Ulysses B. "Bobby" Nunn Sr. (September 20, 1925 – November 5, 1986) was an American R&B singer with the musical groups The Robins and original bass vocalist of

The Coasters The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. With hits including "Searchin'", "Young Blood (The Coasters song), Young Blood", "Charlie Brown (The Coasters song), Charlie Bro ...

. He was born in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, United States, and died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

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, U.S.

Biography

Nunn was a

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

champion in the U.S. Air Force. After his discharge in 1947 he moved to Watts, California. He became a member of the A-Sharp Trio with Billy Richards, Roy Richards, and Ty Terrell, and they eventually became The Robins. Nunn would record some duets with Little Esther as well as some

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity * Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character * Napoleon Solo, fr ...

recordings in the early 1950s. In 1952 he recorded for Sage & Sand Records with Bobby Byrd and Ty Terrell. Bobby Byrd is better known as Bobby Day of " Rockin' Robin" fame. In 1955, Nunn and Carl Gardner split from The Robins to become

with Leon Hughes and Billy Guy. After leaving The Coasters, he teamed with another former Coaster Leon Hughes to record as The Dukes in 1959. Two singles were released "Looking For You" b/w "Groceries, Sir" (Flip #343), and "I Love You" b/w "Leap Year Cha Cha" (Flip #344). Nunn recorded

backup In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "wikt:back ...

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

with a vocal group for Dorsey Burnette on Imperial Records. These two songs "Try" and "You Came As A Miracle" were recorded on August 28, 1958, and were released as a single (Imperial #5561) in March 1959. In 1965, Nunn arranged the

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

"Whip It On Me Baby" by The O'Jays on Imperial Records. This song was earlier recorded by fellow Coaster Billy Guy on Double-L Records in 1963. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Nunn had his own group of Coasters called "The Coasters Mark II" with members Grady Chapman, Bobby Sheen, and Billy Richards Jr. (who is nephew to Billy Richards). Nunn also appeared on a record by "The Coasters Two Plus Two" in 1975 called "Searchin '75" b/w "Young Blood" (released on Chelan Records and produced by Bumps Blackwell). The other members of this group included Leon Hughes, Grady Chapman, and Jerome Evans. In 1985, Nunn's group of The Coasters had appeared on the NBC variety show "Our Time" hosted by Karen Valentine, " Fabian's Good Time Rock 'N' Roll" oldies special, and a Churches Chicken commercial (which included members Nunn, Sheen, Richards, and Sonny Chaney). After Nunn's death in 1986, Bobby Sheen and Billy Richards Jr. continued to tour with Nunn's group of

. Nunn is interred at the Evergreen Cemetery, Los Angeles. (Another Bobby Nunn recorded for Motown Records in 1982. He is no relation to this Bobby Nunn.)

Discography

Singles

*"Why Did You Leave Me Baby?" / "Alone About Midnight" (Hamptone International #605) (1/1950) *"Bring Your Lovin’ Back To Me" / "I Got A Country Gal" (Blue #105) (1950) (as Billy Nunn) *"Anticipating Blues" / "Hard Luck Women & Strife" ( B-side by Big Duke with Pete Johnson All-Stars) ( Dootone #302) (1950) *"Clappin’ And Shoutin’" / " I'm Tellin’ You Baby" (Blue #115) (1951) (as Billy Nunn) *"Christmas Bells" / "Two Sisters" (B-side

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

by Que Martin) (

Recorded In Hollywood Recorded In Hollywood was an independent American record label specializing in rhythm and blues, active from the late 1940s to the end of the 1950s, which issued several sides by artists significant to the genre. John Dolphin (music producer), Joh ...

#244) (1951) *"Saturday Night Daddy" / "Mainliner" (B-side by Little Esther) (Federal #12100) (1952) (Bobby Nunn & Little Esther) *"You Took My Love Too Fast" / "Streetlights (B-side by Little Esther) (Federal #12122) (1952) (Bobby Nunn & Little Esther) *"Please Don’t Hurt Me" / "Delicious Are Your Kisses" (Sage & Sand #203) (1952) (with Bobby Byrd & Ty Terrell) *"Candle Of Love" / "Peanut Brittle" (Sage & Sand #204) (1952) (with Bobby Byrd & Ty Terrell) *"Like" / "Henrietta" (Titan #1703) (1960) ("Henrietta" with Ginny Tyler) *"Sixty Minute Man Is Back"/"Been Thinking It Over" (Tishman 714)(????)

Various artists compilations

*''Blues For Dootsie: The Blue And Dootone Sides'' (Ace #1115) (2006) *''Rhythm And Blues Christmas'' (Ace #1128) (2006) *''From The Doo Wop Vaults Of Titan Records'' (TRCD #1700)

Notes

External links

The Coasters website Find A Grave Memorial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nunn, Bobby 1925 births 1986 deaths American rhythm and blues singers The Coasters members Boxers from Alabama Singers from Birmingham, Alabama Burials at Evergreen Cemetery, Los Angeles 20th-century American singers American male boxers 20th-century American male singers Recorded In Hollywood artists Welterweight boxers 20th-century American sportsmen