Zoneboy
03-05-2013, 03:16 AM
Link (http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-passings-20130305,0,3498750.story)
Jewel Akens, 79, the R&B crooner whose song "The Birds and the Bees" vaulted him into short-lived fame in the mid-1960s, died Friday of complications from back surgery at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, said his wife, Eddie Mae.
Akens began his career in the late 1950s, working with Eddie Daniels and guitar legend Eddie Cochran, and later recorded singles with the Four Dots doo-wop group.
In 1965, he was singing with an ensemble called the Turnarounds when record producer Herb Newman brought them "The Birds and the Bees," written by his teenage son. The rest of the group disliked the tune, but Akens decided to record it solo.
It became an instant hit, rising to the No. 3 spot on the Billboard pop chart in 1965.
"Let me tell you 'bout the birds and the bees, and the flowers and the trees," went the catchy tune, which was later covered by Dean Martin and others.
"No doubt you're already singing the chorus," wrote the Vancouver Province in 2002 when it featured the song on a top-10 list of one-hit wonders.
None of Akens' later singles enjoyed the success of "The Birds and the Bees," but he went on to tour with the Monkees in the 1970s and performed into his 70s.
Jewel Eugene Akens was born Sept. 12, 1933, in Houston, the seventh of nine children in a working-class family. He became interested in music early in life, singing for the church choir as a child.
In 1950, Akens moved with his family from Texas to Los Angeles, where he graduated from Fremont High School. There, he met his future wife, Eddie Mae, whom he married in 1952.
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Jewel Akens, 79, the R&B crooner whose song "The Birds and the Bees" vaulted him into short-lived fame in the mid-1960s, died Friday of complications from back surgery at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, said his wife, Eddie Mae.
Akens began his career in the late 1950s, working with Eddie Daniels and guitar legend Eddie Cochran, and later recorded singles with the Four Dots doo-wop group.
In 1965, he was singing with an ensemble called the Turnarounds when record producer Herb Newman brought them "The Birds and the Bees," written by his teenage son. The rest of the group disliked the tune, but Akens decided to record it solo.
It became an instant hit, rising to the No. 3 spot on the Billboard pop chart in 1965.
"Let me tell you 'bout the birds and the bees, and the flowers and the trees," went the catchy tune, which was later covered by Dean Martin and others.
"No doubt you're already singing the chorus," wrote the Vancouver Province in 2002 when it featured the song on a top-10 list of one-hit wonders.
None of Akens' later singles enjoyed the success of "The Birds and the Bees," but he went on to tour with the Monkees in the 1970s and performed into his 70s.
Jewel Eugene Akens was born Sept. 12, 1933, in Houston, the seventh of nine children in a working-class family. He became interested in music early in life, singing for the church choir as a child.
In 1950, Akens moved with his family from Texas to Los Angeles, where he graduated from Fremont High School. There, he met his future wife, Eddie Mae, whom he married in 1952.
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