Long before the Beatles put Liverpool on the map with American record buyers, Liverpudlian Russ Hamilton reached the U.S. top ten with "Rainbow". Russ died Saturday (October 11) in Buckley, North Wales at the age of 76.
Born Ronnie Hulme in Liverpool in 1932, he got his start singing at a holiday camp in Clacton-on-Sea and earned a recording contract with Oriole Records in 1957. The A-side, "We Will Make Love", reached #2 in England and earned him a gold record, while the B-side was his only American hit, getting to #4 (on the Kapp label). Though he recorded sixteen follow-ups over the next seven years, his only other British hit was "Wedding Ring" (#20-1957).
Having become disillusioned with the music industry, Russ retired to Wales at that point, though he toured briefly in 1967 and even sang "We Will Make Love" at a performance of "Grease" in 1986. He complained once that he never even got his gold record.
