Biography
Before uniting professionally in the early 1960s, Nino Tempo and April Stevens had each built separate careers in entertainment, eventually reaching the top of the charts with “Deep Purple” in November 1963. Their bright vocal-pop style gained extra lift from a gentle rock-and-roll pulse, letting straightforward harmonies contrast with Tempo’s production choices and guitar lines while April contributed her signature spoken asides. The pair tried to stay current by reaching the Top 40 in 1966 with the Spector-inspired “All Strung Out” and by recasting the Love Story theme in a light funk arrangement in 1972, yet the playful tone of their earliest successes remained the core of their lasting recognition.
Caroline Vincinette LoTempio entered the world in Niagara Falls, New York, on April 29, 1929, and her brother Antonino LoTempio arrived on January 6, 1935; both were first-generation Americans whose parents had emigrated from Sicily. Caroline later performed under the name April Stevens and scored a 1951 hit with Cole Porter’s “I’m in Love Again.” Antonino, meanwhile, showed early musical promise on clarinet and tenor sax, appearing on television with Benny Goodman at age seven. He also acted as a child in The Red Pony and The Glenn Miller Story before adopting the stage name Nino Tempo. By the late 1950s he was performing with jazz ensembles and working regularly as a studio musician; a song he wrote, “Teach Me Tiger,” was cut by April Stevens and became a modest hit, though some stations refused to play it because the lyrics and her breathy delivery were judged too suggestive.
In 1961 the siblings formed an act and issued a debut single on United Artists Records. Ahmet Ertegun, already familiar with Tempo’s abilities from several Bobby Darin sessions, offered the duo a contract with Atlantic’s Atco imprint; their first Atco sides, “Sweet and Lovely” and “Paradise,” appeared in 1962. After completing “I’ve Been Carrying a Torch for You So Long That I Burned a Great Big Hole in My Heart,” they recorded “Deep Purple” as a B-side in fifteen minutes. Ertegun was unenthusiastic, but Tempo insisted the track be included, and disc jockeys soon began playing the flip side instead. By November 1963 “Deep Purple” had reached number one and later received a Grammy as best rock-and-roll recording of the year.
Its follow-up, “Whispering”—a song Paul Whiteman had recorded in 1920—climbed to number 11 in late 1963, while their version of “Stardust” reached number 32 that same year. Success arrived, however, just as pop music was shifting; the Beatles’ arrival in America in early 1964 and the subsequent British Invasion rendered more traditional acts like Tempo & Stevens old-fashioned. The pair continued releasing material on Atco, remained favorites on Adult Contemporary radio, and performed often on television and in nightclubs, while Tempo kept a busy parallel career as a session player, songwriter, and producer.
After leaving Atco they joined White Whale Records in 1966, the Los Angeles label then enjoying success with the Turtles. “All Strung Out,” produced with techniques Tempo had absorbed from earlier Spector sessions, gave their sound a fresher edge and peaked at number 26, their final Top 40 entry. They parted with the label at the close of 1968. Singles followed on Bell in 1969 and MGM in 1971, none of which charted.
In 1972 the duo moved to A&M Records and delivered a lightly funky reading of Francis Lai’s Love Story theme. The single made little headway in the United States yet reached the Top Ten in Belgium and Holland and received airplay throughout Europe; A&M issued a Love Story album in the Netherlands. In 1974 Tempo achieved modest success with the disco-tinged jazz-fusion project Nino Tempo & 5th Avenue Sax, scoring a minor hit with “Sister James.” April Stevens took another track from that album, added lyrics, and released the sultry single “Sleep Baby Sleep,” which concerned a thirty-five-year-old woman and her twenty-one-year-old lover.
Thereafter the siblings pursued solo work as often as they performed together, although they did record the 2005 standards collection Swinging on a Star before April Stevens withdrew from performing. She lived quietly in Scottsdale, Arizona, and died at home on April 17, 2023, at the age of 93.
Caroline Vincinette LoTempio entered the world in Niagara Falls, New York, on April 29, 1929, and her brother Antonino LoTempio arrived on January 6, 1935; both were first-generation Americans whose parents had emigrated from Sicily. Caroline later performed under the name April Stevens and scored a 1951 hit with Cole Porter’s “I’m in Love Again.” Antonino, meanwhile, showed early musical promise on clarinet and tenor sax, appearing on television with Benny Goodman at age seven. He also acted as a child in The Red Pony and The Glenn Miller Story before adopting the stage name Nino Tempo. By the late 1950s he was performing with jazz ensembles and working regularly as a studio musician; a song he wrote, “Teach Me Tiger,” was cut by April Stevens and became a modest hit, though some stations refused to play it because the lyrics and her breathy delivery were judged too suggestive.
In 1961 the siblings formed an act and issued a debut single on United Artists Records. Ahmet Ertegun, already familiar with Tempo’s abilities from several Bobby Darin sessions, offered the duo a contract with Atlantic’s Atco imprint; their first Atco sides, “Sweet and Lovely” and “Paradise,” appeared in 1962. After completing “I’ve Been Carrying a Torch for You So Long That I Burned a Great Big Hole in My Heart,” they recorded “Deep Purple” as a B-side in fifteen minutes. Ertegun was unenthusiastic, but Tempo insisted the track be included, and disc jockeys soon began playing the flip side instead. By November 1963 “Deep Purple” had reached number one and later received a Grammy as best rock-and-roll recording of the year.
Its follow-up, “Whispering”—a song Paul Whiteman had recorded in 1920—climbed to number 11 in late 1963, while their version of “Stardust” reached number 32 that same year. Success arrived, however, just as pop music was shifting; the Beatles’ arrival in America in early 1964 and the subsequent British Invasion rendered more traditional acts like Tempo & Stevens old-fashioned. The pair continued releasing material on Atco, remained favorites on Adult Contemporary radio, and performed often on television and in nightclubs, while Tempo kept a busy parallel career as a session player, songwriter, and producer.
After leaving Atco they joined White Whale Records in 1966, the Los Angeles label then enjoying success with the Turtles. “All Strung Out,” produced with techniques Tempo had absorbed from earlier Spector sessions, gave their sound a fresher edge and peaked at number 26, their final Top 40 entry. They parted with the label at the close of 1968. Singles followed on Bell in 1969 and MGM in 1971, none of which charted.
In 1972 the duo moved to A&M Records and delivered a lightly funky reading of Francis Lai’s Love Story theme. The single made little headway in the United States yet reached the Top Ten in Belgium and Holland and received airplay throughout Europe; A&M issued a Love Story album in the Netherlands. In 1974 Tempo achieved modest success with the disco-tinged jazz-fusion project Nino Tempo & 5th Avenue Sax, scoring a minor hit with “Sister James.” April Stevens took another track from that album, added lyrics, and released the sultry single “Sleep Baby Sleep,” which concerned a thirty-five-year-old woman and her twenty-one-year-old lover.
Thereafter the siblings pursued solo work as often as they performed together, although they did record the 2005 standards collection Swinging on a Star before April Stevens withdrew from performing. She lived quietly in Scottsdale, Arizona, and died at home on April 17, 2023, at the age of 93.
Albums
