AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ed Ames

Artist:Ed Ames

Song:My Cup Runneth Over

Album:The Very Best of Ed Ames

The Ames Brothers were a very popular 50s vocal group. After they split up in 1959, Ed Ames launched an acting career. After some success on TV, his acting career stalled and Ames turned to singing. Though most of his success was in the Adult Contemporary market, a couple of his singles were pop hits. He was born Edmund Urick July 9, 1927 in Malden, MA. His parents were Ukranian Jews. They had nine children. Four of the Urick brothers formed a quartet and won singing contests in the Boston area. They moved to New York and called themselves the Amory Brothers. Famed playwright Abe Burrows suggested a name change to Ames Brothers. They signed with Decca's Coral label and had several hits in the 50s. They also appeared on TV a lot. Like many 50s pop singers, Rock 'n' Roll killed The Ames Brothers and they split up in 1959. It looks like Ed Ames was the only one to remain in entertainment. First he studied acting at the Herbert Berghof School. Ames appeared in the off-Broadway production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible followed by The Fantasticks followed by the Broadway musical Carnival!. Ames' dark complexion led to him playing Chief Bromden in the Broadway production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. He was spotted by 20th Century Fox and they cast him as the Cherokee tribesman Mingo on the TV series Daniel Boone. This was his biggest acting role. He appeared on the show from 1964-68. Of course he also made a famous 1965 appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and a tomahawk. You can watch that on YouTube. Ames decided to get back into music by signing with RCA Records. When the 1965 single Try to Remember from The Fantasticks reached #17 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #73 on the Billboard Hot 100, Ames must have been surprised. He thought his singing career was over. The 1967 single My Cup Runneth Over did even better. It topped the Adult Contemporary chart and reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. My Cup Runneth Over is from the Broadway musical I Do! I Do! written by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt. The Broadway show starred Mary Martin and Robert Preston. The album My Cup Runneth Over was mostly showtunes produced by veteran Nashville producer Jim Foglesong. That was Ames' biggest hit. He continued to have success in Adult Contemporary until he left RCA in 1972. This comp from the British reissue label Tarragon covers Ames' RCA recordings. Ames returned to acting. He did TV guest shots and appeared in Summer Stock musicals until he retired in the 90s. Ed Ames died on May 21, 2023 at age 95. Here's Ed Ames performing My Cup Runneth Over on The Ed Sullivan Show Sept. 24,1967.