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David & Jonathan Biography

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Most famous for their hit cover of the Beatles' "Michelle" in early 1966, David & Jonathan were a harmonizing duo from Bristol, England, with more ties to the MOR vocal sound than the British Invasion. Actually named Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook, the pair were primarily songwriters rather than performers, penning "This Golden Ring" and "You've Got Your Troubles" for another British vocal group, the Fortunes. Beatles producer George Martin worked with the renamed David & Jonathan in the mid-'60s, and their soft ballad treatment of "Michelle" made the Top 20 in both the U.K. and U.S. Their smooth dual leads were in the vein of Chad & Jeremy, but even more pop-oriented. David & Jonathan had another big hit in Britain in 1966, "Lovers of the World Unite." But Greenaway in particular would experience his greatest success as a composer. Sometimes in collaboration with Cook, and sometimes not, his songs were a fixture of the British pop scene in the '60s and '70s. The quality of these hits was variable indeed, ranging from the excellent (the Hollies' "Long Cool Woman" and Gene Pitney's "Something Gotten Hold of My Heart") to the banal (the Pipkins' "Gimme Dat Ding" and Whistling Jack Smith's "I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman"), as well as smashes for Blue Mink, Engelbert Humperdinck, White Plains, and others. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi

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