Jerome Anthony Gourdine, better known as “Little Anthony” recently collaborated with author Arlene Krieger to release a memoir book entitled, “Little Anthony: My Journey – My Destiny”. The book is more – much more than a bio. It is a story of how a kid from Ft. Greene, Brooklyn went on to become not only an inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (along with Metallica, Jeff Beck and Run DMC) but one of the vocal architects to emerge in the era called the “Golden Age of Rock and Roll”.
Anthony said, “Some of my greatest acclaims came later in life and I'm glad they did. When we were younger, The Imperials and I squandered so much. We made all the wrong moves, had the wrong managers, listened to almost no one (at first), were ripped off unknowingly and got caught up in our own celebrity. When we were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009, we had come full circle and are eternally thankful to be honored by our peers. I said we stand on the shoulders of giants and I meant every word.” Little Anthony & The Imperials were further honored when they appeared on the 25th Anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert at Madison Square Garden.
When the book opportunity presented itself, Anthony is quoted as saying, “I did not want to write a ‘me book’ but my life has been quite a journey, a people journey. People say I am an icon and I thank them for that but truth be told, the real Little Anthony story is about the people I've known and those who influenced me for the better. I should have died three times but now at age 74, I am one of the pioneers of the early days of Rock and R&B. I survived. I was there and now 60 years later – I had my first singing gig at 14 years old - I am fortunate enough to chronicle it all”.
The “Little Anthony story” is about the people Anthony has known – his boyhood friends, his family, his parents, his aunts, his showbiz fathers: Redd Foxx and Sammy Davis Jr., his “brother” Smokey Robinson, friendships with Paul Simon, the support of Ed Sullivan, Dick Clark, Paul Shaffer, Moms Mabley, Eartha Kitt, Frankie Lymon, the Motown artists, Don Costa, Teddy Randazzo, Bobby Weinstein, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band and many others. Anthony says, “Some of them are not gone, but they are with me every time I go on stage. Their influence and teachings are in me and I carry on everything they taught or instilled in me”.
You could say it all started when at age 17, attending summer school – Boys High in Brooklyn – when on a hot New York City day, Anthony heard his “Tears On My Pillow” via a smuggled transistor radio. “I started to walk out of the class when the teacher said, ‘Mister Gourdine where do you think you are going?’ I remember it like it was yesterday – “My song is on the radio – I’m out of here”. He did not even realize he graduated high school. Anthony chuckles and recalls, “I finally received my diploma 50 years later when someone found it in an old desk at Boys High and sent on.”
More hits followed for Little Anthony & The Imperials: “Hurt So Bad”, “I’m On The Outside Looking In”, “Shimmy Shimmy Koko Pop”, “I'm Alright” (co-written with Sam Cooke) and “Just Two People In TheWorld”. In the book, Gourdine tells of how he was tagged with the name “Little Anthony” by radio legend Alan Freed, watching Bob Marley record “No Woman, No Cry”, touring with Dick Clark, following the “Chitlin Circuit”, Bruce Springsteen opening for him at Jersey dates in the ‘70s, sock hops, performing on the “Tonight Show”, co-hosting for a week on the “Mike Douglas Show”, singing his hits on“Hullabaloo”,” “Soul Train”, “American Bandstand” and being inducted into the Long Island-based Vocal Group Hall of Fame by Billy Joel. Billy also honored Anthony personally last July, when he encouraged the sold-out Madison Square Garden audience to give his hero, Little Anthony, a standing ovation right after singing a stanza of “Tears On My Pillow”.
Anthony’s book pulls no punches and offer little known facts, such as: Little Anthony & The Imperials were the first to record “You Only Live Twice”, which became famous thanks to Nancy Sinatra and its James Bond legacy; or how Marvin Gaye was always the big loser at the crap-games played backstage at The Apollo Theater; or how he and Marvin smoked pot in the catacombs of the famed Harlem venue. There is sadness as well in his life: his failed first marriage, the death of his son Casey, his best buddy Frankie Lyman ‘s overdose, Teddy Randazzo passing and the break-up of The Imperials.
Little Anthony & The Imperials still perform live today after regrouping in 1992, and a solo career for Little Anthony is another example of the renaissance he is experiencing. About a year ago, Anthony initiated a one-man show thanks to long-time friend Bruce Morrow, recorded “A World Without Love”, written by Sir Paul McCartney (for a benefit EP – The Women And Cancer Fund) and released a fully-orchestrated version of “I'll Be Home For Christmas” – all in association with the New Jersey – Nashville-based Reviver Records. Anthony is currently recording a soon-to-be-released new single, “Back To Brooklyn” produced by Preston Glass.
Little Anthony & The Imperials have sold over 22 million records (singles) worldwide. Little Anthony continues to add to his legacy and tending not to rest on his laurels. This coming October, he will be inducted into the R&B Hall of Fame in Detroit and he devotes a great amount of his time to charity and veterans’ related events. He recently attended a San Diego ceremony involving the roving Vietnam Memorial wall. On June 18th, in Norfolk, VA. prior to performing his one-man show at a private concert for a Virginia law convention, Little Anthony will meet 100 kids who are special guests of “For Kids Help Us Help Homeless Families”.
“Little Anthony: My Journey – My Destiny” is published by Mascot Books in association with Reviver Records, who executive produced the book in association with the Gourdine family. It is available now on Amazon.com, BarnesAndNoble.com and ReviverMusic.com.