Biography
Nino Tempo gained his greatest recognition through a partnership with sibling April Stevens that yielded multiple successful tracks during the 1960s, most prominently the single "Deep Purple." His extensive background as a studio player stretched across decades before he finally launched a jazz-focused phase in the 1990s.
Born to grocer Sam Lo Tempio and wife Anna, the performer began appearing in recitals at age three and claimed victory on the Major Bowes amateur broadcast at four. A week spent performing with Benny Goodman's orchestra in Buffalo, New York, at seven prompted him to study clarinet, although tenor saxophone became his primary instrument, supplemented by guitar. While still a youth the family relocated to California to advance the siblings' creative pursuits, leading him into child film roles that began uncredited in The Story of G.I. Joe (1945) and George White's Scandals (1945) before receiving billing in The Red Pony (1949). Younger sister Carol Lo Tempio, born in 1936, unexpectedly secured recording opportunities ahead of him when Laurel Records owner Tony Sepe encountered her while she shopped for discs and inquired about her singing ability. Under the name April Stevens she cut "No No No Not That" for Laurel before issuing several sides on the tiny Society Records imprint starting in 1950. Although none charted, the releases led to a contract with RCA Victor Records, where a 1951 revival of the 1924 Cole Porter composition "I'm in Love Again," credited to Henri Rene & His Orchestra featuring April Stevens, climbed into the Top Ten by July. Top billing followed on the August follow-up, a 1926 song titled "Gimme a Little Kiss, Will Ya Huh?" that also reached the Top Ten, while her third and final chart entry of the era arrived in October with a cover of Patti Page's "And So to Sleep Again."
During high school Tempo performed in dance bands before establishing himself as a session saxophonist who later arranged and composed for Rosemary Clooney, Steve Lawrence, and Eydie Gorme, in addition to occasional stints with the orchestras of Horace Heidt and Maynard Ferguson. Film appearances continued, often in musicals, including a portrayal inspired by Benny Goodman in The Glenn Miller Story (1954), a role in The Girl Can't Help It (1956), and supporting parts in Johnny Trouble (1957), Bop Girl (1957), and Operation Petticoat (1959). Late in the decade he began issuing material under his own name, starting with the 1958 Liberty Records album Rock & Roll Beach Party and the RCA Victor single "15 Girl Friends," neither of which charted. A second RCA release, "Ding-A-Ling," followed in 1959 without success, yet his composition "Teach Me Tiger" became a chart entry that year for April Stevens on Imperial Records. One further RCA single, "Jack the Ripper," tied to a 1960 film of the same title, preceded a move to United Artists Records for the unsuccessful "What Is Love to a Teenager." At that juncture he proposed a duo with his sister, though their initial United Artists release, "Ooeah (That's What You Do to Me)," also failed in 1960.
Returning to session work, Tempo joined producer Phil Spector's informal studio ensemble known as the Wrecking Crew. While participating in a Bobby Darin session for Atlantic Records he met label president Ahmet Ertegun and proposed recording the sibling act. Ertegun placed them on the Atco subsidiary, where the 1962 revival of the 1931 song "Sweet and Lovely," billed as April Stevens & Nino Tempo, briefly appeared on the charts. Follow-ups "Paradise" and the Anna Lo Tempio co-write "Together We'll Always Be" did not. Persuaded by Tempo, Ertegun then issued the 1939 song "Deep Purple," which the executive had deemed embarrassingly poor; listeners thought otherwise. Credited as Nino Tempo & April Stevens and released in summer 1963, it reached number one in November and earned the 1963 Grammy Award for Best Rock & Roll Recording, while the accompanying Deep Purple album entered the Top 100. RCA quickly assembled the siblings' earlier solo sides into A Nino Tempo/April Stevens Program on its Camden subsidiary in 1964.
Building on the approach of "Deep Purple," the pair revived the 1920 song "Whispering," which entered the pop Top 20 in January 1964 and reached the Top Five on easy listening charts. Although the Beatles and subsequent British Invasion acts reduced the commercial space for their style of pop, they persisted with diminishing results. A 1931 "Stardust" revival hit the pop Top 40 and easy listening charts in March 1964, and both sides of the spring single pairing the 1925 "Tea for Two" with the 1930 "I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)" registered on the pop listings. Later Atco releases stalled until the duo shifted to White Whale Records in 1966 and adjusted their sound toward prevailing trends and a Phil Spector-like density. The outcome, the Tempo/Jerry Riopelle composition "All Strung Out," reached the Top 40 in October 1966. Subsequent efforts failed until July 1967, when another Tempo/Riopelle song, "I Can't Go on Livin' Baby Without You," charted despite having previously appeared as the B-side of "All Strung Out." Additional singles on White Whale, MGM, Bell, and Atco produced no further hits. Solo, Tempo issued "Boys Town" on Tower Records in 1967. Session and songwriting activities continued, culminating in 1970 with "Feelin' Kinda Sunday," co-written with Annette Tucker and Kathleen Wakefield and recorded by Frank Sinatra alongside daughter Nancy, though it did not chart.
On A&M Records from 1972, the siblings scored with "Put It Where You Want It" in June 1973. Solo efforts also appeared on the label, and Tempo achieved his first individual hit with "Sister James," credited to Nino Tempo and 5th Ave. Sax, which reached the pop Top 40 and easy listening charts in October 1973. Three further solo singles followed in 1974—"Roll It," "High on the Music," and "Gettin' Off"—along with the album Come See Me 'Round Midnight, none of which succeeded commercially. Stevens, billed simply as April, entered the pop charts in June 1974 with the Tempo/Jeff Barry co-write "Wake Up and Love Me," while the duo, now billed as Nino & April, reached easy listening with "You Turn Me On" in April 1975. A 1976 Chelsea release, "What Kind of Fool Am I?," and the 1979 A&M solo single "Hooked on Young Stuff" followed, along with three tracks on the soundtrack to The Idolmaker, which charted in December 1980. After a decade away from recording, Tempo produced and performed on Stevens' 1990 comeback album Carousel Dreams. A memorial performance for Atlantic co-founder Nesuhi Ertegun led to a new contract with the label as a jazz instrumentalist, resulting in the albums Tenor Saxophone (1990), Nino (1992), and Live at Cicada (1995). In 1996 the siblings contributed a new version of the Benny Goodman/Peggy Lee hit "Why Don't You Do Right?" to the Varèse Sarabande collection Sweet and Lovely: The Best of Nino Tempo & April Stevens. By then both resided in semi-retirement in Arizona.
Born to grocer Sam Lo Tempio and wife Anna, the performer began appearing in recitals at age three and claimed victory on the Major Bowes amateur broadcast at four. A week spent performing with Benny Goodman's orchestra in Buffalo, New York, at seven prompted him to study clarinet, although tenor saxophone became his primary instrument, supplemented by guitar. While still a youth the family relocated to California to advance the siblings' creative pursuits, leading him into child film roles that began uncredited in The Story of G.I. Joe (1945) and George White's Scandals (1945) before receiving billing in The Red Pony (1949). Younger sister Carol Lo Tempio, born in 1936, unexpectedly secured recording opportunities ahead of him when Laurel Records owner Tony Sepe encountered her while she shopped for discs and inquired about her singing ability. Under the name April Stevens she cut "No No No Not That" for Laurel before issuing several sides on the tiny Society Records imprint starting in 1950. Although none charted, the releases led to a contract with RCA Victor Records, where a 1951 revival of the 1924 Cole Porter composition "I'm in Love Again," credited to Henri Rene & His Orchestra featuring April Stevens, climbed into the Top Ten by July. Top billing followed on the August follow-up, a 1926 song titled "Gimme a Little Kiss, Will Ya Huh?" that also reached the Top Ten, while her third and final chart entry of the era arrived in October with a cover of Patti Page's "And So to Sleep Again."
During high school Tempo performed in dance bands before establishing himself as a session saxophonist who later arranged and composed for Rosemary Clooney, Steve Lawrence, and Eydie Gorme, in addition to occasional stints with the orchestras of Horace Heidt and Maynard Ferguson. Film appearances continued, often in musicals, including a portrayal inspired by Benny Goodman in The Glenn Miller Story (1954), a role in The Girl Can't Help It (1956), and supporting parts in Johnny Trouble (1957), Bop Girl (1957), and Operation Petticoat (1959). Late in the decade he began issuing material under his own name, starting with the 1958 Liberty Records album Rock & Roll Beach Party and the RCA Victor single "15 Girl Friends," neither of which charted. A second RCA release, "Ding-A-Ling," followed in 1959 without success, yet his composition "Teach Me Tiger" became a chart entry that year for April Stevens on Imperial Records. One further RCA single, "Jack the Ripper," tied to a 1960 film of the same title, preceded a move to United Artists Records for the unsuccessful "What Is Love to a Teenager." At that juncture he proposed a duo with his sister, though their initial United Artists release, "Ooeah (That's What You Do to Me)," also failed in 1960.
Returning to session work, Tempo joined producer Phil Spector's informal studio ensemble known as the Wrecking Crew. While participating in a Bobby Darin session for Atlantic Records he met label president Ahmet Ertegun and proposed recording the sibling act. Ertegun placed them on the Atco subsidiary, where the 1962 revival of the 1931 song "Sweet and Lovely," billed as April Stevens & Nino Tempo, briefly appeared on the charts. Follow-ups "Paradise" and the Anna Lo Tempio co-write "Together We'll Always Be" did not. Persuaded by Tempo, Ertegun then issued the 1939 song "Deep Purple," which the executive had deemed embarrassingly poor; listeners thought otherwise. Credited as Nino Tempo & April Stevens and released in summer 1963, it reached number one in November and earned the 1963 Grammy Award for Best Rock & Roll Recording, while the accompanying Deep Purple album entered the Top 100. RCA quickly assembled the siblings' earlier solo sides into A Nino Tempo/April Stevens Program on its Camden subsidiary in 1964.
Building on the approach of "Deep Purple," the pair revived the 1920 song "Whispering," which entered the pop Top 20 in January 1964 and reached the Top Five on easy listening charts. Although the Beatles and subsequent British Invasion acts reduced the commercial space for their style of pop, they persisted with diminishing results. A 1931 "Stardust" revival hit the pop Top 40 and easy listening charts in March 1964, and both sides of the spring single pairing the 1925 "Tea for Two" with the 1930 "I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)" registered on the pop listings. Later Atco releases stalled until the duo shifted to White Whale Records in 1966 and adjusted their sound toward prevailing trends and a Phil Spector-like density. The outcome, the Tempo/Jerry Riopelle composition "All Strung Out," reached the Top 40 in October 1966. Subsequent efforts failed until July 1967, when another Tempo/Riopelle song, "I Can't Go on Livin' Baby Without You," charted despite having previously appeared as the B-side of "All Strung Out." Additional singles on White Whale, MGM, Bell, and Atco produced no further hits. Solo, Tempo issued "Boys Town" on Tower Records in 1967. Session and songwriting activities continued, culminating in 1970 with "Feelin' Kinda Sunday," co-written with Annette Tucker and Kathleen Wakefield and recorded by Frank Sinatra alongside daughter Nancy, though it did not chart.
On A&M Records from 1972, the siblings scored with "Put It Where You Want It" in June 1973. Solo efforts also appeared on the label, and Tempo achieved his first individual hit with "Sister James," credited to Nino Tempo and 5th Ave. Sax, which reached the pop Top 40 and easy listening charts in October 1973. Three further solo singles followed in 1974—"Roll It," "High on the Music," and "Gettin' Off"—along with the album Come See Me 'Round Midnight, none of which succeeded commercially. Stevens, billed simply as April, entered the pop charts in June 1974 with the Tempo/Jeff Barry co-write "Wake Up and Love Me," while the duo, now billed as Nino & April, reached easy listening with "You Turn Me On" in April 1975. A 1976 Chelsea release, "What Kind of Fool Am I?," and the 1979 A&M solo single "Hooked on Young Stuff" followed, along with three tracks on the soundtrack to The Idolmaker, which charted in December 1980. After a decade away from recording, Tempo produced and performed on Stevens' 1990 comeback album Carousel Dreams. A memorial performance for Atlantic co-founder Nesuhi Ertegun led to a new contract with the label as a jazz instrumentalist, resulting in the albums Tenor Saxophone (1990), Nino (1992), and Live at Cicada (1995). In 1996 the siblings contributed a new version of the Benny Goodman/Peggy Lee hit "Why Don't You Do Right?" to the Varèse Sarabande collection Sweet and Lovely: The Best of Nino Tempo & April Stevens. By then both resided in semi-retirement in Arizona.
Albums
Singles
Live
