Little Caesar & the Romans
Little Caesar & the Romans were an American musical group from Los Angeles active briefly in the 1960s.
The group began recording in 1959 as The Cubans, but changed their name to The Upfronts after the political crisis in Cuba. They had three hits: the first and biggest was the nostalgic tune "Those Oldies but Goodies (Remind Me of You)", a #9 Pop and #28 R&B hit in 1961.[1] "Those Oldies But Goodies" was written by Paul Politi. The follow-up, "Hully Gully Again", hit #54,[1] and subsequent release "Memories of those Oldies but Goodies" Bubbled Under at #101.[2] They also released a full-length album on Del-Fi Records.
Carl Burnett served a lengthy prison term beginning shortly after Hully Gully Again, and when he was released from prison reformed a group using the name Little Ceasar and the Romans. They worked briefly in the mid seventies, performing at Art Leboe's club on the Sunset Strip. Singer Rickie Lee Jones was a back up singer for that show.
The group's live act sometimes included wearing togas on stage. They broke up in 1962, at least partly due to an argument between lead singer Carl Burnett and member David Johnson (who performed the spoken-word portion of "Those Oldies but Goodies") as to which of them was Little Caesar.[2] In 1975, Johnson put together a new Little Caesar And The Romans and recorded a single called "Disco Hully Gully". For a while they toured as Marvin Gaye's opening act.
[edit] Members
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- David Caesar Johnson
- Leroy Saunders
- Johnny O'Simmons
- Early Harris
- Carl Burnett
[edit] References
- ^ a b Billboard Singles, Allmusic.com
- ^ a b Richie Unterberger, Biography, Allmusic.com
