Thank you for that introduction and welcome to Rock & Roll Flashback! I'm Jumpin' John, and we'll be looking back at some of Rock and Roll's greatest artists, songs, and stories. In this podcast I will discuss another in our One Hit Wonders series: Nino Tempo & April Stevens and their 1963 version of the classic tune, "Deep Purple."
Nino Tempo & April Stevens were a brother and sister singing act from Niagara Falls, New York. Their birth names were Caroline Vincinette LoTempio, born in 1929, and Antonino LoTempio, born six years later in 1935. Caroline adopted the stage name April Stevens to pursue a career as a pop singer, scoring a hit in 1951 with a recording of Cole Porter's "I'm in Love Again." Antonino was a musical prodigy, learning to play clarinet and tenor sax as a young child. He appeared with Benny Goodman on television when he was only seven. He also was a successful child actor, appearing in the films The Red Pony and The Glenn Miller Story, and started using the stage name Nino Tempo. By the late 1950's he was playing with jazz groups and working steadily as a studio musician. As a sought-after session musician, Nino worked with Elkie Brooks, with Maynard Ferguson, with the session band the Wrecking Crew, and played saxophone in the Ronettes' 1963 hit "Be My Baby".
In 1961, Tempo & Stevens put together their two-person act, releasing a debut single on United Artists Records. Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records knew Nino from his work on some Bobby Darin recording sessions, and he offered them a record deal with Atlantic's Atco subsidiary. Around this time April claimed that she was much younger than her actual age. This was supposedly due to their competition with younger performers who already dominated the record charts in the 1960's. Their first singles for ATCO, "Sweet and Lovely" and "Paradise," were released in 1962 but didn't chart.
In 1963, after recording an A-side song called "I've Been Carrying a Torch for You So Long That I Burned a Great Big Hole in My Heart," Tempo & Stevens recorded a B-side of the classic tune "Deep Purple". Ertegun didn't care for the song, but Tempo lobbied for its inclusion on the single. Interestingly, this recording of "Deep Purple" featured a guitar player named Glen Campbell, who played as a session musician. Their version of the song "Deep Purple" is notable for its second half. At that point April Stevens spoke the lyrics in a low and sweet voice while Nino Tempo sang the melody. According to the Billboard Book of Number One Hits by Fred Bronson, when the duo first recorded the song as a demo, Tempo forgot the words, and Stevens spoke the lyrics to the song to remind him. The record's producers thought Stevens' spoken interludes worked well and included them on the finished song.
The 45 was released in September of 1963. To everyone's surprise, disc jockeys began flipping the record over and spinning "Deep Purple" instead of the intended A-side. It quickly moved up the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and the song hit #1 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart on November 16th, 1963. In so doing it became the 100th song to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. It also had the unfortunate distinction of being #1 on the Hot 100 on the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The day after the Kennedy assassination, "Deep Purple" was bumped back to the #3 spot, replaced in the #1 chart position by "I'm Leaving It Up To You" by Dale and Grace.
The Tempo-Stevens version of "Deep Purple" remained in the Top 40 for twelve weeks. It won the 1963 Grammy Award for Best Rock and Roll Record. The record sold more than one million copies and earned them an RIAA gold record. The song also peaked at #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary singles chart, #4 on the US Billboard R&B charts, #3 in Canada, and #19 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for year-end 1963.
However, Nino and April were unable to reach the U. S. Billboard Top 10 again. Having peaked at a turning point in pop history, Nino Tempo & April Stevens' style of jazz-influenced pop gave way to the sounds of the Beatles and the British Invasion bands. They managed to remain somewhat popular on Adult Contemporary radio, and appeared frequently on television and in nightclubs. Nino Tempo also maintained a profitable sideline as studio musician, songwriter, and producer. Their hit song "Deep Purple" was followed by a series of singles of more oldies similarly arranged, including "Whispering", "Stardust", and "Tea for Two". "Whispering" reached #11 on the Hot 100 singles chart, and "Stardust" peaked at #32. In 1966 Tempo & Stevens attempted to keep pace with the times, hitting #26 with the song "All Strung Out". Later in 1972 they recorded "(Where Do I Begin?) Love Story" with a light funk groove. The song didn't chart in the U. S., but it hit #5 in the Netherlands. During late 1973, Tempo formed Nino Tempo and 5th Ave. Sax, which had the hit "Sister James," reaching #53 on the Hot 100. "Sister James" became one of the first instrumental disco records to reach the national charts. Then in 1975, Tempo played saxophone on John Lennon's album Rock 'n' Roll. In 1976 he was a featured soloist on The Kenny Rankin Album.
In 2019 Nino Tempo & April Stevens were inducted into the Niagara Falls Music Hall of Fame. April Stevens died in 2023 at the age of 93.
The tune "Deep Purple" was written by pianist Peter DeRose and was first published in 1933 as a piano composition. The song soon became so popular in sheet music sales that Mitchell Parish added lyrics in 1938. Several bands then recorded popular versions of "Deep Purple" in 1938 and 1939. Larry Clinton and His Orchestra recorded the top version of the song in December 1938. Featuring vocalist Bea Wain, the Clinton version was a huge hit.
[Here is a short sound bite from their recording]
Released in January 1939 on Victor Records, the Clinton recording was #1 on the U.S. popular music charts for nine consecutive weeks in 1939. The next most popular pre-World War 2 version of the song was made by Jimmy Dorsey. Dorsey reached the #2 spot, followed by versions of the song by Guy Lombardo (at #9), by Bing Crosby (at #14), and by Artie Shaw (at #17). "Deep Purple" was a favorite tune of baseball star Babe Ruth, and Peter DeRose performed the song at Ruth's birthday parties for about a decade.
So the song "Deep Purple" is quietly one of only a handful of songs where two different recordings of the same song reached #1 on U.S. music charts. Of course, I realize that the Billboard Hot 100 Chart didn’t exist until 1958, so most internet searches will not include the song “Deep Purple” as a two-time #1.
As a side note, the talented British rock band Deep Purple took their name from Peter DeRose's hit. Apparently the song was the favorite song of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore's grandmother. Richie has said that she would also play the song on piano. However, the band Deep Purple never recorded or performed the song "Deep Purple".
This has been Rock and Roll Flashback…a review of the One Hit Wonders brother and sister team of Nino Tempo and April Stevens and their 1963 version of the song "Deep Purple"! I'm Jumpin' John McDermott, and until next time….Rock On!