April Stevens | |
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Stevens and brother Nino Tempo, 1965
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Background information | |
Birth name | Carol LoTempio |
Born |
Niagara Falls, New York, U.S. |
April 29, 1936
Genres | Pop rock |
Occupation(s) | Singer |
Associated acts | Nino Tempo & April Stevens |
Website | www |
April Stevens (born Carol LoTempio; April 29, 1936) is an American singer.
Stevens has recorded since she was 15 years old. Her most popular solo recording was her RCA Victor recording of "I'm in Love Again" (music and lyrics by Cole Porter). Accompanied by an orchestra arranged and conducted by Henri René, Stevens' recording peaked at No. 6 on the pop chart in 1951.
Stevens returned to the U.S. chart in 1959 with the song "Teach Me Tiger", which caused a minor uproar for its sexual suggestiveness and consequently did not receive airplay on many radio stations. The song peaked at No. 86 on the Billboard Hot 100. Stevens' recording of this song is often erroneously accredited to Marilyn Monroe. The tune was featured in the 2006 film Blind Dating, the 2011 Flemish film drama North Sea Texas, and in Season 5 Episode 7 of Call the Midwife.
She is best known for her 1963 Atco Records recording of "Deep Purple" (music by Peter DeRose and lyrics by Mitchell Parish) with her brother Antonino LoTempio (singing under the stage name Nino Tempo). A standard song that Larry Clinton and His Orchestra and band vocalist Bea Wain had popularized in 1939, the Stevens and Tempo version reached No.1 on the Hot 100 on 16 November 1963, and No.17 in the British charts. The song won the 1963 Grammy Award for Best Rock and Roll Recording. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.