Song:Young Love
Album:Dot Records Cover To Cover...Hit Upon Hit
Actor Tab Hunter topped the charts with Young Love in 1957. He is frequently lumped in with other teen idols of the era but it's a little more complicated than that. He was born Arthur Andrew Kelm July 11, 1931 in New York City. When his parents divorced, his mom moved the family to California and went back to her maiden name of Gelien. So Arthur Gelien was given the name Tab Hunter by his agent Henry Willson. He started acting in movies and the film that really got a lot of attention was Battle Cry in 1955. He was becoming a star. Dot Records president Randy Wood called Hunter and asked him if he wanted to record. Hunter told Wood that he wasn't really a singer. But Wood told him he didn't need to be a great singer to make a good record. Young Love was the record with...ahem...The Jordanaires singing backup. Young Love topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1957. Young Love was written and recorded by Ric Cartey and the Jiva Tones in 1956. But it was not a hit. Hunter and country singer Sonny James had hits with the song and so did The Crew Cuts. Wood had Hunter record an album. But Hunter was under contract to Warner Bros. And they prevented Dot from releasing the album. This led to the formation of Warner Bros. Records. But Hunter's Warners recordings weren't successful. You can get Young Love on this Dot Records comp from Ace Records. Hunter was in the 1957 hit musical Damn Yankees. He turned to TV in the early 60s and eventually moved to Europe. Hunter never recorded again. After a career revival in 80s films like Grease 2, Tab Hunter returned to obscurity. He still appears on the stage occasionally. There is currently a Tab Hunter documentary in the works. Here's a video for Young Love by Tab Hunter.
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