| Gary U.S. Bonds | |
| Background: | solo_singer |
| Birth Name: | Gary Levone Anderson |
| Birth Date: | 6 June 1939 |
| Birth Place: | Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. |
| Genre: | R&B, rock and roll, pop rock |
| Occupation: | Musician, singer, songwriter |
| Years Active: | 1956–present |
| Label: | Legrand Top Rank Stateside Razor & Tie EMI Sue |
| Instrument: | Vocals |
| Associated Acts: | Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt |
Gary U.S. Bonds (born Gary Levone Anderson, June 6, 1939)[1] is an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, known for his hits "New Orleans" and "Quarter to Three".
Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Bonds lived in Norfolk, Virginia, in the 1950s when he began singing publicly in church and with a group called the Turks.[1] He joined record producer Frank Guida's small Legrand Records label where Guida chose Anderson's stage name, U.S. Bonds, in hopes that it would be confused with a public service announcement advertising the sale of government bonds and thereby garner more DJ attention.[2] His first three singles and first album, Dance 'Til Quarter to Three, were released under the U.S. Bonds name, but people assumed it was the name of a group. To avoid confusion, subsequent releases, including his second album Twist Up Calypso, were made under the name Gary (U.S.) Bonds. The parentheses were discarded in the 1970s.[3] [4]
"Quarter to Three" sold one million records, earning a gold disc.[1] Subsequent hits, under his modified name, included "School Is Out" (#5), "Dear Lady Twist" (#9), "School Is In" (#28) and "Twist, Twist Senora" (#9) in the early 1960s. In a 1963 tour of Europe, he headlined above the Beatles. His hits featured solos by the saxophonist Gene Barge.[3]
"Quarter to Three" appears on The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.[5]
In the early 1980s, Bonds had a career resurgence with two albums, both of them recorded with Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, and the E Street Band. Dedication was released in 1981, and On the Line followed in 1982. The albums spawned several hits including "This Little Girl" (his comeback hit in 1981, which reached No. 11 on the pop chart in Billboard and No. 5 on the mainstream rock chart), "Jolé Blon" and "Out of Work".[3]
Bonds released an album in 2004 called Back in 20, the title referencing his repeated sporadic pop-ups of popularity (his first hits were in the 1960s, then again in the 1980s, and another significant album in the early 2000s, each 20-odd years apart). The album features guest appearances by Springsteen and Southside Johnny.[3]
In 2009, he released a new album, Let Them Talk, and toured the UK as a special guest of Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings.[6] In 2010, Bonds contributed duet vocals on the song "Umbrella in My Drink" on Southside Johnny's album Pills and Ammo.[7]
While Bonds is mostly known for achievements within rhythm and blues and rock and roll, some of his songs are equally at home in other genres; for example, "She's All I Got", co-written by Jerry Williams, Jr. (better known as Swamp Dogg), was nominated for the Country Music Association's "Song of the Year" in 1972 when it was a big hit for Johnny Paycheck. (Freddie North also charted his only pop hit with a soul cover of the same song.) Bonds is also a 1997 honoree of the Rhythm & Blues Foundation. He is an accomplished golfer and often plays celebrity PGA Tour events.[8]
| Year | Album | Chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [9] | US R&B | AUS [10] | UK | |||
| 1961 | Dance 'Til Quarter to Three with U.S Bonds | 6 | — | — | — | |
| 1962 | Twist Up Calypso | — | — | — | — | |
| 1981 | Dedication | 27 | 34 | 27 | 43 | |
| 1982 | On the Line | 52 | — | 92 | 55 | |
| 1984 | Standing in the Line of Fire | — | — | — | — | |
| 1996 | Nothing Left to Lose | — | — | — | — | |
| 2004 | Back in 20 | — | — | — | — | |
| 2009 | Let Them Talk | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||
| Year | Title | Chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop | US R&B | US Rock | UK [12] [13] | ||||||
| 1960 | "New Orleans" | align=center | 6 | align=center | 5 | align=center | ― | align=center | 16 |
| "Not Me" | align=center | - | align=center | - | align=center | - | align=center | - | |
| 1961 | "Quarter to Three" | align=center | 1 | align=center | 3 | align=center | ― | align=center | 7 |
| "School Is Out" | align=center | 5 | align=center | 12 | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |
| "School Is In" | align=center | 28 | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |
| 1962 | "Twist, Twist Senora" | align=center | 9 | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― |
| "Seven Day Weekend" | align=center | 27 | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |
| "Dear Lady Twist" | align=center | 9 | align=center | 5 | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |
| "Copy Cat" | align=center | 92 | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | |
| 1981 | "This Little Girl" | align=center | 11 | align=center | ― | align=center | 5 | align=center | 43 |
| "Jolé Blon" | align=center | 65 | align=center | ― | align=center | 29 | align=center | 51 | |
| "It's Only Love" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | 43 | |
| 1982 | "Soul Deep" | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | ― | align=center | 59 |
| "Out of Work" | align=center | 21 | align=center | 82 | align=center | 10 | align=center | ― | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||||||