Tommy Edwards

Thomas Jefferson Edwards (February 17, 1922 – October 23, 1969) was an American singer and songwriter. His most successful record was the multi-million-selling song "It's All in the Game", becoming the first African-American to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Born in Richmond, Virginia, Edwards had his own radio show in Richmond the 1940s. In 1946, Edwards wrote "That Chick's Too Young to Fry", which was a sizable hit for Louis Jordan. Edwards began recording for the music label in 1949. He moved to New York in 1950, and recorded a few demos. When MGM heard his demos, they gave him a recording contract, but more for his voice rather than his compositions. Edwards first recorded four songs for MGM, including his own song "All Over Again".

Edwards was a singer most remembered for his 1958 hit "It's All in the Game", which appeared in the list of Billboard number-one singles of 1958. He sang his hit song on The Ed Sullivan Show, on September 14, 1958. The song was composed by then-future U.S. Vice-President Charles G. Dawes in 1911 as "Melody in A Major" with lyrics written in 1951 by Carl Sigman. Edwards originally recorded and charted the song in 1951, but it climbed to only No. 18. The better-known 1958 version was on the same record label (MGM) and was backed by the same orchestra leader (Leroy Holmes), but with a different arrangement more suited to the rock and roll-influenced style of the time. As well as topping the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, the song also got to number one on the R&B chart and the UK Singles Chart. The single sold over 3.5 million copies globally, earning gold disc status. The gold disc was presented in November 1958. His second biggest hit was his 1959 re-recording of "Please, Mr. Sun" (written by Ramon Martin Getzov and Sid Frank), which reached No. 11. Another of Edwards' hits was "Love Is All We Need" which reached No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Although Edwards recorded a number of other songs, none came close to achieving the same level of success, though several of his songs later became hits for other artists, such as "A Fool Such as I" by Elvis Presley, "It's All in the Game" by Cliff Richard and the Four Tops (Eddie Holman's version of it was the B-side of his hit "Hey There Lonely Girl"), "Please Love Me Forever" by Cathy Jean and the Roommates (1961) and by Bobby Vinton (1967), and "Morning Side of the Mountain" recorded by Donny and Marie Osmond.

On October 23, 1969, Edwards died at the age of 47 from massive internal hemorrhaging due to esophageal varices linked to cirrhosis, per his death certificate. He is interred at the Quioccasin Baptist Church Cemetery in Henrico, Virginia. His headstone says he was born on October 15, 1922, but his death certificate says he was born October 12, 1926. The 1930 census indicates that his correct birth year is 1922. The informant was his sister, Buena.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.