Tommy Roe
| Tommy Roe | |
|---|---|
Tommy Roe in 1970
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Thomas David Roe |
| Born |
May 9, 1942 Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
| Genres | Rock and roll, pop, bubblegum |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1959–present |
| Labels | Judd Records, ABC Paramount Records, Monument Records, MGM Records |
| Website | www.tommyroe.com |
Thomas David "Tommy" Roe (born May 9, 1942, Atlanta, Georgia) is an American pop music singer-songwriter.
Best-remembered for his hits "Sheila" (1962) and "Dizzy" (1969), Roe was "widely perceived as one of the archetypal bubblegum artists of the late 1960s, but cut some pretty decent rockers along the way, especially early in his career", wrote the Allmusic journalist Bill Dahl.
Roe was raised in Atlanta where he attended Brown High School. After graduating, he landed a job at General Electric soldering wires.
He had a Billboard number 1 hit in the U.S. and Australia in 1962 with the track "Sheila". A buildup of global sales of "Sheila" meant that the R.I.A.A. did not present the gold record until 1969. When "Sheila" became a hit, ABC-Paramount Records asked him to go on tour to promote the hit. He was reluctant to give up his secure job at GE until ABC-Paramount advanced him $5,000.
However, in March 1963, the UK music magazine NME reported that he and Chris Montez had both been upstaged by The Beatles and their fans on a 21-day UK tour. Late that year Roe scored a Top 10 hit with "Everybody", which reached US number 3 and UK number 9, and "The Folk Singer" (number 4 UK)written by Merle Kilgore was also popular.
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