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Dodie Stevens | |
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| Birth name | Geraldine Ann Pasquale |
| Born | (1946-02-17)February 17, 1946 (age 79) Chicago,Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | Traditional pop,rock and roll |
| Years active | 1954-present |
| Labels | Crystalette,Dot,London |
| Website | Dodie Stevens website |
Dodie Stevens (bornGeraldine Ann Pasquale, February 17, 1946)[1] is anAmericanrock andtraditional popsinger. She is best known for her 1959song "Pink Shoe Laces." It debuted at number 96 on the Billboard Hot 100 when Stevens was one day short of 13 years old, and eventually peaked at number 3.
Stevens was born inChicago,Illinois, United States.[1] She and her family moved to theSan Gabriel Valley inCalifornia when she was three.[2] She soon started taking singing and dancing lessons. In 1954, at the age of eight, sherecorded her first song, "Merry-Go Merry-Go Round." The song was performed on theArt Linkletter's House PartyTV show and was issued onGold Star Records under the name Geri Pace.
The president of Crystalette Records, Carl Burns, happened to see her in a local show calledStrictly Informal.[2] He gave her the name Dodie Stevens and the song "Pink Shoe Laces".[2] Although Stevens did not initially like her new name or the song, she recorded "Pink Shoe Laces" in 1959 for the Crystalettelabel, and the song was picked up by Dot for National distribution.[2] It reached number 3 on theBillboard Hot 100chart,[2] selling more than one million copies, and was awarded agold disc.[3] Following the song’s success,Dot Records signed her to arecording contract.[2] Her first Dot recording was "Mairzy Doats" (Dot 16002) in 1959.[4] In the early 1960s, she had several minorhit singles on Dot, including "No" (Dot 16103) and "Yes I'm Lonesome Tonight" (Dot 16167),[5] as well as"Merry, Merry Christmas Baby"(M. Sylvia / G. Lopez) (Dot 16166), which continues to enjoyairplay during the Christmas season. Dot also released Dodie's cover of the Patsy Cline hit "I Fall to Pieces" (Dot 16200) in 1961, and a remake of "Pink Shoe Laces" (Dot 16389) in 1962.[4] She also recorded three non-chartingalbums for the label:
Stevens appeared in the followingfilms:[6]
Stevens married at the age of sixteen and moved toMissouri to live on a farm. A few years later, she had a daughter, Stephanie. Soon thereafter, in 1966, she ended her marriage and resumed her singing career.[2] In 1969, she once again appeared in theBillboard charts, peaking at number 117 pop, number 57 country, with "Billy, I've Got to Go to Town" (ananswer record to "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town"), recorded under the name Geraldine Stevens. She took additional vocal lessons and, in 1972, began appearing and recording withSérgio Mendes and Brasil '77.[2] In the ensuing years she toured as abackup singer with suchrecording artists asLoretta Lynn,Frankie Avalon, andBoz Scaggs, and for twelve years withMac Davis.[2] In the 1990s, as Geri Stevens, she toured withFabian and her own company "Dodie Stevens and The Pink Shoe Laces Review." Recently, she has performed with her daughter Stephanie and appeared at oldies concerts across the country. She also teaches singing and stage performance out of her studio inSan Diego County.
"Pink Shoe Laces" has appeared in the gameLittleBigPlanet 3 and the television showThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
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