Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

mahatmakanejeeves

(57,425 posts)
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 04:05 PM Jun 2022

Singer Little Eva was #BornOnThisDay,June 29, 1943.

Singer Little Eva was #BornOnThisDay,June 29, 1943. Remembered for her #1 hit record "The Loco-Motion" (1962), sold over 1 million copies +"Keep Your Hands Off My Baby" which reached #12. Passed in 2003 (age 59) from #cancer. #RIP #GoneTooSoon #CancerAwareness #birthday #BOTD



Fri Jun 29, 2018: She would have turned 75 today: Little Eva

{Edited to add material from the Wikipedia entry, in light of the reply,

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181094570#post1}

Little Eva



In 1962

Associated acts: Carole King Gerry Goffin Don Kirshner

Eva Narcissus Boyd (June 29, 1943 – April 10, 2003), known by the stage name of Little Eva, was an American pop singer. Although some sources claim that her stage name was inspired by a character from the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, she stated in an interview that she was named after her aunt, which prompted her family to call her "Little Eva."

Biography

Born in Belhaven, North Carolina, she moved to the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, New York, at a young age. As a teenager, she worked as a maid and earned extra money as a babysitter for songwriters Carole King and Gerry Goffin. It is often claimed that Goffin and King were amused by Boyd's particular dancing style, so they wrote "The Loco-Motion" for her and had her record it as a demo (the record was intended for Dee Dee Sharp).

{snip}

Music producer Don Kirshner of Dimension Records was impressed by the song and Boyd's voice and had it released. The song reached #1 in the United States in 1962. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. After the success of "The Loco-Motion," Boyd was stereotyped as a dance-craze singer and was given limited material.

The same year, Goffin and King wrote "He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)" (performed by the Crystals) after discovering that Boyd was being regularly beaten by her boyfriend. When they inquired why she tolerated such treatment, Eva replied without batting an eyelid that her boyfriend's actions were motivated by his love for her.

{snip}

Boyd's other single recordings were "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby," "Let's Turkey Trot," and a remake of the Bing Crosby standard "Swinging on a Star," recorded with Big Dee Irwin (though Boyd was not credited on the label). Boyd also recorded the song "Makin' With the Magilla" for an episode of the 1964 Hanna-Barbera cartoon series The Magilla Gorilla Show.

She continued to tour and record throughout the sixties, but her commercial potential plummeted after 1964. She retired from the music industry in 1971. She never owned the rights to her recordings. Although the prevailing rumor in the 1970s was that she had received only $50 for "The Loco-Motion," it seems $50 was actually her weekly salary at the time she made her records (an increase of $15 from what Goffin and King had been paying her as nanny). Penniless, she returned with her three young children to North Carolina, where they lived in obscurity.

{snip}

Alrighty then, let's take a look:



Little Eva - Loco-motion(1962)
22,928,186 views Dec 25, 2011

Sironaca
69.6K subscribers

???.ƒ?¢єв??к.¢?м/?z?м??ℓ?я.ѕ?я???

The well known cover, from 1974:



Grand Funk Railroad - The Locomotion
6,939,156 views Jun 11, 2006

Dario Paccagnella
11K subscribers

Shinin' On (1974)



Little Eva - Lets Turkey Trot (Shindig, March 3, 1965)
83,278 views Oct 17, 2011

John1948EightC1
2.79K subscribers

Perhaps no babysitter in history got a bigger break than Eva Boyd, who baby sat for songwriters Carole King and Gerry Goffin.

{snip the rest, which is taken from Wikipedia}

Not as well known:



Little Eva - Making With The Magilla
149,386 views Jan 27, 2013

seeamanaboutahorse
397 subscribers

It's as easy as peeling a banana.
Latest Discussions»Culture Forums»Music Appreciation»Singer Little Eva was #Bo...