Nineteen-Sixties
British Teen Idol
Only the Beatles, the Shadows and Cliff Richard spent more weeks in the U.K. Top 50 during the sixties than teen idol Billy Fury. Bear Family Records has now amassed 34 Fury-ous
unabashed pop and gritty rock ‘n’ roll tracks (many he wrote himself) to prove Keith Richards was right when he said in ’71 how great he thought Fury was. Wondrous Place: The Brits Are Rocking Volume #2... Billy Fury (the first volume was Tommy Steele) is comprised of singles and deep album cuts released between ’58 and ’64 that run from rockabilly and ballads to neo-soul and teen-pop, all with good old-fashioned show-business smarts. The 36-page enclosed booklet, in true Bear Family style, is fascinating, illuminating and entertaining. Highlights include a rewrite of the 1960 Drifters hit “Save The Last Dance For Me,” a Carole King co-write from ’61 (“I’d Never Find Another You”), Chuck Berry’s 1958 “Sweet Little 16,” a 1961 Ray Charles hit (“Unchain My Heart”), and a 1950 Hank Snow country classic (“I’m Moving On”), all delivered in a neo-Elvis style that drove the little girls wild.
