Song:A Million To One
Album:Memories Are Still Made Of Hits Volume 1
Teen pop singer Jimmy Charles scored a top five hit in 1960 with the ballad A Million To One. He had one other song chart and that was the end of his career. He was born in Paterson, NJ in 1943 and he grew up singing in church. At age 16, his uncle took him to New York City and Charles won the amateur talent contest at the Apollo Theater four straight weeks. Then his uncle hooked him up with producer and songwriter Phil Medley who was best known as the co-writer of Twist and Shout which was a big hit for The Isley Brothers and The Beatles. Medley wrote A Million To One and he thought a kid like Charles would be a good fit for the song. They recorded a demo and Medley sold it to Promo Records. Promo was a very short lived label. They were only in business for a couple of years. Medley recorded a more elaborate arrangement of A Million To One featuring the girl group The Revellettes singing backup vocals. They were friends of Charles from Paterson. A Million To One reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960. Covers of A Million To One by The Five Stairsteps and Brian Hyland charted. But Donny Osmond scored a top 30 hit with A Million To One in 1973. A second single The Age Of Love charted and Charles recorded a couple of Christmas albums. And that was it because Promo closed in 1961. That was probably the big reason Charles never recorded again. His career wouldn't have survived the British Invasion anyway. Collectables has released a Jimmy Charles CD. But it's short and I think most fans will only want A Million To One. You can get it on this various artists budget CD from the British label Sequel Records. Jimmy Charles currently lives in Texas and he still tours the oldies circuit occasionally. Here's a video for A Million To One by Jimmy Charles.
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