Sitarswami Dept. - All The Dey And All The Knight

Ultra-swell art by Sitarswami

In 1961, while still in high school, Nora Ferrari released two singles as Nora Ferris [most unwise name change of all time? - Ed.]. Upon entering Fordham University the next year she sent out a demo which reached Bob Crewe, the mastermind behind the 4 Seasons. Crewe was looking for a girl to sing an answer song to the 4 Seasons recent hit, “Sherry.” The record “Jerry (I’m Your Sherry)” was not a chart success but was the beginning of a five- year professional relationship between Crewe and the newly christened Tracey Dey. Dey & Crewe released a dozen girl-group singles (across four labels) before Dey left the music business in 1966. She later got her master’s degree from Columbia U., taught for a spell, then became an actor / screenwriter. Of particular note, depending on which source you believe, she recorded the first version of Jagger- Richards’ “Blue Turns To Grey.”

Immediately after graduating high school in 1960, Harold Temkin started knocking on music publishers’ doors looking for work as a writer or singer. In 1961, he released two singles as Gary Temkin and in 1962 issued a third as Gary Weston. He co-wrote most of his early records as either Tem(p)kin or Weston and in ’62 placed several songs with Connie Francis. In 1964, Gary began writing with Bob Crewe. Crewe suggested the Gary Knight moniker and in 1965 he brought Dey & Knight into the studio together. Although the Dey & Knight partnership was limited to two singles (plus Tracey’s last single which Gary wrote) before her retirement, Gary continued to write and occasionally record. In the early 1970’s Gary began writing with Gene Allan and the pair knocked out many sweet soul hits throughout the decade.

This mostly chronological compilation covers Dey & Knight recordings from 1961-1972. Gary wrote/co-wrote all but nine -- the Nora Ferris / Tracey Dey tracks (#1, 7-8, 10-12, 14-16). Besides Crewe & Allan, Gary’s frequent writing collaborators were Francine Neiman, Don Stirling, and Irving Levine. Herb Bernstein handled most of the arranging and, in Crewe’s absence, production. Charles Calello arranged most of the Tracey Dey material. The songs run the gamut of 60’s sounds: teenage heartbreak, adventures on the beach, girl group, sunshine pop, soul, r & b, pop-sike, and novelty.

Thanks to Senor Swami for this swell assemblage!