Tommy Hunt

Pittsburgh-born vocalist Tommy Hunt's recording career began at age 20, when he cut singles with his first group, <a href="spotify:artist:4fz0SWDQmPa54H0w1Cs0WT">the Five Echoes</a>, in 1953. It was five years later, however, that he made his greatest mark on popular music, rock & roll, and R&B, as a member of <a href="spotify:artist:6iygtKnPG7TRvDaTYcLOd6">the Flamingos</a> from 1958 through 1961. Those years coincided with the group's being signed to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22End+Records%22">End Records</a>, and the release of their biggest, most identifiable hit, "I Only Have Eyes for You" -- Hunt's dramatic background singing, coupled with the restrained piano backing, made it one of the transcendent documents of '50s R&B. He can also be seen singing lead in a killer jump-blues performance in the juke box movie classic Go, Johnny, Go, as the group (back to a five-piece) mimes to their <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22End%22">End</a> recording of "Jump Children."

Hunt left <a href="spotify:artist:6iygtKnPG7TRvDaTYcLOd6">the Flamingos</a> in 1962 and signed as a solo artist with Florence Greenberg's <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Scepter+Records%22">Scepter Records</a> in New York. <a href="spotify:artist:2eVVaUkKOP4cOwkbHqMYMO">Greenberg</a> reportedly wasn't impressed with Hunt as a singer or an individual, but <a href="spotify:artist:0KgtVp38OlEU60lcNslgJO">Luther Dixon</a>, the company's chief of A&R and general music director, loved Hunt's voice, providing him with "Human," which became a number five R&B hit in late 1961. Hunt continued with the label for another three years, until 1964, cutting a complete album (I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself) in late 1962. His version of the title track was never a single, but it predated the more famous hit by <a href="spotify:artist:5zaXYwewAXedKNCff45U5l">Dusty Springfield</a> by nearly two years. In late 1963, following the departure of <a href="spotify:artist:4hs4QcruAuaZtBZ99qw6G2">Dixon</a> from <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Scepter%22">Scepter</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4fgbkjDCSGUHANHRope4Ox">Ed Townsend</a> became the company's music director, and one of his very first productions was Tommy Hunt's recording of Townsend's "I Am a Witness," which featured <a href="spotify:artist:0v0wFiHWFaKEEAwlDtDiRT">Bernard Purdie</a> on drums and <a href="spotify:artist:2PnyEnxPA8H95IhFEBu5u7">Mickey Baker</a> on guitar, with Hunt's vocals backed up by <a href="spotify:artist:0x83OBqixqdCHnStP5VMcn">the Shirelles</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3KeTziLAcJFEnbhfIMRh5w">Dee Dee Warwick</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:1wonEkTZkBGYq7J4w56yZl">the Sweet Inspirations</a>. The single was Hunt's last chart entry for the label, reaching number 71.

Hunt left <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Scepter%22">Scepter</a> in 1964, and later moved to the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Dynamo%22">Dynamo</a> label, on which he had a charting single in 1967. He later moved to Europe, and performed in Germany and the United Kingdom, developing a strong following on the British Northern Soul scene. In 2001, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of <a href="spotify:artist:6iygtKnPG7TRvDaTYcLOd6">the Flamingos</a>, and in the 2010s he led Tommy Hunt & the New Flamingos. Hunt's only album, on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Scepter%22">Scepter</a>, hasn't been reissued, but tracks from it, as well as his hit singles from the label and several other sides, turned up on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Capricorn%22">Capricorn</a>'s 1992 Scepter Records Story double-CD set. Tommy Hunt died on February 12, 2025, at the age of 91. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi