Nino Tempo born 6 January 1935

Nino Tempo (born Antonino LoTempio, January 6, 1935) is an American musician, singer, and actor.

Nino Tempo was born in Niagara Falls, New York. A musical prodigy, he learned to play the clarinet and the tenor saxophone as a child. He was a talent show winner at four years of age and appeared on television with Benny Goodman at seven. When his family moved to California, he appeared on the Horace Heidt radio show, performing a Benny Goodman clarinet solo. A child actor, he worked in motion pictures in such films as 1949's The Red Pony and in 1953's The Glenn Miller Story starring James Stewart.

 He was also a sought after session musician, working with Elkie Brooks, as a member of The Wrecking Crew for Phil Spector, and recording with Maynard Ferguson (Live At The Peacock-1956). Through a Bobby Darin recording session, Tempo made connections with Atlantic Records and signed with its Atco Records subsidiary.

 

However, Nino Tempo is best known for his 1963 duet "Deep Purple" on Atco with his sister Carol (singing under the stage name April Stevens) that went to No.1 on the Billboard charts. The song won the 1964 Grammy Award for Best Rock and Roll Recording. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. The record was followed by a series of singles of more oldies in a similar style: "Whispering", "Stardust", "Tea for Two". For years following their charting singles, the duo continued recording, but failed to achieve continued sales success.

However, in March 1973 the duo scored a No. 5 hit in the Netherlands with "Love Story" on A&M Records, two years after Andy Williams took that same song to #13 in the Dutch Top 40. In late 1973, a little less than 10 years after "Deep Purple" topped the Hot 100, Tempo reached #53 in his last appearance on the Hot 100 with the (mostly) instrumental "Sister James" as Nino Tempo And 5th Ave. Sax, an obvious play on Saks Fifth Avenue. Recorded at A&M with the backing, writing, producing, and arranging of Jeff Barry, "Sister James" became one of the first instrumental disco records to reach the national charts. "Sister James" is often classified as an example of Northern Soul. In 1975, Tempo played saxophone on John Lennon's Rock 'n' Roll album.

Nino & April moved to Chelsea Records for "What Kind of Fool Am I?" in 1976; Tempo had another solo single with "Hooked on Young Stuff" back on A&M in 1979; and he placed three tracks on the soundtrack to The Idolmaker, which charted in December 1980. But after that, he retired from record-making for a decade until he produced and played on Stevens' 1990 comeback album Carousel Dreams. Then he played at a memorial service for Atlantic Records co-founder Nesuhi Ertegun and as a result was re-signed to the label as a jazz instrumentalist. He made three albums, Tenor Saxophone (1990), Nino (1992), and Live at Cicada (1995).

 In 1996, he and Stevens recorded a new track, a version of the old Benny Goodman/Peggy Lee hit "Why Don't You Do Right?," for the Varèse Sarabande compilation Sweet and Lovely: The Best of Nino Tempo & April Stevens. By then, brother and sister were living in semi-retirement in Arizona although Tempo continues to perform to this day. (Info edited from Wikipedia & All Music)



American Bandstand. May 30, 1964