Song:Go Away Little Girl
Album:Side By Side
For the most part, Steve Lawrence worked frequently with his wife Eydie Gorme on TV and they recorded together. But Lawrence had a successful solo career before they married. Go Away Little Girl was Lawrence's only number one solo hit in 1962. He was born Sidney Leibowitz July 8, 1935 in New York City. His father was a cantor at a local synagogue and Lawrence first sang as a child in shul. He stopped singing when his voice changed but he started again while in high school. While hanging around the Brill Building in New York, Lawrence was hired by publishers to record demos. He changed his name to Steve Lawrence after two nephews and he won Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts in 1951. That got him a contract with King Records. In 1953, Lawrence joined Steve Allen's Tonight! TV talk show. He was a regular on that show until Allen left to host a prime time show in 1957. Eydie Gorme was also on Tonight! so they started working together. They married in 1957. Lawrence recorded for Decca's Coral label and his 1957 cover of Party Doll was a top five hit. In 1958, Lawrence was in the US Army for two years. He switched to ABC-Paramount in 1959 and Pretty Blue Eyes was a top ten hit. He also recorded for United Artists. Then he moved to Columbia in 1962. Go Away Little Girl was the third single and it topped the charts. The song was written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin for Bobby Vee. That wasn't released as a single. Producer Al Kasha heard it and got Lawrence to record it. Kasha won an Oscar for The Morning After from the 1972 film The Poseidon Adventure. Arranger Marion Evans had worked with Lawrence and Gorme before they came to Columbia. It's interesting to hear Evans use the strings as a vocal partner on the record. After the single was a hit, Lawrence recorded the album Winners!. You can get Go Away Little Girl on this 2CD Steve & Eydie comp. Of course Go Away Little Girl topped the charts for Donny Osmond in 1971. Lawrence never had another big hit. But he's had a long career mostly performing with Eydie. She died in 2013. And it was recently reported that Steve Lawrence is suffering from Alzheimer's. Here's a video for Go Away Little Girl by Steve Lawrence.
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