Johnny Preston › Similar Artists

Jimmy Jones - 100% match to Johnny Preston

2 June 1937, Birmingham, Alabama, USA. Some sources state 1942 as his year of birth. Jones, who had spent a long apprenticeship singing in R&B doo-wop groups, became a rock ‘n’ roll star in the early 60s singing ‘Handy Man’ and other hits with a dramatic and piercingly high falsetto. He began his career as a tap dancer, and in 1955 joined a vocal grou Read more

Freddy Cannon - 90% match to Johnny Preston

Freddy Picariello, 4 December 1940, Lynn, Massachusetts, USA. A frantic and enthusiastic vocalist, known as the ‘last rock ‘n’ roll star’, Cannon was the link between wild rock ‘n’ roll and the softer Philadelphia-based sounds that succeeded it. The son of a dance-band leader, he fronted Freddy Karmon And The Hurricanes and played guitar on sess Read more

Mark Dinning - 72% match to Johnny Preston

17 August 1933, Grant County, Oklahoma, USA, d. 22 March 1986. Mark Dinning was the younger brother of Lou, Ginger and Jean, the well-known 40s vocal trio the Dinning Sisters. He learnt to play the electric guitar when he was aged 17, and in 1957 auditioned for publisher Wesley Rose in Nashville, who helped him get a recording contract with MGM Records. Two years later his s Read more

Jimmy Charles - 63% match to Johnny Preston

The Crests - 56% match to Johnny Preston

Formed in New York City, USA, in 1956, the Crests soon became one of the most successful of the ‘integrated’ doo-wop groups of the period, after being discovered by Al Browne. Headed by the lead tenor of Johnny Mastro (Johnny Mastrangelo, 7 May 1930, USA), the rest of the band comprised Harold Torres, Talmadge Gough, J.T. Carter and Patricia Van Dross. By 1957 they Read more

Jack Scott - 54% match to Johnny Preston

Giovanni Dominico Scafone Jnr., 24 January 1936, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. This distinctive, deep-voiced rock ‘n’ roll and ballad singer-songwriter moved to Detroit at the age of 10, and began performing regularly with his sister Linda on the WEXL radio station. After changing his name to Jack Scott, he formed the C&W outfit Southern Drifters in 1954. Playing a Read more

Craig Douglas - 53% match to Johnny Preston

Terence Perkins, 12 August 1941, Newport, Isle Of Wight, England. After moving to London in the mid-50s, Douglas came under the wing of agent Bunny Lewis, appeared on the television show 6.5 Special, and won a record contract with Decca Records before moving to Dick Rowe’s label, Top Rank. Covering American hits was the classic route to chart success, and in 1959 Dougl Read more

Ray Peterson - 50% match to Johnny Preston

23 April 1939, Denton, Texas, USA, d. 25 January 2005, Smyrna, Tennessee, USA. Peterson entertained other patients with his singing during lengthy treatment for polio in the Texas Warm Springs Foundation Hospital. On discharge, he performed in local clubs before moving to Los Angeles where he was spotted by manager Stan Shulman who procured an RCA - Victor Records recording Read more

Johnny Tillotson - 49% match to Johnny Preston

20 April 1939, Jacksonville, Florida, USA. Tillotson’s father was a country music disc jockey and Johnny himself was appearing on local radio from the age of nine. His parents encouraged his talent by giving him first a ukulele and then a guitar, and he was influenced by the singing cowboys (Gene Autry, Roy Rogers) and country singer Hank Williams. He appeared regularly Read more

Adam Faith - 45% match to Johnny Preston

Terence Nelhams, 23 June 1940, Acton, London, England, d. 8 March 2003, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. During the British ‘coffee bar’ pop music phenomenon of the late 50s two artists reigned supreme: Cliff Richard and Adam Faith. While the former has shown astonishing staying power the young Faith had a remarkable run of hit records during the comparative Read more

Bobby Rydell - 43% match to Johnny Preston

Robert Ridarelli, 26 April 1942, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Probably the most musically talented of the late 50s Philadelphia school of clean-cut teen-idols, Rydell first performed in public as a drummer at the age of seven. At nine he debuted on Paul Whiteman’s Teen Club amateur television show and was the show’s regular drummer for three years. He attended Read more

Jimmy Clanton - 43% match to Johnny Preston

2 September 1940, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. Pop vocalist Clanton celebrated his 18th birthday with his co-written debut hit, the R&B ballad ‘Just A Dream’, at number 4 in the US Hot 100. His smooth singing style appealed to the teen market and his subsequent releases were aimed in that direction. These included ‘My Own True Love’, which used the me Read more

Joe Dowell - 43% match to Johnny Preston

23 January 1940, Bloomington, Indiana, USA. Pop singer-songwriter Dowell bought a $10 guitar and wrote his first song ‘Tell Me’ when he was 13 years old. In later years he took part in talent contests and just before his 21st birthday decided to try his luck in Nashville. He signed to Smash Records, and a version of ‘Wooden Heart’ (Muss I Denn) - using ba Read more

Anthony Newley - 42% match to Johnny Preston

George Anthony Newley, 24 September 1931, London, England, d. 14 April 1999, Jensen Beach, Florida, USA. One of the UK’s most highly successful songwriters, actors and singers of the 60s. Born in Hackney, east London, Newley was evacuated to Hertfordshire during World War II. He attended the Italia Conti Stage School in London before working as a child actor in several Read more

Eden Kane - 41% match to Johnny Preston

Richard Sarstedt, 29 March 1940, Delhi, India. When his family returned to England from India during the mid-50s, Kane became involved in music, forming a skiffle group with his brothers. In 1960, he won a talent contest and came under the wing of managers Michael Barclay and Philip Waddilove. They changed his name to Eden Kane, inspired by the movie Citizen Kane and the bib Read more