In honor of my cat, Little Anthony, who passed on this morning, age 17.
Jerome Anthony Gourdine started out as the lead singer for the group that became the Imperials, and that’s how they were billed on the label of this, their first single under that name (leader Clarence Collins first called the group the Chesters before poaching Gourdine away from the DuPonts). But when legendary New York DJ Murray the K introduced them on his show as “Little Anthony and the Imperials,” the name stuck. The song reached No. 3 on the Hot 100 in 1959.
The Imperials had several other hits, though none were as big as “Tears,” and they were one of the few doo-wop acts that stayed active after the ’60s, which was enough to get them into the Hall of Fame after a 23-year wait.
The song, with lyrics by Tin Pan Alley tunesmith Al Lewis, has proved durable. Australian singer Kylie Minogue released a cover in 1990 that went to No. 1 in the UK.
