Laurie London

Born on January 19, 1944, in Bethnal Green, East London, Laurie London rose to brief prominence in 1957 as a youthful vocalist after charting with his rendition of the traditional gospel tune "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." At the age of thirteen, London cut this track alongside the Geoff Love Orchestra; while it climbed to number twelve on home soil in Britain during November 1957, across the Atlantic the single ascended to the summit of the DJs' Most Played chart, holding the top position for four weeks in April 1958 and marking the initial instance of a British-born performer reaching number one during the rock & roll period. London never scored another success on either side of the Atlantic. Performing material in English as well as German, he saw multiple LPs issued across Europe, yet he stepped away from the studio by the time he remained a teenager.