DON JULIAN & THE MEADOWLARKS - ''HEAVEN & PARADISE'' (1955)

Details

Title	DON JULIAN & THE MEADOWLARKS - ''HEAVEN & PARADISE'' (1955)
Author	MANNY MORA
Duration	2:52
File Format	MP3 / MP4
Original URL	https://youtube.com/watch?v=95jwZJV6cjo

Description

Don Julian (April 7th, 1937 -- November 6th, 1998) was an American rhythm and blues, funk and soul singer, guitarist and songwriter. Most famous for his work as an R&B singer in the 1950s and 1960s, he's also known for composing the soundtrack and songs to the (so-called) blacksploitation film, Savage!.

Born Donald R. Julian in Houston, Texas, United States, in his teens he moved to Los Angeles, California, where he began performing with local bands.

He performed both solo and with backing bands. His most famous backing group was "The Meadowlarks" (later named The Larks (Los Angeles Band)), although most of his film music was performed with instrumental funk bands. The Meadowlarks is considered the first integrated doo-wop group. In 1954, Don Julian and the Meadowlarks' debut single "Heaven and Paradise", became popular with R&B fans. In 1964, the single, "The Jerk" was released under the band name, The Larks. The single, released on the Money label, was Julian's only chart hit. It went to number one on the Cash Box R&B chart and peaked at number seven on the Billboard R&B chart.

Julian recorded several solo albums for a variety of record labels in the 1970s.

Julian died in November 1998 from pneumonia, aged 61.