Song:White Silver Sands
Album:Jukebox Hits of 1957, Vol. 2
White Silver Sands was the only top ten hit for big voiced baritone Don Rondo in 1957. When his singing career faded in the 60s, he turned to broadcasting. He was born Jan. 5, 1930 in Ware, MA and grew up on his dad's dairy farm. After winning a talent contest at a local Lions Club, Rondo went to New York City to see all the stars of the day performing at the Paramount Theater. He auditioned for Jubilee Records. Jubilee owner Jerry Blaine was a former bandleader who bought Jubilee from Atlantic Records co-founder Herb Abramson in 1948. They released a lot of doo wop records in the 50s. Blaine told Rondo it would cost him $2000 to record. So Rondo borrowed the money from his brother-in-law. That song Two Different Worlds reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1956. After a second single flopped, White Silver Sands reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold a million copies. Supposedly it was Jubilee's biggest seller ever. Red Matthews is credited as writer of White Silver Sands but it appears that was an alias for Gladys Reinhart. I'm not sure but that's how it looks. White Silver Sands was also a top ten hit for Bill Black Combo in 1960 and a top five country hit for Sonny James in 1972. You can get Rondo's version on this various artists comp. Don Rondo recorded for Atlantic, Carlton, Decca and United Artists but was never able to repeat the success of White Silver Sands. He quit the music business in the mid-60s and sang jingles and eventually became a radio announcer and then a local TV personality in New Hampshire. Don Rondo died on Jan. 27, 2011 at age 71. Here's a video for White Silver Sands by Don Rondo.
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