Little Eva
Encyclopedia
Eva Narcissus Boyd known by the stage name of Little Eva (after a character from Uncle Tom's Cabin
), was an American
pop
singer.
, she moved to the Brighton Beach
section of Brooklyn
, New York
at a young age. As a teenager, she worked as a maid and earned extra money as a babysitter for songwriters Carole King
and Gerry Goffin
. It is often claimed that Goffin and King were amused by Boyd's individual dancing style, so they wrote "The Loco-Motion
" for her and had her record it as a demo (the record was intended for Dee Dee Sharp
).
However, as King said in an interview with NPR and in her "One to One" concert video, they knew she could sing when they met her, and it would be just a matter of time before they would have her record songs they wrote, the most successful being "The Loco-Motion".
Music producer Don Kirshner
of Dimension Records
was impressed by the song and Boyd's voice and had it released. The song reached #1 in the United States
in 1962. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
.
After the success of "The Loco-Motion", Boyd was stereotyped as a dance-craze singer and was given limited material.
The same year, Goffin and King wrote "He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss)
" (performed by The Crystals
) after discovering that Boyd was being regularly beaten
by her boyfriend. When they inquired why she tolerated such treatment, Eva replied, with complete sincerity, that her boyfriend's actions were motivated by his love for her.
Phil Spector
's arrangement of the song was ominous and ambiguous.
Boyd's other single recordings were "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby
", "Some Kinda Wonderful", "Let's Turkey Trot" and a remake of the Bing Crosby
standard "Swinging on a Star
," recorded with Big Dee Irwin
(though Boyd was not credited on the label). Boyd also recorded the song "Makin' With the Magilla" for an episode of the 1964 Hanna-Barbera
cartoon series The Magilla Gorilla Show.
She continued to tour and record throughout the sixties, but her commercial potential plummeted after 1964. She retired from the music industry in 1971. She never owned the rights to her recordings. Although the prevailing rumor in the 1970s was that she had received only $50 for "The Loco-Motion," it seems $50 was actually her weekly salary at the time she made her records (an increase of $15 from what Goffin and King had been paying her as nanny). Penniless, she moved her three young children to South Carolina, where they lived in obscurity on menial jobs and welfare.
Interviewed between 1987 and 1988 after the success of the Kylie Minogue
cover version
of "The Loco-Motion", Boyd stated that she did not like the new version; however its then-current popularity allowed her to make a comeback in show business.
She returned to live performing with other artists of her era on the cabaret
and oldies
circuits. She also occasionally recorded new songs.
She continued performing until she was diagnosed with cervical cancer
in October 2001. She died 18 months later in Kinston, North Carolina
, aged 59, and is buried in a small cemetery in Belhaven, North Carolina
. Her gravesite was sparsely marked until July 2008, when a report by WRAL-TV
of Raleigh, North Carolina
highlighted deteriorating conditions at the cemetery and efforts by the city of Belhaven to have it restored. A simple white cross had marked the site until a new gravestone was unveiled in November of that year.
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....
), was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer.
Biography
Born in Belhaven, North CarolinaNorth Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, she moved to the Brighton Beach
Brighton Beach
Brighton Beach is an oceanside neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. As of 2000, it has a population of 75,692 with a total of 31,228 households.-Location:...
section of Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
at a young age. As a teenager, she worked as a maid and earned extra money as a babysitter for songwriters Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
and Gerry Goffin
Gerry Goffin
Gerry Goffin is an American lyricist. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 with former songwriting partner and first wife, Carole King. he has co-written six Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers.-Career:Goffin enlisted with the Marine Corps Reserve after graduating from...
. It is often claimed that Goffin and King were amused by Boyd's individual dancing style, so they wrote "The Loco-Motion
The Loco-Motion
"The Loco-Motion" is a 1962 pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. The song is notable for appearing in the American Top 5 three times – each time in a different decade: for Little Eva in 1962 ; for Grand Funk Railroad in 1974 ; and for Kylie Minogue in 1988 "The...
" for her and had her record it as a demo (the record was intended for Dee Dee Sharp
Dee Dee Sharp
Dee Dee Sharp is an American R&B singer, who began her career recording as a backing vocalist in 1961.-Career:...
).
However, as King said in an interview with NPR and in her "One to One" concert video, they knew she could sing when they met her, and it would be just a matter of time before they would have her record songs they wrote, the most successful being "The Loco-Motion".
Music producer Don Kirshner
Don Kirshner
Don Kirshner , known as "The Man With the Golden Ear", was an American song publisher and rock producer who is best known for managing songwriting talent as well as successful pop groups, such as The Monkees, Kansas and The Archies.-Early life:Don Kirshner was born to Gilbert Kirshner, a tailor,...
of Dimension Records
Dimension Records
Dimension Records was a record label founded in 1962 in New York City by Don Kirshner and Al Nevins, owners of Aldon Music. It concentrated on the girl group sound and showcased songs by Goffin and King. Their composition "The Loco-Motion", sung by Little Eva, gave it its biggest hit...
was impressed by the song and Boyd's voice and had it released. The song reached #1 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1962. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
.
After the success of "The Loco-Motion", Boyd was stereotyped as a dance-craze singer and was given limited material.
The same year, Goffin and King wrote "He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss)
He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss)
"He Hit Me " is a pop song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and recorded by The Crystals under the guidance of Phil Spector in 1962.-The song:...
" (performed by The Crystals
The Crystals
The Crystals are an American vocal group based in New York, considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era of the first half of the 1960s. Their 1961–1964 chart hits, including "Uptown", "He's a Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron " and "Then He Kissed Me", featured three successive female lead...
) after discovering that Boyd was being regularly beaten
Physical abuse
Physical abuse is abuse involving contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation, injury, or other physical suffering or bodily harm.-Forms of physical abuse:*Striking*Punching*Belting*Pushing, pulling*Slapping*Whipping*Striking with an object...
by her boyfriend. When they inquired why she tolerated such treatment, Eva replied, with complete sincerity, that her boyfriend's actions were motivated by his love for her.
Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
's arrangement of the song was ominous and ambiguous.
Boyd's other single recordings were "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby
Keep Your Hands Off My Baby
"Keep Your Hands Off My Baby" is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. It has been recorded by many artists, most notably Little Eva, who had a #12 hit with the song on the Billboard charts in 1962...
", "Some Kinda Wonderful", "Let's Turkey Trot" and a remake of the Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
standard "Swinging on a Star
Swinging on a Star
"Swinging on a Star" is an American pop standard with music composed by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was sung by Bing Crosby in the 1944 film Going My Way, winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song that year, and has been recorded by numerous artists since...
," recorded with Big Dee Irwin
Big Dee Irwin
DiFosco "Dee" T. Ervin Jr. , usually known professionally as Big Dee Irwin, was an American singer and songwriter whose biggest hit was a version of "Swinging On A Star" in 1963, recorded as a duet with Little Eva....
(though Boyd was not credited on the label). Boyd also recorded the song "Makin' With the Magilla" for an episode of the 1964 Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
cartoon series The Magilla Gorilla Show.
She continued to tour and record throughout the sixties, but her commercial potential plummeted after 1964. She retired from the music industry in 1971. She never owned the rights to her recordings. Although the prevailing rumor in the 1970s was that she had received only $50 for "The Loco-Motion," it seems $50 was actually her weekly salary at the time she made her records (an increase of $15 from what Goffin and King had been paying her as nanny). Penniless, she moved her three young children to South Carolina, where they lived in obscurity on menial jobs and welfare.
Interviewed between 1987 and 1988 after the success of the Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of "The Loco-Motion", Boyd stated that she did not like the new version; however its then-current popularity allowed her to make a comeback in show business.
She returned to live performing with other artists of her era on the cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
and oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
circuits. She also occasionally recorded new songs.
She continued performing until she was diagnosed with cervical cancer
Cervical cancer
Cervical cancer is malignant neoplasm of the cervix uteri or cervical area. One of the most common symptoms is abnormal vaginal bleeding, but in some cases there may be no obvious symptoms until the cancer is in its advanced stages...
in October 2001. She died 18 months later in Kinston, North Carolina
Kinston, North Carolina
Kinston is a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 23,688 at the 2000 census. The population was estimated at 22,360 in 2008. It has been the county seat of Lenoir County since its formation in 1791 . Kinston is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks...
, aged 59, and is buried in a small cemetery in Belhaven, North Carolina
Belhaven, North Carolina
Belhaven is a town in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,968 at the 2000 census. Belhaven is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region....
. Her gravesite was sparsely marked until July 2008, when a report by WRAL-TV
WRAL-TV
WRAL-TV, virtual channel 5 , is a television station in Raleigh, North Carolina. WRAL-TV has been the flagship station of Capitol Broadcasting Company since its inception, and is currently the CBS affiliate for the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill/Fayetteville area, known collectively as the Triangle...
of Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
highlighted deteriorating conditions at the cemetery and efforts by the city of Belhaven to have it restored. A simple white cross had marked the site until a new gravestone was unveiled in November of that year.
External links
- Spectropop remembers Little Eva (1943 - 2003), a biography of the singer
- History-of-Rock