David & Jonathan

Most famous for their hit cover of <a href="spotify:artist:3WrFJ7ztbogyGnTHbHJFl2">the Beatles</a>' "Michelle" in early 1966, David & Jonathan were a harmonizing duo from Bristol, England, with more ties to the MOR vocal sound than the British Invasion. Actually named <a href="spotify:artist:6bcrzGXhCvmu8e8UlacFr0">Roger Greenaway</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:08UXlaxE4lidrpiGWrhBAW">Roger Cook</a>, the pair were primarily songwriters rather than performers, penning "This Golden Ring" and "You've Got Your Troubles" for another British vocal group, <a href="spotify:artist:4GpIeE34rBNFppvYsWle9c">the Fortunes</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:3WrFJ7ztbogyGnTHbHJFl2">Beatles</a> producer <a href="spotify:artist:4Fgf6RvuWpiwDXSE7Vammx">George Martin</a> worked with the renamed David & Jonathan in the mid-'60s, and their soft ballad treatment of "Michelle" made the Top 20 in both the U.K. and U.S. Their smooth dual leads were in the vein of <a href="spotify:artist:2UQwwYBLBvtpGHTMYzTgHi">Chad & Jeremy</a>, but even more pop-oriented. David & Jonathan had another big hit in Britain in 1966, "Lovers of the World Unite." But <a href="spotify:artist:6bcrzGXhCvmu8e8UlacFr0">Greenaway</a> in particular would experience his greatest success as a composer. Sometimes in collaboration with <a href="spotify:artist:08UXlaxE4lidrpiGWrhBAW">Cook</a>, and sometimes not, his songs were a fixture of the British pop scene in the '60s and '70s. The quality of these hits was variable indeed, ranging from the excellent (<a href="spotify:artist:6waa8mKu91GjzD4NlONlNJ">the Hollies</a>' "Long Cool Woman" and <a href="spotify:artist:3ap1NzHNV9QA1x1V6z3gSe">Gene Pitney</a>'s "Something Gotten Hold of My Heart") to the banal (<a href="spotify:artist:7b8blpDsdFfs5DMMMLBuX0">the Pipkins</a>' "Gimme Dat Ding" and <a href="spotify:artist:6Yk2feUXXqt0cYTx8xd4Qo">Whistling Jack Smith</a>'s "I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman"), as well as smashes for <a href="spotify:artist:0hUyd9GtnzL8NysCiaxCcv">Blue Mink</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:17XXKfRBMCWvLrqGoNkJXm">Engelbert Humperdinck</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0xWTQw2TL6j7mHGOTltsEW">White Plains</a>, and others. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi