Nino Tempo & April Stevens were siblings who each found success in show business before they teamed up in the early 1960s, scoring a number one hit with "Deep Purple" in November 1963. Their upbeat vocal pop was enlivened by a light rock & roll swing, as their unfussy harmonies squared off against Tempo's production and guitar work and April's breathy spoken passages. Tempo & Stevens made an effort to move with the times, hitting the Top 40 in 1966 with "All Strung Out" (an impressive simulacrum of Phil Spector's Wall of Sound) and recording the theme from the film Love Story with a light funk groove in 1972, but the playful sound of their early hits was still the foundation of their fame decades later.
Caroline Vincinette LoTempio was born in Niagara Falls, New York on April 29, 1929, and her brother Antonino LoTempio followed on January 6, 1935. They were first-generation Americans, born to Sicilian immigrants. Caroline would adopt the stage name April Stevens and pursue a career as a pop singer, scoring a hit in 1951 with a recording of Cole Porter's "I'm in Love Again." Meanwhile, Antonino displayed a precocious talent for music, learning to play clarinet and tenor sax, and appearing with Benny Goodman on television when he was only seven. He also found success as a child actor, appearing in the films The Red Pony and The Glenn Miller Story, and started using the stage name Nino Tempo. By the late '50s, he was playing with jazz groups and working steadily as a studio musician, and a song he wrote, "Teach Me Tiger," was recorded by April Stevens. The tune became a minor hit, though it was denied airplay in some markets because the lyrics, coupled with Stevens' breathy delivery, were deemed too sexually suggestive. By 1961, Tempo & Stevens put together an act, releasing a debut single on United Artists Records. When Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records heard Tempo & Stevens were working together (he was familiar with Tempo's talents from his work on several Bobby Darin sessions), he offered them a record deal. They signed with Atlantic's Atco subsidiary, and their first singles for the label, "Sweet and Lovely" and "Paradise," appeared in 1962. After recording a song called "I've Been Carrying a Torch for You So Long That I Burned a Great Big Hole in My Heart," Tempo & Stevens knocked out a B-side, "Deep Purple," in 15 minutes. Ertegun didn't care for the song, but Tempo lobbied for its inclusion on the single, and to their surprise, disc jockeys began flipping the 45 and spinning "Deep Purple" instead of the intended A-side. In November 1963, "Deep Purple" rose to the top of the singles charts, and would go on to win a Grammy award as best rock & roll recording of the year.
"Deep Purple"'s follow-up was "Whispering," which had been recorded by Paul Whiteman in 1920, and the new version went to number 11 on the pop charts in late 1963, while their take on "Stardust" appeared in 1963, peaking at number 32. However, Tempo & Stevens' success came at a turning point in pop history. In early 1964, the Beatles came to America for the first time after conquering their native England, and the sounds of the British Invasion soon took over the charts, making more staid and traditional pop acts like Tempo & Stevens seem quaint. They continued to record for Atco, remained popular on Adult Contemporary radio, and appeared frequently on television and in nightclubs, while Tempo maintained a profitable sideline as studio musician, songwriter, and producer, but their days as rock & roll artists seemed to be over. In 1966, after parting ways with Atco, they signed with White Whale Records, the Los Angeles label that had been enjoying major chart success with the Turtles. "All Strung Out," a moody track with a Phil Spector-styled production (Tempo had learned a few tricks playing on Spector-produced sessions in the past) gave their music a more contemporary feel, and the single charted at number 26 on the pop survey. It would prove to be their last visit to the Top 40; while "All String Out" briefly revitalized their careers, they parted ways with White Whale at the end of 1968. In 1969, they cut a pair of singles for Bell, and one for MGM in 1971. None of them charted.
In 1972, Tempo & Stevens signed with A&M Records and cut a version of Francis Lai's theme song for the hit film Love Story, giving the tune a light funk treatment. The single didn't make an impact in the United States, but it was a Top Ten hit in Belgium and Holland, and earned airplay across Europe. A&M released a Love Story album in the Netherlands, and in 1974, Tempo enjoyed some success with his disco-influenced jazz fusion project Nino Tempo & 5th Avenue Sax, scoring a minor hit with the track "Sister James." Stevens, meanwhile, took one of the songs from the 5th Avenue Sax LP, added lyrics, and cut a single, "Sleep Baby Sleep," a sultry tune about a 35-year-old woman with a 21-year-old lover. From this point on, Tempo & Stevens worked on their own as often as they did as a duo, though they cut a 2005 album of standards, Swinging on a Star, after which Stevens retired from show business. She lived quietly in Scottsdale, Arizona, where she died at her home on April 17, 2023, at the age of 93. ~ Mark Deming
