Eddie Sullivan (classic Sullivans) Interview

[boba]

Today on my radio show I interviewed Eddie Sullivan. Eddie originally came from Altgeld Gardens, the housing projects just south of Chicago, and was inspired to sing by other local Gardens groups such as the De'bonairs. When he was only 13 years old, Eddie recorded as the lead of the Four Gents, who recorded one single on the Park label. A few years later, Eddie recorded another record as a member of the Desideros, a group which featured several future members of the Chilites. In the late-60s, Eddie became a songwriter for Clarence Johnson and Ric Williams, writing songs for many Chicago female artists. One of the first songs he wrote was Dianne Cunningham's first record, "Someday Baby", which became a local Chicago hit. Eddie wrote Candace Love's national hit "Uh Uh Boy That's a No No" (later covered by Barbara Lewis). He also wrote tracks for Sunday Williams, the Lovelites, Denice Chandler (later Denice Williams) as well as for more obscure local artists such as Donny Mann.

In the late 60s Eddie and his two sisters formed the Classic Sullivans, with the intent of creating an upscale nightclub act. Soon after they started performing, the group recorded their local hit "Shame, Shame, Shame" for Clarence Johnson's Master Key label. With the aid of Marshall Thompson of the Chilites, the group then signed to Kwanza records (a division of Warner Brothers). Their first record on the label, "Paint yourself in a corner", an excellent impressions-styled uptempo cut, became a big hit in Chicago. The ballad flipside, "I don't want to lose you", got play in other cities and actually charted nationally on the Billboard R&B charts. Their excellent followup record, "A ring don't mean a thing without love" received little promotion and the group broke up a few years later. In the 80s, Eddie produced the local Chicago Music Awards and in the 90s formed a new Sullivans group with his wife Liz and two other members. You can check out my interview at the bottom of my interviews webpage:

https://www.sittinginthepark.com/interviews.html

thanks,

Bob

[boba]

Today on my radio show I interviewed Eddie Sullivan. Eddie originally came from Altgeld Gardens, the housing projects just south of Chicago, and was inspired to sing by other local Gardens groups such as the De'bonairs. When he was only 13 years old, Eddie recorded as the lead of the Four Gents, who recorded one single on the Park label. A few years later, Eddie recorded another record as a member of the Desideros, a group which featured several future members of the Chilites. In the late-60s, Eddie became a songwriter for Clarence Johnson and Ric Williams, writing songs for many Chicago female artists. One of the first songs he wrote was Dianne Cunningham's first record, "Someday Baby", which became a local Chicago hit. Eddie wrote Candace Love's national hit "Uh Uh Boy That's a No No" (later covered by Barbara Lewis). He also wrote tracks for Sunday Williams, the Lovelites, Denice Chandler (later Denice Williams) as well as for more obscure local artists such as Donny Mann.

In the late 60s Eddie and his two sisters formed the Classic Sullivans, with the intent of creating an upscale nightclub act. Soon after they started performing, the group recorded their local hit "Shame, Shame, Shame" for Clarence Johnson's Master Key label. With the aid of Marshall Thompson of the Chilites, the group then signed to Kwanza records (a division of Warner Brothers). Their first record on the label, "Paint yourself in a corner", an excellent impressions-styled uptempo cut, became a big hit in Chicago. The ballad flipside, "I don't want to lose you", got play in other cities and actually charted nationally on the Billboard R&B charts. Their excellent followup record, "A ring don't mean a thing without love" received little promotion and the group broke up a few years later. In the 80s, Eddie produced the local Chicago Music Awards and in the 90s formed a new Sullivans group with his wife Liz and two other members. You can check out my interview at the bottom of my interviews webpage:

https://www.sittinginthepark.com/interviews.html

thanks,

Bob

Hi. Apparently I had a typo in the interview link. If you tried before, please refresh the page to get the corrected link. Sorry about this. Thanks.