Earl Nelson (singer)

Earl Lee Neslon was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana on September 8, 1928. He sang in his church's gospel choir in his youth before his family relocated to Los Angeles in 1937. Nelson enlisted in the U.S. Army at the age of 17, working on the construction of the Panama Canal.[1]

In the 1950s he began singing doo-wop and joined the Hollywood Flames. He sang lead on the 1957 single "Buzz Buzz Buzz" which reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on the R&B chart.[2] Nelson and Bobby Byrd, not Bobby Byrd of the Famous Flames, collaborated as Bobby "Baby Face" Byrd & the Birds as well as Bobby Day & the Satellites. In 1957, Nelson released his first solo single, "Oh Gee Oh Golly" / "I Bow To You," on Class Records. That year, Nelson and Byrd released their first single as Bob & Earl, "You Made a Boo-Boo," on Class. In 1958, Nelson sang background vocals on Day's single "Rockin' Robin" (#2 Pop, #1 R&B).[3] Afterwards, they left the Hollywood Flames, but after a few years, Byrd left Bob & Earl to focus on his solo career.

Bob Relf from the Laurels replaced Byrd, and the new Bob & Earl recorded for different labels before releasing "Harlem Shuffle" on Marc Records in 1963. The single reached the Top 50 in the US and years later the Top 10 in the UK. Their follow up singles weren't as successful. In 1965, Nelson relaunched a solo career on Mira Records with the single "Ooh Honey Baby," credited to Earl Cosby. Later that year, Nelson signed to Mirwood Records recorded as Jackie Lee. Jackie was Nelson's wife's name and Lee his own middle name. He released his biggest single "The Duck" in November 1965 and by January it peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on the R&B chart.[4] In 1966, he released his only album, The Duck, which reached #85 on the Billboard's Top Lp's chart and #8 on the R&B chart.[5][6] Though Nelson didn't have further chart success, his later singles on Mirwood are popular in Northern soul circles.[1] Nelson later recorded for ABC-Paramount and Uni Records. Barry White produced his 1974 Warner Bros. single "Strange Funky Games and Things" (credited to Jay Dee).

Nelson continued to perform around Los Angeles, but he was later diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.[1] Nelson died at the age of 79 in Los Angeles on July 12, 2008. At the time of his death, Nelson had been married three times and he had seven surviving children (two deceased).[3]

• Earl Nelson on AllMusic