Tommy Roe

Pop singer-songwriter Tommy Roe - born on May 9, 1942, in Atlanta, Georgia – is best known for his bubblegum pop hits “Sheila” (1962), “Sweet Pea” (1966), “Hooray for Hazel” (1966), “Dizzy” (1969), and “Jam Up and Jelly Tight” (1970). He first recorded a trio of singles in 1960, one of which was a song called “Sheila,” which was written about a girl he had a crush on in high school. None of the singles were hits but after signing with the ABC-Paramount label, he re-recorded “Sheila,” which then hit number 1 in the US, Canada, and Australia. However, his time at the top was brief when follow-up singles like “Suzie Darlin’” (1962), “Piddle De Pat” (1962), “Rainbow” (1962), “Everybody” (1962), “The Folk Singer” (1963), “Carol” (1964), and others failed to match the success of “Sheila.” Four years after the release of that hit, he finally hit the Top 10 again in the US with “Sweet Pea” (1966), a single that did manage to reach number 1 in Canada. His next single, “Hooray for Hazel,” was a number 2 hit in Canada and the Top 10 in the US. Embracing a more mature style of psyche-influenced pop music, He issued the single “It’s Now Winter’s Day,” which just missed the Top 10, climbing to number 12. Tommy Roe’s foray into a more adult rock / pop sound wasn’t selling records so he went back to recording bubblegum pop and hit number 1 with “Dizzy,” a song that helped to define bubblegum pop / rock alongside hits like The Archies’ “Sugar Sugar.” His last significant hit was “Jam Up and Jelly Tight,” a number 5 in 1970. Tommy Roe continued to release singles and albums throughout the rest of the 1970s to little or no fanfare. In 1979, he changed musical course and began recording country music, which earned him seven Top 100 hits on Billboard’s Country Music Singles chart between 1979 and 1987. Tommy Roe officially retired from the music business in February 2018.