Deep Purple / Sing the Great Songs

 (11 customer reviews)

Brother and sister Nino Tempo and April Stevens were far more musically mature and talented than the average on-the-charts performers of 1963. They had some chart successes individually both before and after their stint with Atco Records in the early 60's. But, as a duo, with some quirky, catchy, sometimes borderline schmaltzy arrangements of old standards, they gained instant recognition with their chart-topping "Deep Purple". They enjoyed some further success with a few follow-up singles before disappearing from the charts. They re-emerged later in the 60's with some very strongly produced and written pop music which is the subject of another CD done by Varese Vintage.

This two-fer CD presents their two original Atco albums that happen to contain all their charted singles from that early period. While several of the tunes follow in the style of "Deep Purple", Nino and April's musical versatility has them handling other styles as well - country, r'n'b, Latin - even...Read more

The brother and sister duo of Nino Tempo and April Stevens had a huge hit with Deep Purple, a song which first hit the charts in 1939. In that year, Larru Clinton's band (with Bea Wain as lead singer) spent several weeks at #1, but several other versions also charted high.Nino and April's version of Deep Purple, updated for the sixties, is very different from Larry and Bea's version. I enjoy both versions, though on balance I prefer the original. The remainder of this twofer contains many other old songs also updated for the sixties, including Stardust (from 1930), Tea for two (from 1925) and Shine on Harvest moon (from 1909). Not all the songs are as famous as these, but together they provide a fascinating and entertaining slice of musical history,As someone who was raised on sixties music, but who has more recently gained an appreciation of the Great American Songbook, I find this set particularly interesting. Some may think the different interpretations amount to sacrilege,...Read more

You get 2 albums on 1 CD. The "Deep Purple" album and "Nino and April Sing The Great Songs". 12 songs each, 24 in all. All originally released on ATCO in 1963. This CD is way too 1960's for me, but I enjoyed listening to it since it was released on the year of my birth. The "Deep Purple" song is not what I was use to. Being a child and teenager of the 1970's, I'm used to the brother/sister duo Donny & Marie Osmond singing "Deep Purple", but the brother/sister duo Nino Tempo & April Stevens is fine with me. I first saw Nino Tempo and April Stevens on an old music clip on American Movie Classics cable network. They were singing the song I do not know the title of, but it had "mashed potatoes" in it and it was funny when Nino would do that infamous OOH!. On the "Deep Purple" album, I found "Baby Weemis" to be strange. Although, the girls might find it cute. "Paradise" was dull. "True...Read more