Gary U.S. Bonds

Born Gary Anderson in Florida but raised in Virginia, he sang in his church choir as a youth. While in high school he joined a vocal group named The Turks that sang in the Norfolk area. Frank Guida, who owned a record shop in Norfolk and had just started a small record label called Legrand Records, took notice of his talents, and in 1960 took Anderson to his studio to record a song called "New Orleans". Thinking that "Gary Anderson" was too plain and unmemorable a name for a singer, Guida remembered a poster he had seen in a delicatessen to try to get citizens to purchase government bonds--in big letters it had said "Buy U.S. Bonds!" Guida thought that was the perfect name, and so "Gary U.S. Bonds" was born. "New Orleans" turned out to be a major hit, cracking the top ten in record time. Bonds' follow-up song was a remake of a record cut by a local group, Daddy G and the Church Street Five, called "A Night With Daddy G." Bonds and Guida recorded their version of it - backed by the orig