Whatever Happened to Andrea Carroll?

Heard yesterday on luxuriamusic.com.

Ratta-tang, ratta-tang, du-tang, du-tang, 
ratta-tang, ratta-tang....



This pleasant little ditty peaked at #45 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the late summer of 1963.

Andrea Carroll – Pop Princess to P.H.D.  (Tunedex Memories, 3/8/2008)

Now (as of 2008) and then.   Andrea Hill. PhD. is an accomplished psychotherapist, actress, singer and acting coach living in Los Angeles. She has combined her experience into a delightful book of advice and information directed to those who are in or around the creative world of entertainment. 

The entertainment world is familiar to Andrea. As a child, she was well known to Cleveland television audiences as Andrea Carroll where she was a regular on the long running “Gene Carroll” Show. Later she played a singer on the daytime serial “Somerset”. In the sixties she signed a recording contract with Epic Records and later Big Top, RCA, and United Artists. She had eight local hits, including “Please Don’t Talk To The Lifeguard” which hit NUMBER ONE on the WHK Fabulous Fifty Tunedex. At only sixteen, with backing vocals by the Chiffons, Andrea hit the Hot 100 in 1963 with “Why Am I So Shy”  'It Hurts to be Sixteen".. During that time of her life, she had the exceptional experience of touring nationally with such stars as Elvis Presley, Stevie Wonder and Bob Hope.

Retiring Guy wonders, "Where's the attribution, Chuck?"

Radio then and now.  (Tunedex Memories, 1/5/2008)

Before the days of homogenization.  Our station is named Tunedex Memories, in honor of my favorite station, WHK. I recently added a video to the blog of “Please Don’t Talk To The Lifeguard” by Laurel Lee from Australia. I actually prefer this version to the one that charted Nationally by Diane Ray. But of course, everyone in Cleveland remembers that song hitting number ONE on the WHK Fabulous Fifty Tunedex by local TV personality Andrea Carroll. Since her version did NOT hit the Hot 100 or even “bubble under” many of you reading this have probably never heard her version. But back then in Cleveland, thanks to WHK (now a conservative talk radio station}, it was a HUGE hit. That was the power local radio once had.

During the summer of 1963, I listened primarily to WKBW (AM 1520) and WGR (AM 550), both clear-channel powerhouses from Buffalo.  Although just 190 miles separates Buffalo and Cleveland, I don't recall Andrea Carroll having any impact on either these 2 Buffalo stations.  Her song, "It Hurts to be 16", has a vague familiarity, as if it's a song I should have heard at the time but never did.

Here's another example of the power of local radio (personalities).  WKBW deejays Dan Neaverth and Joey Reynolds had big hits locally with these 2 novelty tunes.