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| Paul & Paula | |
|---|---|
 Paul & Paula on the cover of Cash Box, 1963 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Brownwood, Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | Pop |
| Years active | 1962–1965 |
| Labels | Philips |
Paul & Paula, consisting of Raymond Glenn "Ray" Hildebrand (November 21, 1940 – August 18, 2023) and Jill Jackson (born May 20, 1942), were an American pop singing duo, best known for their 1962 million-selling, number-one hit record, "Hey Paula".
Biography
Hildebrand was born in Joshua, Texas and Jackson was born in McCamey, Texas. Both were attending Howard Payne College (now called Howard Payne University) in Brownwood, Texas, in 1962, when a local disc jockey, Riney Jordan, of station KEAN, asked listeners to come to the studio and sing their songs to help the American Cancer Society. The duo sang a song called "Hey Paula," which Hildebrand wrote; the lyrics were inspired by a friend of his, Russell Berry, whose fiancée was named Paula. Jordan decided that Hildebrand and Jackson should record the song, and they did.
Shelby Singleton of Philips Records eventually signed the two, but not before changing their professional names; Singleton reasoned that a pair named Ray and Jill singing about "Hey, hey Paula" and "Hey, hey Paul" did not make sense. "Hey Paula" sold over two million copies globally, and was awarded a gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1963.
The duo released two regular albums and a Christmas-themed album after the success of "Hey Paula", which charted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in February 1963. Their follow-up, "Young Lovers", reached number six on the Billboard chart later in the same year.
In 1963, American Bandstand signed Paul & Paula to Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars national U.S. tour, which was scheduled to perform its fifteenth show on the night of November 22, 1963, at the Memorial Auditorium in Dallas, Texas, until the event was cancelled after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas that afternoon.
In 1965, Hildebrand left the act to complete his college education, having decided that a future in show business was not for him. He made this decision in the middle of another Dick Clark Caravan of Stars road trip, and Clark had to fill in at the last minute. Hildebrand recorded a Christian music album in 1967 called He's Everything to Me. He became best known among Christian music fans for his 1970s hit song "Anybody Here Wanna Live Forever?" Subsequently, Hildebrand joined up with another Christian performer, Paul Land, and during the 1980s and 1990s, they performed comedy and Christian music under the name of Land & Hildebrand.
Jackson went on with a solo career, and then married a Los Angeles businessman named Marvin Landon. After their days as a singing duo, Jill and Ray remained friends, and well into the early 2000s, they occasionally would get together to sing as Paul & Paula for special events, such as oldies shows. In 2002, Hildebrand and Jackson returned to Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas, where they were the homecoming guests of honor and grand marshals.
Ray Hildebrand died on August 18, 2023, at the age of 82.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart
positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | |||
| 1963 | Paul & Paula Sing for Young Lovers |
|
— |
| We'll Go Together |
|
99 | |
| Holiday for Teens |
|
— | |
| 1995 | Hey Paula – The Best of Paul & Paula |
|
— |
| 1999 | Greatest Hits |
|
— |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US |
US R&B |
AUS |
BE (FLA) |
BE (WA) |
CAN |
GER |
IRE |
NOR |
NZ |
SWE |
UK | ||
| 1962 | "Hey Paula" (orig. under their own names, Jill & Ray) b/w "Bobby Is the One" |
1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 1 | 16 | — | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| 1963 | "Young Lovers" b/w "Ba-Hey-Be" |
6 | 14 | 20 | 18 | 39 | 9 | 42 | 10 | 7 | — | — | 9 |
| "First Quarrel" b/w "School Is Thru" |
27 | — | 70 | — | — | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Something Old, Something New" b/w "Flipped Over You" |
77 108 |
— | — 19 |
— | — | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "First Day Back at School" b/w "A Perfect Pair" |
60 105 |
— | 85 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Holiday Hootenanny" b/w "Holiday for Teens" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1964 | "We'll Never Break Up for Good" b/w "Crazy Little Things" |
105 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| "Darlin'" b/w "The Young Years" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "No Other Right" b/w "Too Dark to See" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1965 | "True Love" b/w "Any Way You Want Me (That's How I Will Be)" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| "Dear Paula" b/w "All the Love" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1966 | "All I Want Is You" b/w "The Beginning of Love" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1968 | "All These Things" b/w "Wedding" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1970 | "Moments Like These" b/w "Mrs. Bean" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
See also
References
- ^ Sandomir, Richard (August 30, 2023). "Ray Hildebrand, the 'Paul' of Hitmakers Paul and Paula, Dies at 82". The New York Times. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- "Raymond Glenn Hildebrand November 21, 1940 ~ August 18, 2023 (age 82)". The Amos Family Funeral Home & Crematory. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- ^ Don Newbury, "A Road Less Traveled." Odessa (TX) American, September 30, 2018, p. A7
- Peter Cooper, "Shreveport-Reared Producer Nurtured Artists." Shreveport (LA) Times, October 10, 2009, p. 11.
- Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 150. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- Fuentes, Jerry (June 4, 2012). "A Rock n' Roll Historian: Caravan of Stars Fall 1963 Tour". Rnrhistorian.blogspot.com. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- "American Bandstand 1963 -All Time Hits Day- A Little Bit Of Soap, The Jarmels". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- Michael Brooks, "Does Anybody Here Wanna Live Forever?" Selma (AL) Times-Journal, December 15, 2012, p. 6.
- "Land and Hildebrand to Perform," Tampa Bay Times, November 11, 1995, p. NT 14.
- Ken Newton, "Man Looks Back on 'Hey Paula' Whirlwind." St. Joseph (MO) News-Press, February 9, 2018, pp. A1, A8.
- "Hey Hey Paula," Indiana (PA) Gazette, January 13, 2004, p. 10.
- Willman, Chris (19 August 2023). "The 'Paul' of 1960s Pop Duo 'Paul & Paula,' Ray Hildebrand, Dies at 82". Variety. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
- ^ "Paul and Paula". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
- Whitburn, Joel (1994). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1993. Record Research. p. 454. ISBN 9780898201048.
- Whitburn, Joel (1982). Joel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Hot 100 1959–1981. Record Research. p. 127. ISBN 9780898200478.
- Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book 1940–1969. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-44439-5.
- "ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS". www.ultratop.be. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
- "ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS". www.ultratop.be. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
- "CHUM Hit Parade, week of February 4, 1963". chumtribute.com. 4 February 1963. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
- "CHUM Hit Parade, week of April 15, 1963". chumtribute.com. 15 April 1963. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
- "CHUM Hit Parade, week of June 24, 1963". chumtribute.com. 24 June 1963. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
- "CHUM Hit Parade, week of September 2, 1963". chumtribute.com. 2 September 1963. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
- "Suche - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". www.offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
- "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
- "norwegiancharts.com - Norwegian charts portal". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
- "flavour of new zealand - search lever". www.flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
- "Paul And Paula - Se alla låtar och listplaceringar". NostalgiListan (in Swedish). Retrieved 2021-11-27.
- "PAUL & PAULA | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
External links
- Paul & Paula discography at Discogs
- Paul & Paula at IMDb
- New York Times - Ray Hildebrandt Obituary
- Billboard - Ray Hildebrandt Obituary