Earl Nelson born 8 September 1928

Earl Nelson (September 8, 1928 – July 12, 2008), who also performed as Jackie Lee, Chip Nelson, Earl Cosby and Jay Dee, was an American soul singer and songwriter. He started his career in the doo-wop group the Hollywood Flames in the 1950s before founding the R&B duo Bob & Earl with Bobby Byrd. As Jackie Lee, he was best known for his hit song "The Duck" (#14 Pop, #4 R&B). 

Born in Lake Charles, LA, on September 8, 1928, Nelson cut his teeth singing in his church's gospel choir. His family relocated to Los Angeles in 1937, and at age 17 he enlisted in the U.S. Army, working on the construction of the Panama Canal. Upon returning to civilian life he began singing with a variety of Los Angeles-area doo wop and R&B acts, usually in collaboration with vocalist Bobby Byrd (aka Bobby Day). Nelson's lead tenor graces the Hollywood Flames' 1954 single "Buzz Buzz Buzz," and a year later he and Byrd teamed as the Voices to record "Two Things I Love" for the Cash label.

A series of little-noticed efforts followed, credited to various acts including Bobby "Baby Face" Byrd & the Birds as well as Bobby Day & the Satellites, and in 1957 Nelson even headlined the Class label release "I Bow to You." The first Bob & Earl single, "You Made a Boo-Boo," appeared later that same year. Both Nelson and Day were nevertheless working at the Revell Toy Factory when the long-dormant "Buzz Buzz Buzz" emerged as a surprise hit in 1958. While a reassembled Hollywood Flames went on to record a clutch of new material for Class and Ebb, Day also scored a massive solo hit with "Rockin' Robin," and when the Flames sputtered out in the wake of 1960's "Gee Whiz," Nelson revived the Bob & Earl partnership, albeit recruiting former Laurels vocalist Bob Relf to replace the otherwise occupied Day. 

                                     

This incarnation of Bob & Earl first recorded in 1962, cutting a pair of singles ("Don't Ever Leave Me" and "Deep Down Inside") for the Tempe label. After a move to the Marc imprint they recorded "Harlem Shuffle" in 1963, with their friend Barry White on piano, arrangement by Gene Page and production by Fred Smith.

Relf admitted that the track was basically a reworking of "Slauson Shuffletime" by Round Robin, with the location switched from Slauson to the better known New York neighborhood. The gritty, sinuous track remains an R&B landmark, reaching the U.S. Top 50 and becoming an even bigger hit in the U.K.  In a further twist, Bob & Earl later sued Smith, and each won a third of the royalties derived from the track. 

Despite the success of "Harlem Shuffle," Bob & Earl's follow-up releases -- including "My Woman," "Your Lovin' Goes a Long, Long Way," and "Baby I'm Satisfied" -- fared poorly. In 1965 Nelson launched a solo career with the Mira single "Ooh Honey Baby," credited to Earl Cosby. His next effort, the Mirwood label release "The Duck," was instead attributed to Jackie Lee -- the single cracked the R&B Top Five and hit the Top 20 on the pop charts as well, guaranteeing Nelson would continue recording under this latest alias. While he did not return to the charts, Mirwood releases including "Do the Temptation Walk," "The Shotgun and the Duck," "Oh! My Darlin'," and "Darkest Days" all later made Lee an immortal within the ranks of Britain's Northern soul revival culture. 

Singles for ABC-Paramount and Uni followed, and after reuniting with White, who produced the 1974 Warner Bros. comeback attempt "Strange Funky Games and Things" (credited to Jay Dee), his recording career ground to a halt. Nelson nevertheless continued playing live across L.A. for decades to follow -- after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease, he died in Los Angeleson  July 12, 2008, at the age of 79. At the time of his death, he had been married three times and he had nine children. 

(Edited from Wikipedia, AllMusic & The Independent) 

Jackie Lee born 29 May 1936

Jackie Lee (born Jacqueline Norah Flood, 29 May 1936, Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish popular music singer, who has recorded under various names.

Lee was a musical child prodigy. She won a scholarship and trained as a soprano for four years. Upon finishing her studies she became a vocalist with the top show-bands playing prestigious Irish venues.

Lee experienced similar success when she moved to London and joined the popular dance band The Squadronaires. In 1955 her first solo record was released, followed by a further two the next year. On Sunday 26th May 1956, Jackie appeared as a solo singer on ATV's 'Sunday Night at the London Palladium' with Max Bygraves, whom she had previously met on a BBC radio programme.  

Jackie gained further experience performing in Cyprus, Tripoli and Germany for the British Forces, along with Ronnie Hilton. By this time Jackie had met a gentleman in a Tin Pan Alley office who was to have a decisive influence on much of her career, and also her personal life.  Len Beadle became not only Jackie's manager, but also her husband.  Towards the end of the decade, under Len's guidance, Jackie moved away from dance-bands to concentrate on building a recording career.   

 From 1959 to 1964, Lee was a member of The Raindrops,(with husband Len Beadle, Vince Hilland and Johnny Worth) a successful quartet who made countless appearances on British TV and variety shows, had a BBC Radio show and released a string of records, the majority of which had Lee as lead vocalist. The Raindrops recorded their debut single Along came Jones  for Parlophone (EMI) and developed their close harmony sound through a series of 45s for Oriole which included UK versions of the American Billboard hits Will you love me tomorrow (originally by the Shirelles), A letter from Anne (the Videls), Party lights (Claudine Clark), and The locomotion (Little Eva).  

In 1962, she entered the UK heats of the Eurovision Song Contest as a solo act with "There's No-one in the Whole Wide World" and performed it at the British national finals for BBC TV. This number was later covered and performed by The Beatles in concerts during this period. Lee decided to become a solo artist in 1965 and recorded 'beat' records until 1967. One of these releases, "Just Like a Man", reached the NME chart. The B-side; "I Gotta Be With You", were in the Northern soul idiom. Lee recorded this single under the name of 'Emma Reade' for EMI. 

Lee also had an alternative career as a respected session singer, through her groups The Jackie Lee Singers and Tears of Joy. She provided the backing vocals for such global number ones as "Green Green Grass of Home" by Tom Jones and "Release Me" by Englebert Humperdink. She demonstrated her unique vocal range, ability and versatility on such diverse recordings as "Hey Joe" by Jimi Hendrix; and much of the James Last catalogue at the time. At one point Elton John was employed by Lee, as a member of her session singers. In addition she also sang various songs for film soundtracks. Among them "Born To Lose" from the film Robbery (1967), "Love Is Now" from the Norman J. Warren film Loving Feeling (1969), and the title song to the horror film Goodbye Gemini (1970).

 

 

                             
 

In 1968, as 'Jacky', she had a UK Top Ten hit single with "White Horses", the theme from a Children's TV programme. In 2003, her definitive version was voted the best TV theme tune of all time by The Penguin Television Companion. Her jazz-styled album of the same name was also released in 1968, which included contributions from Dudley Moore as pianist.  

By 1970, 'Jacky' reverted to 'Jackie Lee' and had another hit record; "Rupert" from the TV show based on the famous cartoon character, Rupert Bear (inaccurately referred to as "Rupert the Bear" in the song's lyrics). This recording also had a place in the "Best TV themes of all time" list from The Penguin Television Companion at Number 7, thus consolidating Lee's reputation. A tie-in album, "Jackie's Junior Choice", was released on Pye Records (PKL 5503) in 1971, followed by the similar, "Rupert and Other Junior Favourites" on Pye's budget Golden Guinea label (GSGL 10492) in 1973, which also included Jackie's recording of another children's series, "Inigo Pipkin".
 

It was shortly after this that she prematurely retired owing to vocal complications and throat trouble. With her musical career never having reached the heights it deserved, Jackie sadly bade farewell to the music industry in 1973.  She later moved to the United States, and subsequently Canada, where she now lives, happily married, far away from the world of entertainment. (Info edited from Wikipedia & jackielee.org)