B singer most remembered for his 1958, Hot 100 number-one hits of 1958 (United States)|Billboard No. 1 , " It's All in the Game (song)|It's All in the Game ." He sang his hit record|hit song on The Ed Sullivan Show , on 14 September 1958. The song was composer|composed by the then-future Vice President of the United States|U.S. Vice-President , Charles G. Dawes in 1912, as "Melody in A Major ," with lyrics songwriter|written in 1951 by Carl Sigman . Edwards originally recorded and charted the song in 1951, but it only climbed to # 18 on the record chart|chart . The better-known 1958 version was on the same record label ( MGM Records|MGM ) and backed by the same orchestra bandleader|leader ( Leroy Holmes ), but with a different arrangement more suited to the rock and roll -influenced style of the time. As well as topping the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 , the song also got to number one on the R& B chart, and in the UK Singles Chart . The single (music)|single sold over 3.5 million copies globally, earning music recording sales certification|gold disc status. The gold disc was presented in November 1958.cite book | first= John | last= Tobler | year= 1992 | title= NME Rock 'N' Roll Years | edition= 1st | publisher= Reed International Books Ltd | location= London | page= 60 | id= CN 5585 He had a more modest hit with the follow-up, "Love is All We Need," which climbed to #15 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
Edwards began performing in Richmond when he was nine. He made his first impact in Rhythm and blues|R& B circles in 1946, writing "That Chick's Too Young to Fry." It was a sizeable hit for Louis Jordan . http://books.google.co.uk/books? id=S3y7tocgPzgC& pg=RA1-PA30& lpg=RA1-PA30& dq=%22tommy+edwards%22.+%22aneurysm%22.+%221922%22& source=web& ots=SUngp3DRwF& sig=hYWh9HUY0ahqNIxK4OpabWxbexk& hl=en& sa=X& oi=book_result& resnum=6& ct=result Books.google.co.uk Edwards began recording for the Top record label|label in 1949, and had his first hit record|hit in 1951 with "All Over Again" for MGM, a song that made it to number ten on the United States|U.S. Hot R& B/Hip-Hop Songs|R& B record chart|chart . When MGM heard his demo (music)|demo of it they gave him a recording contract .cite book | first= Joseph | last= Murrells | year= 1978 | title= The Book of Golden Discs | edition= 2nd | publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd | location= London | page= 101 | isbn= 0-214-20512-6 Edwards later had another hit with a reworked song he had released in 1952, as "Please Mr. Sun" reached number 18 R& B and number 11 Billboard Hot 100|pop chart. His last chart tune was "My Melancholy Baby" in 1959.
Although Edwards sound recording and reproduction|recorded a number of other songs, none came close to achieving the same level of success, though several of his songs later became hits for other musician|artists (such as " (Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I|A Fool Such As I " by Elvis Presley , "It's All in the Game" by Cliff Richard and The Four Tops , and " Morning Side of the Mountain " recorded by Donny Osmond|Donny and Marie Osmond ).
He died after suffering a Cerebral aneurysm|brain aneurysm in Henrico County, Virginia|Henrico County , Virginia, at the age of 47. The liner notes of his 1994 Eric Records release The Complete Hits of Tommy Edwards claim his death was caused by alcoholism . While the two may be related, there is no confirmation of this.
Edwards received a Virginia Highway Marker in 2008, erected near Pemberton Elementary School, off Quioccasin Road, in Henrico County. In July 2008, Richmond mayor L. Douglas Wilder signed a proclamation declaring 15 October 2008 "Tommy Edwards Day."
Partial discography
Hit Singles
Year
Single
Chart positions
U.S.
U.S. R& B
UK cite book
1951
" Morning Side of the Mountain
24
" It's All in the Game (song)
18
"All Over Again"
10
1952
"Please, Mr. Sun"
22
"You Win Again"
13
1953
" A Fool Such As I "
24
"Baby, Baby, Baby"
26
1954
"Secret Love"
28
1958
" It's All in the Game (song)
1
1
1
"Please Love Me Forever"
61
"Love Is All We Need"
15
1959
"Please, Mr. Sun"(new version)
11
18
"The Morning Side of the Mountain"(new version)
27
"My Melancholy Baby"
26
27
29
"It's Only the Good Times"
86
"I've Been There"
53
"I Looked At Heaven"
100
"(New In) The Ways of Love"
47
"Honestly and Truly"
65
1960
" Don't Fence Me In "
45
"I Really Don't Want To Know"
18
"It's Not the End of Everything"
78
Albums
''It's All In The Game Tommy Edwards MGM E 3732
The Very Best of Tommy Edwards (1963, Cat. No. E/SE 4141)
Tommy Edwards in Hawaii (1960, Cat. No. E/SE 3838)
Tommy Edwards (Lion Records of Canada , Cat. No. L 70120)
The recording "Honestly and Truly" is only heard on compact disc in Monaural|mono , because the original stereophonic sound|stereo master tape was either lost or destroyed.
The recording " Take These Chains From My Heart " is heard on compact disc in re-channeled stereo, because, as with the above song, the original stereo master was lost or destroyed.
These recordings were issued on the MGM Records|MGM record label , unless otherwise noted.
"It's All In The Game" (1958 version) was record producer|produced by Harry Myerson. He is assumed to be the producer for all tracks from this point forward, although this can not be confirmed.
The orchestra was Conducting|conducted and the arrangement s were made on all gramophone record|records by LeRoy Holmes .
See also
List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
List of artists who reached number one on the Billboard R& B chart
List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart
List of deaths in rock and roll
List of number-one rhythm and blues hits (United States)
References
reflist
External links
http://www.geocities.com/shakin_stacks/tommyedwards.txt More Biographical Informationdead link|date=November 2010|bot=AnomieBOT
http://www.oldies.com/artist-biography/Tommy-Edwards.html Oldies.com biography of Tommy Edwards
http://www.thompeace.com/edwards/tommy_edwards.htm Fansite with discography and song lyrics
Persondata | NAME =Edwards, Tommy | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =1922-02-17 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH =1969-10-22 | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Tommy Category:1922 births Category:1969 deaths Category:African American musicians Category:American pop singers Category:American male singers Category:People from Richmond, Virginia Category:MGM Records artists
