Johnny Thunder – I’m Alive

	Vol.XIV Ep.055 Wikipedia Lyrics
Info: Gil Hamilton known as Johnny Thunder, is an American R&B and pop singer. Gil Hamilton was born in Leesburg, Florida, and started singing in church and on street corners when in his teens. Aiming to start a singing career in the late 1950s, he moved to New York City, where he joined a touring version of The Drifters for a few months, and also sang in an Apollo Theater production, A Blind Man Sings the Blues. He also recorded as a backing singer for Dionne Warwick. One of his singles recorded in 1962, "Tell Her” was the original version of "Tell Him" which later became an international hit for The Exciters. Hamilton's 1962 Vee Jay single "Move & Groove" was the original version of Johnny O'Keefe's 1963 Australian hit "Move Baby Move. In 1963, Thunder linked up with songwriter and record producer Teddy Vann, who persuaded him to record a novelty version of the traditional children's nursery song "Loop de Loop" (also known as "Looby Lou"), using the name "Johnny Thunder". The record, became a big hit, rising to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1963; it was covered by Frankie Vaughan in the UK. Johnny Thunder released an album, Loop De Loop, and several follow-up singles, of which "Everybody Do The Sloopy" was the most successful, reaching no. 67 in late 1965. In 1967, he had another minor hit as part of a duo with Ruby Winters on "Make Love To Me". In 1969, Thunder released his first single for Calla Records, the "raucous" rock song "I'm Alive", featuring "Verbal Expressions of T.V." as its B-side. Bob Dylan, who had heard Thunder's "I'm Alive" on the radio, was asked by Rolling Stone's Jann Wenner that year if he was impressed by anything in the rock music scene and pointed to the song. Since the 1960s, Thunder has continued to tour internationally, and has regularly appeared on luxury cruise ships in the Caribbean and elsewhere.