Nino Tempo and April Stevens

"Deep Purple"

"Deep Purple" is notable for April Stevens' speaking the lyrics in a low, sweet voice during the second half of the song while her brother sings. When the duo first recorded the song as a demo, Tempo forgot the words, and Stevens spoke the lyrics to remind him. The producers thought Stevens' spoken interlude was "cute" and should be included on the finished product, but according to Stevens, her brother was not as easily convinced: "He didn't want anyone talking while he was singing!"

Producer Ahmet Ertegün had originally intended "Deep Purple" to be the B-side of a song called "I've Been Carrying A Torch For You So Long That It Burned A Great Big Hole In My Heart": he was dubious of Tempo's belief that it would be a hit, calling it "the most embarrassing thing" the duo had ever recorded. When radio stations preferred "Deep Purple," Ertegun relented, and so "I've Been Carrying A Torch ..." held the distinction of being the longest title of a flipside of a Billboard number one record, until Prince's "When Doves Cry" in 1984 had "17 Days ..." on its flipside.

Despite being considered "rock and roll," "Deep Purple" also reached number one on Billboard's Adult Contemporary singles chart. The record was followed by a series of singles of more oldies in a similar style: "Whispering", "Stardust", "Tea for Two".

Later career

Music journalist Richie Unterberger has described the later disc "All Strung Out" as Nino Tempo & April Stevens' "greatest triumph", declaring it "one of the greatest Phil Spector-inspired productions of all time". For years following their charting singles, the duo continued recording, but failed to achieve continued sales success.

However, in March 1973 the duo scored a No. 5 hit in the Netherlands with "Love Story" on A&M Records, two years after Andy Williams took that same song to #13 in the Dutch Top 40.

Albums