Biography
After relocating to the Norfolk, VA, vicinity during the mid-1950s, a youthful Gary Anderson first exercised his voice in church settings before joining a regional ensemble known as the Turks. Prior to reaching his twenty-first birthday, local record producer Frank Guida recruited him for the small Legrand imprint. Guida rechristened the singer U.S. Bonds in the hope that deejays would grant the debut single additional spins by confusing it with an actual public-service announcement. The outcome was the enduring “New Orleans,” whose rock-combo grit and fervent, scorched soul delivery laid the foundation for everything that came afterward. Guida double- and triple-tracked the vocalist, and the resulting murky sonics lent each hit—“Quarter to Three,” “School Is Out,” and “Dear Lady Twist” among them—a singular party-in-outer-space atmosphere. Although Bonds continued to record and issued a pair of strong solo albums in the early 1980s aided by Bruce Springsteen, he is most often encountered today performing the signature songs at oldies revues worldwide.