Biography
Born in Spokane, Washington, as Jarrell Keith Colley, he grew up in wheat-farming terrain. At the University of Washington he taped a version of Dion’s 1959 hit “A Teenager in Love” inside a local radio station, which immediately added the track to its regular playlist. Jerden Records owner Jerry Dennon heard the recording and placed Colley under contract; the deal was then transferred to Era Records, for which he cut three singles before moving to Unical Records.
A melody Colley had written that possessed an attractive tune yet undistinguished lyrics was, according to legend, translated into Spanish to conceal the lyrical shortcomings and released in 1963 as “Enamorado,” with Colley singing the lead despite only rudimentary Spanish. The single scored regional success in several U.S. markets. Unical quickly had him cut two further Spanish-language sides, but neither repeated the earlier impact and both soon dropped from playlists.
Colley next signed with Vee-Jay Records, issuing the two-sided single “Billy Girl” b/w “Welcome Home Baby,” a song he had co-written with P.F. Sloan. Around the same time he joined Four Star Music Publishing as a staff writer and ultimately placed a pair of singles on the company’s Challenge Records label. His attention turned increasingly to songwriting, and in the early 1960s he recorded countless demos accompanied by leading Los Angeles session musicians; the songs were eventually cut by the Newbeats, the Knickerbockers, the Sandpipers, Jackie DeShannon, the New Christy Minstrels, Gene Vincent, and jazz great Chet Baker, who also recorded “Enamorado.”
After signing with Columbia Records, Colley re-recorded the song himself in 1967 under the production of Gary Usher. As the 1960s ended he shifted toward the business side of music, first serving as an A&R executive at Four Star and later assuming administrative duties at the publishing company. In 2005 Rev-Ola released the album Bird Doggin’, which collected several of the Los Angeles song demos.
A melody Colley had written that possessed an attractive tune yet undistinguished lyrics was, according to legend, translated into Spanish to conceal the lyrical shortcomings and released in 1963 as “Enamorado,” with Colley singing the lead despite only rudimentary Spanish. The single scored regional success in several U.S. markets. Unical quickly had him cut two further Spanish-language sides, but neither repeated the earlier impact and both soon dropped from playlists.
Colley next signed with Vee-Jay Records, issuing the two-sided single “Billy Girl” b/w “Welcome Home Baby,” a song he had co-written with P.F. Sloan. Around the same time he joined Four Star Music Publishing as a staff writer and ultimately placed a pair of singles on the company’s Challenge Records label. His attention turned increasingly to songwriting, and in the early 1960s he recorded countless demos accompanied by leading Los Angeles session musicians; the songs were eventually cut by the Newbeats, the Knickerbockers, the Sandpipers, Jackie DeShannon, the New Christy Minstrels, Gene Vincent, and jazz great Chet Baker, who also recorded “Enamorado.”
After signing with Columbia Records, Colley re-recorded the song himself in 1967 under the production of Gary Usher. As the 1960s ended he shifted toward the business side of music, first serving as an A&R executive at Four Star and later assuming administrative duties at the publishing company. In 2005 Rev-Ola released the album Bird Doggin’, which collected several of the Los Angeles song demos.
Albums
