Ed Ames born 9 July 1927

Ed Ames (born Edmund Dantes Urick on July 9, 1927) is an American popular singer and actor. He is best known for his Pop and Adult Contemporary hits of the 1960s like "When the Snow Is On the Roses". He also was originally part of a popular singing group of 1950s called The Ames Brothers.

Ames was born in Malden, Massachusetts to Russian Jewish immigrants. He was one of nine children, five of them boys and four of them girls. Ames grew up in a poor household, but was educated in Classical and Opera music, as well as in Literature, such as Shakespeare. Ames was very athletic as a child and teenager, but he always knew that music would one day become his future destiny, as well as for his brothers; Gene, Mac, Vic and Joe. Together, while still in high school, the brothers formed a quartet and won competitions a lot around the Boston area in Massachusetts. Three of the brothers formed the Amory Brothers quartet later and went to New York, where they were hired by bandleader Art Mooney. A playwright entertainer at the time, who helped the brothers along the way (named Abe Burroughs) had suggested the brothers change their names to the Ames Brothers.

Ames Brothers - Rag Mop .mp3

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They were first signed on with Decca Records in 1948. However, because of the Musician Union's ban, their records from Decca were never released. Instead, they signed on with another label, Coral Records, a subsidiary of Decca. They had their first major hit in the 1950s with the double-sided "Rag Mop" and "Sentimental Me". Following, the Brothers continued to have success throughout the 50s with many hits like, "It Only Hurts For a Little While", "Man With a Banjo" and "The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane". The brothers also made appearances regularly on variety shows, and even for a short period of time had their very own 15 minute variety show in 1955.

In 1960, The Ames Brothers decided to split up and go in different directions. Ed decided that he wanted to pursue a career in acting, so he went to acting school called the Herbert Berghoff School. Although Ames was Jewish, his dark complexion led to his being cast regularly as an American Indian. His greatest success as a stage actor came when he played Chief Bromden in the Broadway production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, opposite Kirk Douglas. Talent scouts at 20th Century Fox saw Ed in the production and invited him to play the Native American Mingo on the television show Daniel Boone.

During the 1960s, Ed returned to singing, this time however as a solo artist. He released his first single called "Try to Remember" in 1965. The song however, barely made the charts. However, a bigger success came in 1967 with "My Cup Runneth Over". The song was both a Pop hit and an Adult Contemporary hit. He had less success on the Pop charts soon after, and only had Adult Contemporary hits. The hits were "When the Snow Is On the Roses", "Time Time" and "Timeless Love". He did make the Pop Top Twenty one last time in his singing career with the song "Who Will Answer" in 1968.

While maintaining his career, he attended UCLA, receiving his degree in theater and cinema arts, with highest honors, in 1975. He remains active in many charitable causes, particularly ecology and the environment, fairness in politics and the plight of the Native American. He recently fulfilled a life dream of acquiring a horse ranch in Utah, where he raises quarter horses. (info mainly edited from Wikipedia)