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Robert Gordon | |
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 Gordon in 1979 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Robert Ira Gordon (1947-03-29)March 29, 1947 Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. |
| Died | October 18, 2022(2022-10-18) (aged 75) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Rockabilly |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 1976–2022 |
| Labels | Private Stock,RCA Records |
| Formerly of | Tuff Darts,Link Wray,The Heartbreakers,Danny Gatton,Chris Spedding |
| Website | robertgordon |
Robert Gordon (March 29, 1947 – October 18, 2022) was an Americanrockabilly singer.
Gordon grew up inBethesda, Maryland, United States, the son of Arlene and Samuel Gordon, an administrative law judge.[1] His family was Jewish.[2]
At the age of nine, Gordon was greatly inspired by theElvis Presley song "Heartbreak Hotel" playing on radio and decided to pursue a career as arock and roll musician at that young age.[3]
Along with Elvis Presley, Gordon's influences during his childhood and teenage years includedGene Vincent andEddie Cochran among other notable rock 'n roll music artists of the period.[4]
Gordon made his recording debut at age 17 in 1964 with a group called the Confidentials.[5] He also actively performed with the Newports in his teenage years.[6] At the age of 19 he got married, and shortly after had two children.[6]
When asked how he related to the 1960s, Gordon replied "I didn't."[3] He did not care much for theBritish Invasion but he identified with soul singers such asJames Brown andOtis Redding whom he saw, among other greatR&B acts, performing atWashington, D.C.'s famousHoward Theatre. During the turbulent times of the late 1960s, with the rioting and antiwar protests of the period, Gordon served in theNational Guard in Washington, D.C. "I didn't want to be sent to Vietnam," he recalls.[3]
By 1970, Gordon had relocated his family toNew York City with the intent of operating a clothing boutique.[6] His focus shifted to thepunk rock scene at the nightclubCBGB.[6] He became a member of the punk-pop bandTuff Darts.[6]
During 1976, the Tuff Darts recorded "All for the Love of Rock and Roll", "Head over Heels", and "Slash" for acompilation album calledLive at CBGB's, which included a number of other local New York City bands. Gordon also appeared in a punk/new wave–style film entitledUnmade Beds, an homage toJean-Luc Godard by underground filmmakerAmos Poe.Blondie lead singerDeborah Harry and painterDuncan Hannah also appeared in the film.[7]
In November of 1976, Gordon briefly sang withthe Heartbreakers, and appeared on an unreleaseddemo tape.[8]
Record producerRichard Gottehrer discovered Gordon during a rehearsal one afternoon with Tuff Darts and soon afterward the two were talking about making arock and roll record.[9] Gottehrer was impressed with Gordon's voice and his rendition ofElvis Presley's "One Night".[3] After some conversation, Gordon suggested working with guitar legendLink Wray.[10] Wray was contacted and he agreed to work with them both. "Robert to me sounds a lot like the early Elvis, back when he was atSun Records", he commented.[3] In 1977,Robert Gordon with Link Wray onPrivate Stock Records was the result of this collaboration.[9] After Elvis Presley's unexpected death in August, 1977, the album picked up some airplay, and the Private Stock label attempted to hype Gordon as the heir to Elvis.[citation needed] In 1978, Gordon made a second album with Wray, for Private Stock calledFresh Fish Special. The record featuredThe Jordanaires, who had beenbackground vocalists for Presley, and included theBruce Springsteen song "Fire". Springsteen playedkeyboards on the track.[9]
In 1978,RCA Records signed Gordon to a contract which he described as "a dream come true" to record for "Elvis's label". In February, 1979, the albumRock Billy Boogie was issued on the RCA Victor label, this time without Wray, asChris Spedding joined Gordon, playinglead guitar. WriterBruce Eder (AllMusic) hailed Gordon's next album,Bad Boy, released in 1980, as one of the best mature rockabilly albums ever recorded. Gordon's next and final album for RCA was 1981'sAre You Gonna Be the One. The title track written by Marc Jonson. It is Gordon's best-selling album to date, with more than 200,000 copies sold.[3]Danny Gatton played lead guitar on this record andMarshall Crenshaw penned the single "Someday, Someway", which went to No. 76 on theBillboard chart in 1981.[11]
During the early 1980s, Gordon toured briefly with Gatton. A recording of one of their performances was later released on NRG Records as"The Humbler".[12]
In the early 1990s Gordon toured with Spedding, including Japan, Norway, Finland, United States, Spain and Sweden, with a number of live tracks later appearing on the 2006 Climate Control albumBorn To Rock.[13]
In 2005, after years of not working together, Gordon and guitar playerChris Spedding reconnected and toured Europe.[14] Highlights from the shows in Denmark, Sweden and Finland were released onThe Reunion Tour, on their own Climate Control label. The French label Last Call released a DVD from the Amsterdam concert, entitledRockin' The Paradiso. They also recorded an album of 15 Elvis songs with the Jordanaires for the 30th anniversary of Elvis' death, entitledIt's Now Or Never, released on the Rykodisc label. In 2007 Robert Gordon had a small European tour, backed byMarco DiMaggio and his band. During that tour Robert performed inMoscow,Russia. According to Robert's manager it was one of the very best gigs of that tour. In 2009 and 2010 Gordon toured with an all-star line-up, "The Gang They Couldn't Hang" ("TGTCH"), that included Chris Spedding,Slim Jim Phantom andGlen Matlock. Notable "Gang" dates included theByron Bay Blues Festival in Australia, and theAzkena Rock Festival in Spain where Gordon and TGTCH performed on a bill withKiss andBob Dylan in front of a crowd of 20,000.[citation needed]
Gordon continued to release music in his later years. In 2014, He released the albumI'm Coming Home.[9] He toured the U.S. and Europe, and on April 19, 2014, he performed at the 17th annual Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender at The Car Show event inLas Vegas, Nevada.[15]
In 2020 he releasedRockabilly for Life,[16] and on November 25, 2022Hellafied was released posthumously.[17] The record comprised material from a 1998 album that was never released as well as new material recorded before his death in October.[citation needed]
In 1982, Gordon costarred withWillem Dafoe in future Oscar winnerKathryn Bigelow's first film, a 1950s-styled motor-biking movie (inspired byMarlon Brando'sThe Wild One) calledThe Loveless.[18] This was Dafoe's first feature starring role. Critics generally liked the soundtrack but disliked the film.The Loveless did poorly at the box office but is now considered a cult favorite. Gordon also made numerous TV appearances including a 1981 skit on the popular comedy showSCTV in which he performed with his band, includingDanny Gatton—after having been "mistakenly" booked on the show as theastronautGordon Cooper. The spoof of a space shuttle launch also featured SCTV regularsDave Thomas asWalter Cronkite andRick Moranis asDavid Brinkley.[citation needed]
Gordon died in New York City, on October 18, 2022, at the age of 75, after years ofacute myeloid leukemia.[19][20]
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