Little Caesar & the Romans

Little Caesar & the Romans were an American musical group from Los Angeles, California, United States, active briefly in the 1960s.

This article is about the Californian mid-20th-century group. For the Canadian mid-20th-century group, see Little Caesar and the Consuls. For the late-20th/21st-century band, see Little Caesar (band). For other uses, see Little Caesar (disambiguation).

The Romans minus Little Caesar began recording in 1959 as The Cubans, but changed their name to The Upfronts after the Bay of Pigs Invasion. They had three hits: the first and biggest was the nostalgic tune "Those Oldies but Goodies (Remind Me of You)", a #9 Pop and #28 R&B hit in 1961.[1] They appeared on the television show American Bandstand in 23 May 1961 performing their hit.[2] It was written by Nick Curinga and Paul Politi. Charles Wright, the famous leader of Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, at the time was A&R Director for Del-Fi Records. Wright played both piano and bass on the original "Hit" recording of "Those Oldies But Goodies (Reminds Me of You)". The follow-up, "Hully Gully Again", hit #54,[1] and subsequent release "Memories of Those Oldies but Goodies" bubbled under at #101.[3] They also released a full-length album on Del-Fi Records.

David Johnson served a prison term beginning shortly after "Hully Gully Again", and when he was released, he formed a group using the name Little Caesar and the Romans. They worked briefly in the mid seventies, performing at Art Laboe's Club on the Sunset Strip in California. Singer Rickie Lee Jones was a back up singer for that show.

The group's live act sometimes included wearing togas on stage and on Dick Clark's American Bandstand television show. They broke up in 1962, at least partly due to an argument between lead singer Carl Burnett and member David Johnson (who performed the spoken-word portion of "Those Oldies but Goodies") as to which of them should be called Little Caesar.[3]

Discography

Albums
Year Album Billboard 200 Record Label
1961 Memories Of Those Oldies But Goodies (DFLP 1218 (12/61)) - Del-Fi Records
  • LP track list: Those Oldies but Goodies (Remind Me of You) * I Need You So * Ten Commandments Of Love * Little Star * Adorable * Memories Of Those Oldies But Goodies * Hully Gully Again * Work With Me Annie/Annie Had A Baby * Searchin' * Fever * CC Rider
  • The following originally unreleased songs from the LP sessions were later released on CD Toga! Toga! Toga! (DFCD 71262 (04/98)) alongside all their singles and original LP tracks: Quarter To Three * Twelve Months Of The Year * Memories * Betty Jean * Three Weeks Ago Today

Singles
Year Title Peak chart positions B-side Record Label
US US R&B
1961 "Those Oldies but Goodies (Remind Me of You)" 9 28 "She Don't Wanna Dance" (DF4158 (03/61)) Del-Fi Records
"Hully Gully Again" 54 - "Frankie & Johnny" (DF4164 (07/61))
"Memories Of Those Oldies But Goodies" 101 - "Fever" (DF4166 (08/61))
"CC Rider" - - "Ten Commandments Of Love" (DF4170 (10/61))
1962 "Popeye One More Time" - - "Yoyo Yo Yoyo" (DF4176 (02/62))

After split

In 1975 David Johnson's formation of Little Caesar and The Romans recorded a single called "Disco Hully Gully" and they toured as Marvin Gaye's opening act.

David Johnson Jr. who was born on 16 June 1934 in Chicago, Illinois, to Alice and David Johnson Sr., died on 25 October 2018, at the age of 84.

Members
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
  • Carl Burnett - lead singer
  • Johnny Simmons - first tenor
  • Early Harris - second tenor
  • David Johnson - baritone
  • Leroy Saunders - bass
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gollark: America's central government is also much more powerful than the EU and it has more shared cultural institutions maybe.
gollark: IIRC the total population is less than Europe too.
gollark: Isn't there that bit of America with horribly lead contaminated water?
gollark: Yes.

References
  1. Billboard Singles, AllMusic
  2. "American Bandstand", Metaceitic.com, retrieved 2019-05-27
  3. Biography, AllMusic
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