Bobby Paris

Blue-eyed soul singer Bobby Paris was born Roberto Pares to a Puerto Rican family and raised in New York City.

He began singing with a neighbourhood doo wop group called The Golden Keys in 1956 and signed with the Indigo label to issue his debut single Rockin’ Concerto in 1960. He followed this a year later with Dark Continent.

Paris moved between independent labels over the next few years, landing with Jolar for Is It You? (1962), Jairick for Are You the One? (1963), and Chattahoochee for Love Passed Me By (1965).

His first and biggest hit was Night Owl (1966), which kept its struggling label Cameo/Parkway financially solvent.

Paris then signed to Capitol, making his label debut with the 1967 ballad I Walked Away.  That same year, he co-produced the Bobbie Gentry country-pop classic Ode to Billie Joe.

His singles Per-So-Nal-Ly and Bye, Bye Blackbird were released in 1968, and after releasing a version of Let the Sun Shine In from Hair in 1969, Paris was silent until 1973, when he issued two final Capitol singles, Baby, Spread Your Love on Me and Love Looks So Good on You.

In the years to follow, Night Owl, I Walked Away and Per-So-Nal-Ly all emerged as enduring anthems of Britain’s Northern Soul club culture, a fact lost on Paris himself until he was contacted in 1999 to appear in the documentary film The Strange World of Northern Soul.

When he performed live at the film’s premiere party, many British fans were surprised to discover he was white.

Bobby Paris was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2009 and died on 24 September of that year.