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Biography
Infobox musical artist | name = Tommy Roe| image =| caption =| image_size = | background = solo_singer| birth_name = Thomas David Roe| alias =| birth_date = birth date and age|1942|05|09|mf=y Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta , Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia , United States | death_date =| origin =| instrument = Human voice|Vocals , guitar | genre = Rock and roll , Pop music|pop , bubblegum pop|bubblegum | occupation = Singing|Singer , songwriter | years_active = 1959present| label = ABC Records , Monument Records , MGM Records | associated_acts =| website = http://www.tommyroe.com/ www.tommyroe.com| notable_instruments =For|the English footballer|Tommy Roe (footballer) Tommy Roe (born Thomas David Roe , May 9, 1942, Atlanta , Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia , United States)cite web |first= |last= |url=Allmusic|class=artist|id=p5296|pure_url=yes |title=Biography by Bill Dahl |publisher=Allmusic.com |accessdate=12 December 2008 is an United States|American pop music singer-songwriter .
Best-remembered for his hits " Sheila (song)|Sheila " (1962) and " Dizzy (song)|Dizzy " (1969), Roe was "widely perceived as one of the archetypal bubblegum pop|bubblegum artists of the late 1960s, but Roe cut some pretty decent rockers along the way, especially early in his career", wrote critic Bill Dahl.
Biography
He was raised in Atlanta where he attended Brown High School. After graduating, he landed a job at General Electric soldering wires.
He had a Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1962|Billboard #1 hit record in the U.S. and Australia in '62 with the track " Sheila (Tommy Roe song)|Sheila ". A buildup of global sales of "Sheila" meant that the Recording Industry Association of America|R.I.A.A. did not present the music recording sales certification|gold record until 1969.
When "Sheila" became a hit, ABC-Paramount Records asked him to go on tour to promote the hit. He was reluctant to give up his secure job at GE until ABC-Paramount advanced him $5,000. http://books.google.com/books? id=PgGqNrqfrsoC& pg=PT125& lpg=PT125& dq=%22tommy+roe%22+%2B+%22general+electric%22& source=bl& ots=cHDh3hedbC& sig=kAgiVtmUju15j6H77vu8jc9MFgY& hl=en& ei=aNDmS7iLPJO4NZfC-JQF& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=3& ved=0CCEQ6AEwAg#v=onepage& q=%22tommy%20roe%22%20%2B%20%22general%20electric%22& f=false Books.google.com
The following year Roe scored a Top 40|Top 10 hit record|hit with "Everybody", which reached US #3 and UK #9, and the critically acclaimed "The Folk Singer" (#4 United Kingdom|UK ) songwriter|written by Merle Kilgore was also popular. However in March 1963, the UK music magazine NME reported that he and Chris Montez had both been upstaged by The Beatles and their fans on a 21-day UK concert tour|tour .cite book | first= John | last= Tobler | year= 1992 | title= NME Rock 'N' Roll Years | edition= 1st | publisher= Reed International Books Ltd | location= London | page= 118 | id= CN 5585
Following a more successful tour of the United Kingdom by his friend Roy Orbison , Roe toured there and then moved to England where he lived for several years. In 1964 Roe recorded a self-penned song, "Diane From Manchester Square", with his backing group at the time, the Roemans. It was a story in song about a girl called Diane who worked in an upstairs office at EMI House when it was based in London's Manchester Square. Sales of this single in the UK were poor, and it failed to chart. In 1965, he and Jerry Lee Lewis combined with Orbison to create an album for the Pickwick Records|Pickwick International record label|label . During the 1960s, he had several more Top 40 hits, including 1966's #8 " Sweet Pea (song)|Sweet Pea " (#1 Canada) and #6 "Hooray for Hazel" (#2 Canada ). In 1969, his song " Dizzy (song)|Dizzy " went to List of number-one singles from the 1960s (UK)|No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart , #1 in Canada, as well as to Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1969|Billboard's #1 in the United States|U.S. This wikt:transatlantic|transatlantic chart-topper sold two million copies by mid-April 1969, giving him his third gold disc award.
His final Top 10 single, a track co-written with Freddy Weller , "Jam Up and Jelly Tight", was his fourth gold record, peaking at #8 in the U.S. and #5 in Canada.cite book | first= Joseph | last= Murrells | year= 1978 | title= The Book of Golden Discs | edition= 2nd | publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd | location= London | pages= 151, 210, 247 & 266 | isbn= 0-214-20512-6
The 1968 Merle Kilgore song, " The Folk Singer (song)|The Folk Singer ", is allegedly written about Tommy Roe.cite web|url= http://www.secondhandsongs.com/performance/31401|title=Second Hand Songs - Recording: The Folk Singer - Johnny Cash|publisher=Second Hand Songs|date=22 April 2005|accessdate=25 October 2010
A resident of Beverly Hills, California|Beverly Hills , California , he is married to Josette Banzet , an actress from France who won a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe Award for her performance in the 1976 television mini-series , Rich Man, Poor Man .
In 1986, he was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and his pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame . Although his style of music declined in popularity with the 1970s mass market, he maintained a following and continued to perform at a variety of concert venues, sometimes with 1960s nostalgia rock and roll ers such as Freddy Cannon and Bobby Vee.
Partial discography
Albums
Year
Album
Chart Positions
RIAA
US
1963
Sheila
110
Something for Everybody
1964
Everybody Likes Tommy Roe
1965
Ballads and Beat
1966
Sweet Pea
94
1967
Phantasy
''It's Now Winter's Day
159
1969
Dizzy
25
1970
12 In A Roe
21
We Can Make Music
134
1971
Beginnings
1976
Energy
1977
Full Bloom
Singles
Year
Title / Songwriter(s)
UK cite book
AUS http:/ / tsort.info/ music/ vbmw3e.htm Chart information at tsort.info
CAN http:/ / www.webfitz.com/ lyrics/ Chartlst.html Canadian Singles Charts at webfitz.com
U.S. Allmusic
GER
RIAA Certificationhttp:/ / www.riaa.com/ goldandplatinumdata.php? table=SEARCH_RESULTS RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for singles by Tommy Roe
"Jam Up and Jelly Tight" (Tommy Roe / Freddy Weller)
-
4
5
8
-
Gold
1970
"Pearl" (Tommy Roe / Freddy Weller)
-
-
17
50
-
-
1970
"Stir It Up and Serve It" (Tommy Roe / Freddy Weller)
-
-
-
50
-
-
1970
"We Can Make Music" (Lou T. Josie)
-
-
-
49
-
-
1971
" Stagger Lee (song)
-
-
17
25
-
-
1972
"Mean Little Woman, Rosalie" (Richard Laws)
-
-
-
92
-
-
1973
"Working Class Hero"
-
-
-
97
-
-
1985
"Some Such Foolishness " (R.A. Wade)
-
-
-
-
-
-
Legacy
Sheila (singer)|Sheila 's stage name was taken from the title of her first release, which was a French language|French cover version|cover of the song "Sheila".
In 1991 The Wonder Stuff and Vic Reeves released a cover of "Dizzy" that topped the UK Singles Chart.cite book
| first= David | last= Roberts | year= 2006 | title= British Hit Singles & Albums | edition= 19th | publisher= Guinness World Records Limited | location= London | isbn= 1-904994-10-5 | page= 457
See also
List of artists who reached number one in the United States
List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
List of acts who appeared on American Bandstand
List of performers on Top of the Pops
The History of Rock & Roll
Where the Action Is
List of people from Georgia (U.S. state)
References
Reflist
External links
http://www.tommyroe.com/ Official website
http://www.rocksite.info/r-video-tommy-roe-2002-bb256.htm Video of Roe performing in Palm Springs, California in 2002
http://www.classicbands.com/roe.html Mini biography at classicbands.com
Persondata | NAME = Roe, Tommy | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = United States|American pop music singer-songwriter | DATE OF BIRTH =May 9, 1942 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Atlanta, Georgia , United States | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Roe, Tommy Category:1942 births Category:Living people Category:Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American pop singers Category:American male singers Category:People from Atlanta, Georgia Category:Musicians from Georgia (U.S. state)
