DiFosco "Dee" T. Ervin Jr. (July 6, 1932 – August 27, 1995), usually known professionally as Big Dee Irwin, was an American singer and songwriter whose biggest hit was a version of "

Swinging on a Star "Swinging on a Star" is an American pop standard with music composed by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby in the 1944 film '' Going My Way'', winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song that year, ...

" in 1963, recorded as a

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

with

Little Eva Eva Narcissus Boyd (June 29, 1943 – April 10, 2003), better known by the stage name of Little Eva, was an American singer, well known for her 1962 hit " The Loco-Motion". Although some sources claim that her stage name was inspired by a chara ...

Life and career

Dee Ervin was born in

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harle ...

.Joel Whitburn, ''Top Pop Singles 1955–2002'', Billboard, 2003, , p. 338 Some sources give his first name as Defosca and his family name as Erwin. He joined the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

, and in 1954 was based at Narsarssuak Air Base in

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is ...

. While there, he formed a singing group, The Pastels, with himself as lead singer, Richard Travis (first tenor), Tony Thomas (second tenor) and Jimmy Willingham (baritone). They performed in Air Force talent shows and, after being transferred to Washington D.C., took part in a national show, ''Tops In Blue'', in 1957. They then auditioned and won a contract with

Hull Records Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in a ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and recorded a song written by Ervin, "Been So Long". The record was released locally on the subsidiary Mascot label before being leased to

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and r ...

who issued it on their Argo label. At the same time, the members of The Pastels were leaving the Air Force, Ervin being discharged in February 1958. "Been So Long" reached number 4 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

and number 24 on the pop chart, and the Pastels toured widely and appeared on concert bills. In March 1958, they featured as part of

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout N ...

's touring ''Big Beat Show'', which also included

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis mad ...

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined a ...

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

Frankie Lymon Franklin Joseph Lymon (September 30, 1942 – February 27, 1968) was an American rock and roll/rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, best known as the boy soprano lead singer of the New York City-based early rock and roll doo-wop group T ...

Larry Williams Larry Williams (born Lawrence Eugene Williams, a.k.a. Lawrence Edward Williams; May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Willia ...

, and

Screamin' Jay Hawkins Jalacy J. "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins (July 18, 1929 – February 12, 2000) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, film producer, and boxer. Famed chiefly for his powerful, operatic vocal delivery and wildly theatrical performances of ...

. The group's second record, "You Don't Love Me Anymore", was released in April 1958, but was not a hit. They performed at the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a n ...

later in 1958, but split up early the following year. Biography by Linda Seida ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

'' Ervin then started a solo career on Hull Records as Dee Erwin, and also recorded on the Bliss label, before signing for

Dimension Records Dimension Records was a record label founded in 1962 in New York City by Don Kirshner and Al Nevins, owners of Aldon Music. It concentrated on the girl group sound and showcased songs by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. Their composition "The Loco ...

as Big Dee Irwin, and releasing a version of the 1944

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

song "Swinging on a Star" which also featured

, though she was uncredited. In 1963, the song reached number 38 on the US pop chart. It became a bigger hit in the UK where it rose to number 7, and Irwin then took part in a nine-month tour of Britain. Neither Irwin's follow-up, "Happy Being Fat", again with Little Eva, nor later releases on Dimension, were successful. However, Irwin continued to release singles for a variety of labels through the 1960s, and also worked as a songwriter for

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guit ...

, and others; the Hollies included his "What Kind of Boy" on their 1964 album '' In The Hollies Style''. In 1976, initially under the name DiFosco, he released the disco single "Face to Face". His last record release was in 1978. Irwin died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

in 1995. His son,

David Ervin David Michael Ervin (born March 16, 1961 in Englewood, New Jersey, USA) is an American jazz funk keyboard player. He grew up in Altadena, California, where he began to take after his musical father DiFosco Ervin, a.k.a. Big Dee Irwin. DiFosco E ...

, has played piano professionally as a

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design, ...

musician.

Discography

Hull Records (as Dee Erwin) *"I Can't Help It (I'm Falling In Love)" / "Rubin, Rubin" — 1959 *"Let's Try Again" /"'Tis Farewell" — 1960 Bliss Records (as Dee Erwin) *"Someday You'll Understand Why" / "Anytime" — 1961

(as Big Dee Irwin; * with

; ** with

The Breakaways The Breakaways were an English female vocal trio, formed in 1962. Britain's premier session vocalists throughout the 1960s, The Breakaways also recorded a handful of little-known girl group singles. Career The original members were Vicki Ha ...

) *"Everybody's Got a Dance But Me" / "And Heaven Was Here" — 1962 *"

" * / "Another Night with the Boys" * — 1963 - U.S. No. 38, UK No. 7 *"Happy Being Fat" * / "Soul Waltzin'" — 1963 *"Skeeter" / "You're My Inspiration" — 1963 *"

The Christmas Song "The Christmas Song" (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting by an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a classic Christmas song written in 1945 by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé. The Nat King Cole Trio ...

" * / "I Wish You a Merry Christmas" * — 1963 *"

Heigh-Ho "Heigh-Ho" is a song from Walt Disney's 1937 animated film '' Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'', written by Frank Churchill (music) and Larry Morey (lyrics). It is sung by the group of Seven Dwarfs as they work at a mine with diamonds and rubie ...

" ** / "I Want So Much to Know You" ** — 1964

20th Century Fox Records 20th Century Fox Records (also known as 20th Fox Records and 20th Century Records, or simply 20th Century Fox Film Scores and Fox Records) was a wholly owned subsidiary of film studio 20th Century Fox. The history of the label covers three dis ...

(as Big Dee Irwin) *"Donkey Walk" / "Someday You'll Understand Why" — 1963

Roulette Records Roulette Records was an American record company and label founded in 1957 by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Kahl, with creative control given to producers and songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. Levy was appointed d ...

(as Dee Erwin) *"Discotheque" / "The Sun's Gonna Shine Tomorrow" — 1965 *"Are You Really Real" / "The Mouse" Rotate Records (as Big Dee Irwin) *"I Wanna Stay Right Here With You" / "You Satisfy My Needs" — 1965 *"Follow My Heart" / "Stop Heart" — 1965 Fairmont Records (as Big Dee Irwin) *"Sweet Young Thing Like You" / "You Really Are Together" — 1966 Astra Records (as Dee Irwin) *"I Can't Help It" / "My One and Only Dream" — 1966 Phil-La Records (as Big Dee Irwin) *"Better to Have Loved and Lost" / "Linda" — 1967

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

(as Big Dee Irwin and Suzie

aria Pereboom In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

*" Ain't That Lovin' You Baby" / "I Can't Get Over You" — 1968

Imperial Records Imperial Records is an American record company and label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd. The label was reactivated in 2006 by EMI, which owned the label and back catalogue at the time. Imperial is owned by Universal Music Group. Early years to ...

(as Dee Irwin) *"I Only Get This Feeling" / "Wrong Direction" — 1968 *"I Can't Stand the Pain" / "My Hope to Die Girl" — 1968 Imperial Records (as Big Dee Irwin and Mamie Galore) *"

By the Time I Get to Phoenix "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" is a song written by Jimmy Webb. Originally recorded by Johnny Rivers in 1965, it was covered by American country music singer Glen Campbell on his album of the same name. Released on Capitol Records in 1967, Cam ...

" / "

I Say a Little Prayer "I Say a Little Prayer" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Dionne Warwick, originally peaking at number four on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 pop singles chart in December 1967. On the R&B Singles chart it peaked at numbe ...

" — 1968 *"

Day Tripper "Day Tripper" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double A-side single with "We Can Work It Out" in December 1965. The song was written primarily by John Lennon with some contributions from Paul McCartney and w ...

" / "I Didn't Wanna Do It, But I Did" — 1969 *" Ain't No Way" / " Cherish" — 1969 Earthquake Records (as DiFosco) *"Sunshine Love" / "You Saved Me from Destruction" — 1971 Signpost Records (as Dee Ervin) *"Darling, Please Take Me Back" (

Stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

) / "Darling, Please Take Me Back" ( Mono) — 1972 Roxbury Records *"You Broke My Face" / "Face to Face" — 1976 (as DiFosco) *"You Broke My Face" / "Face to Face" — 1976 (as Dee Ervin) *"The I Love You Song" / "I Can't Get You Off My Mind" — 1976 (as Dee Ervin) 20th Century Fox (as Dee Erwin) *"The I Love You Song" / "Ship of Love" - 1978

References

External links

The Dead Rock Stars Club websiteBig Dee Irwin discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin, Big Dee 1932 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers Imperial Records artists Roulette Records artists Singers from New York City