Grady Chapman born October 1, 1929

Grady Chapman (October 1, 1929 – January 4, 2011) was best known as the American lead singer of doo wop group The Robins.

Born in Greenville, South Carolina, Chapman joined The Robins in 1952, singing alongside Bobby Nunn, Billy Richards, Roy Richards, Ty Terrell, and later Carl Gardner. During that time, the Robins recorded for RCA where Grady is heard leading many of the groups' classic recordings, including "How Would You Know," "Oh Why," "My Heart's The Biggest Fool," and "Ten Days In Jail." Later they recorded for Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller's Los Angeles–based "Spark" label, where Grady also led the Robins on "Whadaya Want" and "I Love Paris." in October 1954 Grady issued a recording on the Money label backed by the Suedes, "Don't Blooper" and "I Need You So." 

                                   

When the Robins split in late 1955, Leiber and Stoller took members Nunn and Gardner east to form the Coasters. Grady stayed with the Robins, who then signed with Gene Norman's Whippet label.  Gene had his own TV show on Los Angeles' Channel 9 and named his record label Whippet after his dog, Boris. Grady's recording "Since I First Met You" from 1957 with The Robins is included in the films Pulp Fiction and American Strays. Around March of 1957, Grady Chapman's first solo effort was issued on Geordie Hormel's Zephyr label. Zephyr, located a few doors down Sunset Boulevard from Whippet, was distributed by GNP Records (“Gene Norman Presents,” Whippet's parent company). On both sides of the record (“My Love Will Never Die” and “The Smiling Gondolier”), Chapman is backed by a female group. Despite these solo efforts, Chapman still remained a member of the Robins. He wrote "Sweet Pea" for Bob and Earl.

In the summer of 1958 there was a Grady Chapman solo released on the Knight label: “Star Light, Star Bright” and “Say You Will Be Mine.” Once again, he's backed by a female chorus on the tunes which had been recorded on his previous single. After this release, Grady Chapman parted company with the Robins and was replaced by Bobby Sheen. The last known Grady Chapman solos were released on the Mercury label: “My Life Would Be Worth Living” (with the ubiquitous female group) and “Ambush.” These were issued in September 1960. Early the following year, there was “I'll Never Question Your Love” and “This, That, 'N The Other.”

Chapman sang with The Dominoes alongside Clyde McPhatter and Jackie Wilson and would later become a member of one of the Coasters' many spin-off groups, The Coasters Mark II, which included Bobby Nunn, Bobby Sheen, and Billy Richards, Jr. In 1977, along with Billy Guy and Jerome Evans, he sang on "Paid The Price" on Michelle Phillips' album Victim Of Romance. Chapman would also substitute for Carl Gardner a few times in the 1990s and 2000s with The Coasters. 

He still performed as Grady Chapman & The Robins with various back-up musicians, until his death, from congestive heart failure in a Los Angeles hospital, on January 4, 2011.

(Edited from Wikipedia, Marv Goldberg & Academic)