Tommy Sands : biography
Thomas Adrian "Tommy" Sands (born August 27, 1937) is an American pop music singer and actor. Working in show business as early as 1949 Sands became an overnight sensation and instant teen-idol when he appeared on Kraft Television Theater in January 1957 as "The Singin’ Idol" which was one of the most successful television shows in history. The song from the show, "Teen Age Crush" reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and No. 1 on Cashbox.
Personal life
In 1960, Sands married Nancy Sinatra, from whom he was divorced in 1965. At that point in his career, Frank Sinatra had him "blacklisted" in the entertainment industry. He has a daughter Jessica from his second marriage.
Filmography
Film
Year | Film | Role |
---|---|---|
1958 | Sing, Boy, Sing | Virgil Walker |
1958 | Mardi Gras | Barry Denton |
1961 | Love in a Goldfish Bowl | Gordon |
1961 | Babes in Toyland | Tom Piper |
1962 | The Longest Day | U.S. Army Ranger |
1964 | Ensign Pulver | John X. Bruno |
1965 | None But the Brave | 2nd Lt. Blair |
1967 | The Violent Ones | Mike Marain |
Television
Year | Series | Role |
---|---|---|
1957 | The Singin’ Idol | as himself |
1957 | The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford | as himself |
1964 | Slattery’s People | Jed Haskell |
1965 | Combat! | Private Carey |
Early life
Sands was born into a musical family in Chicago, Illinois; his father was a pianist and his mother a big-band singer. While still young, he moved with his family to Shreveport, Louisiana. Sands began playing the guitar at age eight and within a year had a job performing twice weekly on a local radio station. At the beginning of his teen years, Tommy moved to Houston, Texas. In Houston, he attended Lamar High School and joined a band with "Jimmie Lee Durden and the Junior Cowboys". The band consisted of Sands, Durden, and Billy Reno. They performed on the radio, at county fairs and did personal appearances. He was only 15 when Colonel Tom Parker heard about him and signed him to RCA Records.
Career
Sands’ initial recordings achieved little in the way of sales but in early 1957 he was given the opportunity to star in an episode of Kraft Television Theatre. He played the part of a singer who was very similar to Elvis Presley, with guitar, pompadour hair, and excitable teenage fans. On the show, his song presentation of a Joe Allison composition called "Teen-Age Crush" went over big with the young audience and, released as a 45 rpm single by Capitol Records, it went to No.2 on the Billboard Hot 100 record chart and No. 1 on the Cashbox chart. His track, "The Old Oaken Bucket", peaked at #25 in the UK Singles Chart in 1960.
Sands’ sudden fame brought an offer to sing at the Academy Awards show and his teen idol looks landed him a motion-picture contract to star in a 1958 musical drama called Sing, Boy, Sing, the feature film version of "The Singin’ Idol." About this time, he also appeared on an episode of The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford. Sands’ pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
Acting
Sands performed in several films including Sing, Boy, Sing, the feature film version of "The Singin’ Idol" (1958), Mardi Gras (1958), Babes in Toyland (1961), The Longest Day (1962), Ensign Pulver (1964), and None But the Brave (1965), playing a Marine Second Lieutenant, but both his singing and film career had faded by the 1970s.