His voice is instantly recognizable on all of their hit records, vocals delivered with enough emotion that the listener believes Little Anthony had his heart broken just yesterday.
With a string of hits such as “Tears on My Pillow,” and “Shimmy Shimmy Ko Ko Bop,” Little Anthony and the Imperials were a presence on the music charts from the late 50’s through the early Beatles era.
Anthony talked with the Herald from his home in Las Vegas and about his upcoming show with the Imperials in Wildwood as headliners of the Fabulous 50s concert, Oct. 15 at the Wildwoods Convention Center.
The group started as “just a bunch of kids in Brooklyn” in Fort Green, he said. Anthony was invited to join a vocal group led by future Imperial Clarence Collins that had the possibility of getting a record contract through Richard Barrett who produced Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers and the Chantels.
An audition sealed the deal with the record company.
Anthony said he is amused hearing 15 and 16 years olds on television shows such as American Idol singing about love when they are too young to have experienced it.
“When I sing ‘Hurt So Bad,’ I lived it,” he said.
Teddy Randazzo wrote that song along with two other hits for Little Anthony and the Imperials. Randazzo was going through a rocky relationship at the time he composed “I’m On the Outside Looking In,” experiencing a separation when he wrote “Going Out of My Head,” and “Hurt So Bad,” when his wife found someone new, according to Anthony.
Anthony’s voice seems little changed since the late 50’s. Did he avoid the pitfalls of show biz and thus preserve his vocal cords?
“Come on, be serious,” answered Anthony. “I have been through the wringer, by the grace of God, I should have lost my voice a long time ago.”
A California doctor taught him to breathe from his diaphragm and stopped him from smoking, he said.
In 2009, Little Anthony and the Imperials were inducted into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame. At the ceremony, the group chose to sing a capella, something suggested by friend, Paul Simon.
Sting told the group they had a lot of guts to attempt such a feat, said Anthony.
An appearance on the David Letterman Show that year is credited with accelerating Little Anthony and the Imperials entrance into the hall of fame. Letterman’s band leader, Paul Shaffer, invited the group to perform on the show with a 30-piece orchestra to recreate the original recording of “Hurt So Bad.”
Bob Dylan was quoted as saying he never played rock ‘n roll nor did the Beatles or Rolling Stones, that rock ‘n roll ended with Little Anthony and the Imperials. Anthony agrees noting early rock did not have a message beyond “ boom boppa boppa lam boom.”
Anthony said time passes for recording artists and performers need the ability to entertain an audience when the hit records stop.
“We were hanging with people like Sammy Davis, Eartha Kitt and they were telling us ‘You’ve got to make a transition from being recording stars to performing stars,’ and we did,” said Anthony.
“We would do anything we thought would be successful on stage, that’s why we lasted fifty-some years and all the other people are gone,” he continued.
The late Amy Winehouse recorded a version of their hit “I’m on the Outside Looking In,” which is very true to his original vocal which pleased Anthony.
“I am not a Doo Wopper, I’m not an oldie but goldie, I’m an artist, only artists survive,” he said.
Bubba Knight, a member of the Pips (Gladys Knight) told him Little Anthony and the Imperials bridged the gap between Black music and pop music.
“We were a group that totally went pop from an R&B (rhythm and blues) background,” said Anthony.
Imperials Clarence Collins and Ernest Wright have been group members since the beginning. He said they have a magical, unspoken communication on stage after singing together for so many years.