Gary U.S. Bonds

Gary U.S. Bonds (born Gary Levone Anderson; June 6, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, known for his hits "New Orleans" and "Quarter to Three".

Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Bonds lived in Norfolk, Virginia, in the 1950s when he began singing publicly in church and with a group called the Turks. He joined record producer Frank Guida's small Legrand Records label where Guida chose Anderson's stage name, U.S. Bonds, in hopes that it would be confused with a public service announcement advertising the sale of government bonds and thereby garner more DJ attention. In the October 24, 1960, edition of Billboard magazine, it states his name is "U.S. (Ullysses Samuel) Bonds". His first three singles and first album, Dance 'Til Quarter to Three, were released under the U.S. Bonds name, but people assumed it was the name of a group. To avoid confusion, subsequent releases, including his second album Twist Up Calypso, were made under the name Gary (U.S.) Bonds. The parentheses were discarded in the 1970s.

"Quarter to Three" sold one million records, earning a gold disc. Subsequent hits, under his modified name, included "School Is Out" (No. 5), "Dear Lady Twist" (No. 9), "School Is In" (No. 28) and "Twist, Twist Senora" (No. 9) in the early 1960s. His hits featured solos by the saxophonist Gene Barge.

"Quarter to Three" appears on The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.

In the early 1980s, Bonds had a career resurgence with two albums, both of them recorded with Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, and the E Street Band. Dedication was released in 1981, and On the Line followed in 1982. The albums spawned several hits including "This Little Girl" (his comeback hit in 1981, which reached No. 11 on the pop chart in Billboard and No. 5 on the mainstream rock chart), "Jolé Blon" and "Out of Work".

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.