If
you have heard the hits "My Baby
Loves Lovin"', "Beach Baby", "United We
Stand", "Gimme Dat Ding", "Love Grows (Where
My Rosemary Goes)" and the unforgettable Coke
commercial "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" you have
definitely heard Tony Burrows.
British session vocalist Tony Burrows is probably the only
singer who can claim he was a one-hit wonder five times.
Lending his vocal talents to over 20 "studio" groups,
he had five Top 15 hits between 1970 and 1974. The connection
between each of these groups Edison Lighthouse, White Plains,
The Pipkins, The Brotherhood of Man and First Class is that the
lead singer was the same person: Tony Burrows!
1970 was quite a year for Tony:
The endearing bubble-pop nugget, "My
Baby Loves Lovin"', rocketed to No. 13 with White
Plains in 1970.
That same year, "Gimme Dat
Ding" reached 99 hit with The Pipkins. It was written
for a children's album called Oliver and the Overworld and was
actually a conversation between a metronome and a pianola.
"United We Stand"
reached the Top l5 with The Brotherhood of Man again in 1970.
Edison Lighthouse's "Love Grows
(Where My Rosemary Goes) reached No. 5 and earned Tony a
gold record, for a total of 4 hits in that same year.
He also caused quite a stir when on a single episode of Top of the Pops,
Tony had to appear 3 times with 3 separate bands.
In 1974, "Beach
Baby", a tribute to The Beach Boys, hit No. 4 with
First Class.
Tony Burrows is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as having
had the most records in the charts at the same time under
different names.
In 1996, Varese Sarabande Records has released Love Grows
(Where My Rosemary Goes): The Voice of Tony Burrows, which
featured songs by nine different bands Tony worked with, along
with some terrific solo tunes. Tony also played live in the US
at Rhino Records Retrofest in Santa Monica, California.