Terry Black (February 3, 1949 – June 28, 2009) was a Canadian pop singer and teen idol, born in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Black's debut U.S. single, "Unless You Care", was released in 1964, when Black was 15.[1] The song was written and produced by P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri and featured backing from Glen Campbell and Leon Russell, who were at that time studio musicians.[2] The song was a major hit in Canada and also cracked the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and Black was awarded the "Male Vocalist of the Year" award at the Maple Music Awards in 1965.[2]
Black had several further singles through 1966, such as the Sloan-Barri tunes "Kisses for My Baby" and "Say It Again", Sam Cooke's "Only Sixteen", and "Baby's Gone" (written by Graham Bonney and Barry Mason), all of which were produced by Sloan and Barri.[3] He released a Sloan-Barri produced album, Only 16 in 1965, on the Canadian ARC Records label.[3] Black then moved to the U.S., and his remaining unreleased tracks (plus some alternate versions of released songs) were assembled into another Sloan-Barri produced album, The Black Plague, in 1966.[3]
Under the name "Terence" he released the album An Eye for An Ear by Decca Records in the U.S. and Canada in 1969. The album was also released with a different cover by MCA Records in Germany. A hoped-for film career failed to materialize, and Black returned to Canada.[4]
Black also joined the cast for the Toronto production of Hair in 1969. He married a member of the cast, Laurel Ward, in 1970, and from 1972 to 1982 the pair released several singles together as Black and Ward, such as the minor hit "Goin' Down (On the Road to L.A.)", peaking at No. 57, 2/12/72.[3][4][5] He also performed, alongside Ward, with Dr. Music, including the 1972 Canadian hit "Sun Goes By".[4] In 1979, Black performed the song "Moondust" on the soundtrack for the movie Meatballs. Black and Ward divorced in 1993.
In the 2000s, Black hosted an oldies radio show in British Columbia.[4] He had multiple sclerosis late in life and died as a result of the condition on June 28, 2009, in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.[2]
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