Died On This Date (June 3, 2011) Benny Spellman / R&B Singer Who Gave Us “Fortune Teller”
themusicsover Benny Spellman
December 11, 1931 – June 3, 2011
Benny Spellman was an R&B singer who released two significant hits during the 1960s. His “Lipstick Traces (On A Cigarette),” written by Allen Toussaint, cracked the Top 30 on the R&B charts, while his original version of “Fortune Teller” went on to be recorded by the likes of the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Hollies, and more recently, as a duet by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Spellman also collaborated with Huey “Piano” Smith and sang back up on the Ernie K-Doe hit, “Mother In Law.” Although he went on to work outside the music business by the early ’70s, Spellman continued to perform at festivals and such for many years. Benny Spellman died of respiratory failure on June 3, 2011. He was 79.
What You Should Own
Andrew Gold was an American Singer-Songwriter who, over a career that spanned nearly four decades, scored hits with “Oh What A Lonely Boy,” “Thank You For Being A Friend,” “Never Let Her Slip Away,” and “Final Frontier.” Born into a show business family – his mother, Marni Nixon provided the singing voices for many actresses in musicals, while his father, Ernest Gold was an Oscar-winning composer, Gold joined their ranks by his early 20s. His first band of note, Bryndle, included 