Special thanks to ThisDayinMusic.com.
On this day in 1961, a song called “Quarter to Three,” credited to U.S. Bonds, began a two-week stay at the top of the American charts. Although the song had become hugely popular, it was shrouded in mystery.
First off, the lyrics weren’t terribly easy to understand – and inexplicably sounded a bit raunchy to some ears. The single was issued on the little-known Legrand label out of Virginia (hardly a powerhouse in the industry) and recorded by something/someone named “U.S. Bonds.” Who or what was U.S. Bonds and where did this swinging rock ’n’ soul classic come from?
To begin with, U.S. Bonds was the first stage name of Gary Levone Anderson, a singer who was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1939, but living in the Norfolk, Virginia area by his early 20s. Around the same time he was singing in a church group called The Turks, Anderson joined up with record producer Frank Guida and his independent Legrand Records company.
With Legrand, Gary had recorded a song called “New Orleans,” and Guida was looking for an innovative way to promote an unknown singer on an unknown label.
“When I recorded Gary U.S. Bonds, I thought: How am I going to get the radio stations to play this song, ‘New Orleans’?” Guida once told The Virginian-Pilot. “After all, who knows about Legrand Records in Norfolk? So I put on the label and marked on the outside of the envelope ‘By U.S. Bonds.’”
Mistaking the recording for a public service announcement, radio stations began playing the single. Soon, “New Orleans” caught on and Legrand Records had tons of orders for copies – more than 5,000 within a few weeks.
The song hit #6 on the U.S. pop charts in 1960 and Gary was now “U.S. Bonds” – although most people thought it was the name of a band, not a man. Gary’s second single, “Tell Me,” flopped, but “Quarter to Three” would turn out to be a blockbuster when it was put out in May of ’61.
“Quarter to Three” originally was released as a slightly different instrumental single, titled “A Night with Daddy ‘G.’” It was a song by another of Guida’s Legrand bands, the Church Street Five, a group that combined the gospel sound of church music with modern pop and rock. The Norfolk band had begun working with a saxophonist named Gene Barge, who became known as Daddy “G.” The instrumental number came from their collaboration.
Sensing a hit for another one of his acts, Guida encouraged Gary to record a new version of the song with lyrics (which, depending on the story, were written by Guida, Barge, Bonds or a combination of the men). The words aren’t exactly Shakespeare, although they enhance the party vibe of the song and namecheck Daddy “G” “swingin’ on the sax” and the “jive” of the Church Street Five. In fact, both the Church Street Five and Daddy “G” can be heard as the backing band on the single.
After its release, “Quarter to Three” quickly scaled the charts, hitting #1 in the U.S. on this day in 1961. It sold more than one million copies and earned its singer a gold record. With the moniker confusing nearly all listeners, Guida and Gary decided to change the stage name to Gary U.S. Bonds. More hits followed – and Bonds even did a headlining tour of Britain supported by The Beatles – although nothing quite matched the success of “Quarter to Three.”
In the wake of the British Invasion, Bonds’ music fell out of favor and the rock and soul singer was nearly forgotten… until a certain New Jersey musician started playing “Quarter to Three” in concert.
In the early days of the E Street Band, Bruce Springsteen often would bust out a high-octane version of “Quarter to Three” as an encore. As the group stopped playing most of their cover songs in favor of Bruce’s original material, “Quarter” still remained in the set as a raucous closer. Even after Springsteen and Co. gained fame in the late ’70s, they were still delivering their take on “Quarter to Three” in concert – which can be seen/heard on the Hammersmith Odeon London ’75 DVD/CD or on the band’s legendary contribution to the No Nukes show and film in 1979.
With a new superstar pal to help him out, Bonds had a huge career comeback. Springsteen and E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt co-produced two of Bonds’ early ’80s albums and E Street Band members played on them. Bruce and “Little Steven” even wrote songs for the records. One of them was the Springsteen-penned “This Little Girl,” which rose to #11 on the singles charts in 1981 – 20 years after Bonds had his first, and only, #1 smash.
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