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Year of birth: 1942 City of birth: Atlanta, GA HALL OF FAME BIO
Performer and songwriter Tommy Roe was born in Atlanta in 1942 and began his career while still in high school. His group, Tommy Roe and the Satins, performed several of his compositions, notably the Buddy Holly-influenced rocker Sheila, which they recorded in 1960. The single was released nationally by Atlanta’s Judd Records.
While this early effort went unnoticed, Roe revived the song two years later upon securing a record deal as a solo artist with the help of his friend, producer Felton Jarvis (1987). Through some additional help from Atlanta music impresario Bill Lowrey (1979), Roe eventually signed with ABC Paramount Records and headed to Nashville where he recorded two sides on a split session. He re-recorded Sheila, along with another song intended for the A-side entitled Save Your Kisses. The song was played on the radio without success. Explains Roe, “The record was flipped by a DJ in Baltimore and Sheila became my first number one hit and my first Gold Record.” Additionally, the song reached number three in Great Britain, where he was also very popular.
Now a bona fide pop star, Roe toured the UK in March of 1963 along with singer Chris Montez (Call Me, The More I See You) and both artists gained considerable exposure. In fact, they were headliners on a bill for another up and coming act calling themselves: The Beatles! Roe scored two top 10 hits that year with the ballad The Folk Singer and Everybody.
Roe’s backing group The Roemans formed in November of ‘63 with the original name Lanny and The Impressions. In early '64 an A&R man from ABC Paramount heard the group playing at a "Clearwater Star-Spectacular" concert and signed them to the label. Since Paramount already had a group named 'The Impressions' they changed their name to The Romans. A few weeks later ABC hooked them up to Tommy Roe and they promptly changed the spelling of their name to The Roemans. Included in the band were Georgia music alumni Berry Oakley on bass and Bertie Higgins on drums. After some work together for about a year, Roe continued on his own.
Another Roe tune, Sweet Pea released in 1966 reached the top 10 as did the follow-up Hooray for Hazel. But he scored his biggest hit in 1969 with the Bubblegum classic Dizzy which topped both the U.S. and British charts.
Adding to that success with the hits Heather Honey and Jam Up Jelly Tight, Roe then scaled back his career during much of the 1970s. Even with most of his prior success in Rock and Pop, Roe crossed over into Country, scoring with such hits as Working Class Hero and Charlie, I Love Your Wife.
In 1992, a version of Dizzy by Wonder Stuff and comedian Vic Reeves reached the top of the UK charts. Inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1986, Tommy Roe continues to tour. These days Roe’s music, a delightful mélange of ballads, country, rock, and blues, speaks for itself.
AWARDS include:
Gold record recipient for the hit songs: Sheila, Dizzy, Sweet Pea and Jam Up, Jelly Tight.
Written By: Richard Grant, 2002 ALL MUSIC GUIDE BIO
Widely perceived as one of the archetypal bubblegum artists of the late '60s, Tommy Roe cut some pretty decent rockers along the way, especially early in his career -- many displaying some pretty prominent Buddy Holly roots. In fact, Roe's initial pop smash, 1962's chart-topping "Sheila," was quite reminiscent of Holly's "Peggy Sue," utilizing a very similar throbbing drum beat and Roe's hiccuping vocal. The singer had previously cut the song for the smaller Judd label before remaking it in superior form for ABC-Paramount. The infectious "Everybody" -- another hot item the next year -- was waxed in Muscle Shoals at Rick Hall's Fame studios, normally an R&B-oriented facility (it's not widely known that Roe wrote songs for the Tams, a raw-edged soul group from his Atlanta hometown).
Once Roe veered off on his squeaky-clean bubblegum tangent, he stuck with it for the rest of the decade. His lighthearted "Sweet Pea" and "Hooray for Hazel" burned up the charts in 1966, and he was still at it three years later when he waxed his biggest hit, "Dizzy," and "Jam Up Jelly Tight." ~ Bill Dahl, All Music Guide
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© 2006 All Music Guide, LLC