1962 Charlie Drake – My Boomerang Won’t Come Back
Charles Edward Springall was born in South London and used his mother’s maiden name for his acting and singing career: Charlie Drake. Charlie started out as a singer, but switched to acting when it became clear that he could not compete with other professional singers.
Charlie began appearing on television in 1953 in a kid show that featured him and Jack Edwardes. Beginning in 1957, he hosted and starred in a series of television comedy shows. Charlie signed with Parlophone Records the next year and they assigned George Martin to produce his records.
His first hit in England was a cover of Bobby Darin’s Splish Splash. The song was already somewhat comedic, and Charlie added sound effects and voice-overs to add to the humor. The single reached the top ten in the UK!
His next single made fun of a song that came in third in the annual Eurovision competition. His version of Volare took him into territory that sounded a lot like something Spike Jones might have done. The record did not do as well as his first release, but still got into the UK top thirty.
Since covering a US hit had worked so well before, Charlie covered the Larry Verne hit, Mr. Custer. The single almost reached the UK top ten in 1960.
1961 finally brought Charlie an international hit. Charlie co-wrote My Boomerang Won’t Come Back with Max Diamond. The record peaked at #14 in the UK. When it came time to release the record in the US, there was some concern about the lyrics and all the sound effects and British humor. They changed the line “Practiced till I was blue in the face” to “Practiced till I was blue in the face.” The record company also edited the record and removed almost a full minute of the recording. The result? A record that reached #21 on the US Hot 100.
When it came time to release the record in the US, there was some concern about the lyrics and all the sound effects and British humor. They changed the line “Practiced till I was blue in the face” to “Practiced till I was blue in the face.” The record company also edited the record and removed almost a full minute of the recording. The result? A record that reached #21 on the US Hot 100 in 1962. It didn’t surprise anybody when the record topped the charts in Australia.
Charlie’s singing career was essentially over after that single. He continued appearing in various comedic shows in the UK and eventually gained acclaim for straight dramatic roles in the eighties.
A stroke force Charlie to retire from performing in 1995. He died in 2006 after a series of strokes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Drake
https://downstairslounge.wordpress.com/2013/12/31/charlie-drake-hobgoblin-of-comedy/
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