Song:Yeh Yeh
Album:20 Beat Classics
British jazz musician Georgie Fame rode the mid-60s British Invasion with a couple of pop hits including Yeh Yeh in 1965. He's a much bigger deal in England than he ever was in the US. He's still active today. He was born Clive Powell June 26, 1943 in Leigh, Lancashire, England. He took piano lessons as a child and as a teen played clubs while working a day job. At age 16, he moved to London and on the recommendation of songwriter Lionel Bart (he wrote the musical Oliver!), he joined the stable of manager Larry Parnes along with Marty Wilde and Billy Fury. Parnes immediately changed Powell's name to Georgie Fame. Fame and his band The Blue Flames were hired to back up Billy Fury but they were replaced for being too jazzy. Fame took over the vocals and they signed with EMI in 1963. Fame floundered until he appeared on the British TV show Ready Steady Go and this led to Yeh Yeh topping the British Singles chart and then it crossed the pond and reached #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965. Yeh Yeh was written by jazz musicians Rodgers Grant and Pat Patrick when Grant was working for legendary percussionist Mongo Santamaria. Santamaria recorded it as an instrumental in 1963. Jazz vocal legend Jon Hendricks added the lyrics and it was recorded by Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. Fame had a couple more hits and then went solo and signed with Columbia Records. In 1967, he had an even bigger hit when The Ballad Of Bonnie and Clyde reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. Fame wrote it after watching the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde. You can get Yeh Yeh on this Universal Europe comp. The Ballad Of Bonnie and Clyde is on a different label. Georgie Fame records occasionally but is mainly known as a session musician. He toured and recorded with Van Morrison for several years. Here's Georgie Fame performing Yeh Yeh on Ready Steady Go 1964.
Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames - Yeh Yeh by moriganne
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