April Stevens

April Stevens (born Caroline Vincinette LoTempio; April 29, 1929) is an American singer best known for her collaborations with her younger brother, Nino Tempo.

This article is about the singer. For the Dallas character, see April Stevens Ewing. For the Young and the Restless character, see April Stevens (The Young and the Restless).

April Stevens
Stevens in 1965
Background information
Birth nameCaroline Vincinette LoTempio
Born (1929-04-29) April 29, 1929
Niagara Falls, New York, U.S.
GenresPop rock
Occupation(s)Singer
Associated actsNino Tempo & April Stevens
Websiteninoandapril.com

Biography

Stevens has recorded since she was fifteen years old. Her most popular solo recording was her RCA Victor recording of "I'm in Love Again" (music and lyrics by Cole Porter). Accompanied by an orchestra arranged and conducted by Henri René, Stevens' recording peaked at No. 6 on the pop chart in 1951.[1] Her follow-up, "Gimme Me a Little Kiss, Will Ya, Huh?" made it to No. 10 later that year, and her next release, "And So to Sleep Again", hit #27.

Stevens returned to the U.S. chart in 1959 with the song "Teach Me Tiger", which caused a minor uproar for its sexual suggestiveness and consequently did not receive airplay on many radio stations.[2] The song peaked at No. 86 on the Billboard Hot 100. The tune was featured in the 2006 film Blind Dating, the 2011 Flemish drama film North Sea Texas, season 5, episode 7 of Call the Midwife, and recurs throughout season 1 of the Russian thriller series To the Lake.

Stevens is best known for her 1963 Atco Records recording of "Deep Purple" (music by Peter DeRose and lyrics by Mitchell Parish) with her brother Antonino LoTempio (singing under the stage name Nino Tempo). A standard song that Larry Clinton and His Orchestra and band vocalist Bea Wain had popularized in 1939, the Stevens and Tempo version reached No.1 on the Hot 100 on November 16, 1963, and No.17 in the British charts. The song won the 1963 Grammy Award for Best Rock and Roll Recording. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a Gold disc.[3]

The duo also enjoyed a 1964 follow-up hit in the U.S. with the standard song "Whispering" (music by Vincent Rose and lyrics by Richard Coburn (pseudonym of Frank Reginald DeLong; 1886–1952) and John Schonberger). The recording, which had an arrangement similar to their recording of "Deep Purple", reached No. 11 on the Hot 100 singles chart. They also had chart success with "All Strung Out", which reached No. 26 on the American Hot 100 in 1966. Later that year, the single "The Coldest Night of the Year" was released on Atlantic 584048 in the UK.[4] A solo single by Stevens was issued in December 1967, a double-sided single of "Wanting You" with "Falling in Love Again" on MGM 1366 in the UK and MGM K 13825 in the US. "Wanting You" became a Northern soul classic.[5]

In the Netherlands, the duo enjoyed a No. 5 hit in early 1973 with their version of "(Where Do I Begin?) Love Story".

In her 2013 autobiography, Teach Me Tiger, Stevens said she was born in 1929.[6] She admitted to taking years off her age, and her brother, Nino, going along with it. This was supposedly due to their competition with acts in their late teens and early twenties that were dominating the record charts in the 1960s.

Awards

Discography

Singles
Year Titles (A-side, B-side)
Both sides from same album except where indicated		 US Album
1951 "The Sweetest Day"
b/w "Don't Do It"		 Non-album tracks
"Dreamy Melody"
b/w "Gimme a Little Kiss, Will Ya Huh?"		 A Nino Tempo-April Stevens Program
"And So to Sleep Again"
b/w "Aw, C'mon"		 Non-album tracks
"Put Me in Your Pocket"
b/w "The Tricks of the Trade"		 A Nino Tempo-April Stevens Program
1952 "That Naughty Waltz"
b/w "I Like to Talk to Myself"		 Non-album tracks
1953 "Treat Me Nice"
b/w "Hot Tamale"
1959 "Teach Me Tiger"
b/w "That Warm Afternoon" (Non-album track)		 86 Teach Me Tiger
1960 "In Other Words"
b/w "Jonny" (Non-album track)
1961 "Love Kitten"
b/w "You and Only You"		 Non-album tracks
1962 "That's My Name"
"Fly Me to the Moon" (Non-album track)		 Teach Me Tiger
1965 "Teach Me Tiger-1965"
b/w "Morning Til' Midnight"		 Non-album tracks
"No Hair Sam"
b/w "Lovin' Valentine"
1967 "Falling in Love Again"
b/w "Wanting You"
1974 "Wake Up and Love Me"
b/w "Gotta Leave You Baby"		 93
"Won't You Marry Me Again"
b/w "Gotta Leave You Baby"

References
  1. Lonergan, David (2004). Hit Records: 1950-1975. Scarecrow Press. p. 104. ISBN 978-0810851290.
  2. Unterberger, Richie. "Nino Tempo & April Stevens Biography". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  3. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 167. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  4. "April Stevens qnd Nino Tempo - Coldest Night of the Year / Ooh La La - Atlantic - UK - 584048". 45cat. May 10, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  5. "Wanting You April". 45cat.com. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  6. "April Stevens, 'Teach Me Tiger' & 'Deep Purple' Siren, Then and Now". groovyhistory.com. May 10, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  7. "6th Annual Grammy Awards". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. 1963. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
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