The “Golden Hits Of The 50s” 

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LAURIE LONDON

“HE’S GOT THE WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS”

(Traditional)    Capitol 3891

No. 1    April 14, 1958

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A lad (not a lass) named Laurie London was born in London on January 19, 1944.  When a wee one

of 13, Laurie, with a high-pitched voice and no musical training, came to the fore front of pop

consciousness when he auditioned for “London’s Radio Show” and was given the opportunity to record

a Geoff Love adapta­tion of an old gospel song.  When the recording only sold moderately well in his

homeland, Laurie’s tune, with a flash of fluke, inhabited the coveted top spot on the Top 100 for four

weeks.  The disk became the most successful record by a British bloke in the U.S. in the ’50s–that’s

the entire she-bang of a 10 year period.

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Whether it was Laurie’s timing or the infectious feel the recording created–for some–that made

London’s big moment happen, we will never know.

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Oh, the mysteries…  What did become of Michael Rockafeller in New Gunea?  Was that Amlia Earhart’s tube of lipstick that was recently found on some far far away island?

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The flash of fame appeared so colossal that Laurie was allowed to leave school, and his dad, Will,

gave up his sale management job to become the boy’s manager.  In fielding offers for his son’s voice,

Dad may have made a big mistake when he refused to let the 14-year-old travel to the States for a

U.S. tour.

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Neither Laurie nor his label had any idea what made this number so successful.  Laurie went on

to make more pop/gospel recordings–such “Joshua,” “The Gospel Train,” and “I Gotta Robe”–for

his label, and still more for Roulette Records, but nothing the little shaver ever recorded, came

near to even scrapping the deepest bottom of the Billboard’s charts.

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Reports from England are vague, but it is claimed that Laurie went on to a career worklng in the

clothing industry in London.