England during the late
’50s had its equivalents to Frankie Avalon and Fabian, teenage boy
singers whose sounds were specifically tailored to appeal to the most
romantic sides of the young female psyche and not offend their parents.
Craig Douglas was one of the better of these and has proved one of the
most enduring, still performing more than 40 years after cutting his
first record. Born Terry Perkins on the Isle of Wight, he was one of a
pair of twins (and those twins were one of three sets among nine
children). His mother sang well, one of Douglas’ sisters performed on
the Isle of Wight, and he’d reportedly begun trying to sing while still
in the crib. An indifferent student, he preferred athletics and being
outdoors, which led to his volunteering during a school holiday to help
the milkman make his deliveries.
It was the latter brief diversion that got the boy labeled the Singing
Milkman at the outset of his career. At 16, his mother entered him in a
local talent contest and he won by singing “Love Letters in the Sand.”
He got to a final round, where he specifically avoided doing the
standard Elvis Presley imitations that his competitors presented. This
led to an appearance at a variety show on the island, where he was seen
by London agent Bunny Lewis, whose wife was performing on the same bill.
She, in turn, was impressed with the boy’s poise and professionalism.
Lewis arranged for singing lessons for the 16-year-old and began
grooming him for a career on the stage in London.
He also acquired the name Craig Douglas.
His breakthrough came on The Six-Five Special, then the only real
showcase for rock & roll on British television. Douglas was booked on
the show the same week that Cliff Richard and Joe Brown appeared, but he
made an impression even in their company: A few days later, he was
presented with two huge sacks of fan mail from the performance. The
Six-Five Special led Douglas to a recording contract and a string of
successes. Much of Douglas’ career was spent at EMI, for which he had a
number one hit with his version of “Only Sixteen,” but also charted very
high with “A Teenager in Love,” “The Heart of a Teenage Girl,” “Pretty
Blue Eyes,” and “When My Little Girl Is Smiling.” Douglas wasn’t just a
rock & roll singer, his diction being too good and his delivery too
straight-ahead for only that designation.
His early records
call up images of Ricky Nelson but, like a lot of young British
singers of his era, he quickly aimed for a more mature audience.
His singing was very emotive but also very clean. He was equally
comfortable with dignified pop music, such as “Time,” aswell as
the more rocking numbers like “Ring-A-Ding” that he was
occasionally called upon to record, with its slurred lyrics,
honking saxes, and loud electric guitars (Craig
acquitted himself well in that setting). He made the usual moves,
appearing on film soundtracks (Two and Two Make Six) and in movies
(It’s Trad, Dad; A Painted Smile), as well as numerous television
shows. Douglas’ appearance alongside his EMI stablemate Helen
Shapiro in It’s Trad, Dad was director Richard Lester’s first
feature and a dry run for A Hard Day’s Night (see video footage
left).
Craig Douglas 1950s & 1960s 45rpm
UK Discography
Decca
F11055
1958
Nothin'
Shakin'/ Sitting In A Tree House
Decca
F11075
1958
Go Chase A
Moonbeam/ Are You Really Mine
Top Rank
JAR110
1959
Come
Softly To Me/ Golden Girl
Top Rank
JAR133
1959
A Teenager
In Love/ The 39 Steps
#13
Top Rank
JAR159
1959
Only
Sixteen/ My First Love Affair
#1
Top Rank
JAR204
1959
The Riddle
Of Love/ Wish It Were Me
Top Rank
JAR268
1960
Pretty
Blue Eyes/ Sandy
#4
Top Rank
JAR340
1960
Heart Of A
Teenage Girl/ New Boy
#10
Top Rank
JAR406
1960
Oh! What A
Day/ Why, Why, Why
#43
Top Rank
JAR515
1960
Where's
The Girl/ My Hour Of Love
Top Rank
JAR543
1961
The Girl
Next Door/ Hey Mr. Conscience
Top Rank
JAR555
1961
A Hundred
Pounds Of Clay/ Hello Spring
#9
Top Rank
JAR556
1961
A
Hundred Pounds Of Clay (Amended Version)/
Hello Spring
Top Rank
JAR569
1961
Time/
After All
#9
Top Rank
JAR589
1961
No Greater
Love/ We'll Have A Lot To Tell The Children
Top Rank
JAR603
1962
A Change
Of Heart/ Another You
Top Rank
JAR610
1962
When My
Little Girl Is Smiling/ Ring-A-Ding
#9
Columbia
DB4854
1962
Our
Favorite (sic)
Melodies/ Rainbows
#9
Decca
F11523
1962
Oh,
Lonesome Me/ Please Don't Take My Heart
#15
Decca
F11575
1963
Town
Crier/ I'd Be Smiling Now
#36
Decca
F11665
1963
Danke
Schoen/ Teenage Mona Lisa
Decca
F11722
1963
I'm So
Glad I Found Her/ Love Her While She's Young
Decca
F11763
1963
Counting
Up The Kisses/ From Russia With Love
Fontana
TF458
1964
Silly Boy/
Leave Me Alone
Fontana
TF475
1964
Come
Closer/ She's Smiling At Me
Fontana
TF525
1965
Across The
Street/ Party Girl
Fontana
TF580
1965
Around The
Corner/ Find The Girl
Fontana
TF690
1966
I'm On The
Outside Looking In/ Knock On Any Door
Pye
7N17746
1969
How Do You
Feel About That/ Then
Pye
7N17863
1969
Raindrops
Keep Falling On My Head/ Don't Mind If I Cry
Craig Douglas 1950s & 1960s UK EP
Discography
Top Rank
JAR8033
1959
"Craig
Sings For 'Roxy'"
A Teenager
In Love/Golden Girl/The 39 Steps/Come Softly To Me
Decca
DFE6633
1960
"Craig"
Sitting In
A Tree House/Nothin'Shakin'/Are You Really Mine/Go Chase A Moonbeam
Decca
DFE8509
1962
"Cuddle
Up With Craig"
Snowy
White Snow/I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm/Give Me A Cosy
Corner/Jingle Bells/Sleigh Ride/Winter Wonderland/Rudolph The
Red-nosed Reindeer/White Christmas
Columbia
SEG8219
1963
"Craig's Movie Songs" (w. Norrie Paramor Orch.)
A
Change Of Heart/Rainbows/Ring-A-Ding (w.Harry
Robinson Orch.) /A Painted Smile
Craig Douglas
avoided doing the
standard Elvis Presley imitations that his competitors presented. This
led to an appearance at a variety show on the island, where he was seen
by London agent Bunny Lewis, whose wife was performing on the same bill.
She, in turn, was impressed with the boy’s poise and professionalism.
Lewis arranged for singing lessons for the 16-year-old and began
grooming him for a career on the stage in London.
He also acquired the name Craig Douglas.