Terry Black was a Canadian pop singer and teen idol

Teen idol

A teen idol is a celebrity who is widely idolized by teenagers; he or she is often young but not necessarily teenaged. Often teen idols are actors or pop singers, but some sports figures have an appeal to teenagers. Some teen idols began their careers as child actors...

, born in Vancouver, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

.

Career

Black's debut U.S. single, "Unless You Care", was released in 1964, when Black was 15. The song was written and produced by P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri

Steve Barri

Steve Barri is an American songwriter and record producer.Early in his career Barri was a staff writer with Dunhill Records. He frequently collaborated with P.F. Sloan, and the partners were responsible for the success of The Grass Roots and contributed largely to the band's first album...

 and featured backing from Glen Campbell

Glen Campbell

Glen Travis Campbell is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.During his 50 years in show...

 and Leon Russell

Leon Russell

Claude Russell Bridges , known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music....

, who were at that time studio musicians. The song was a major hit in Canada and also cracked the U.S. Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

, and Black was awarded the "Male Vocalist of the Year" award at the Maple Music Awards in 1965.

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. He released a Sloan-Barri produced album, Only Sixteen in 1965, on the Canadian ARC Records label. 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. However, a hoped-for film career failed to materialize, and Black returned to Canada.

In 1969, Black joined the cast for the Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 production of Hair!. 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.).". He also performed, alongside Ward, with Dr. Music

Dr. Music

Dr. Music was a Toronto jazz group founded in 1969 by producer, arranger and performer Doug Riley. The band recorded three albums and toured across Canada. The personnel of the band changed throughout its history, with Doug Riley remaining at the core of the group.- History :In 1969, Doug Riley...

, including the 1972 Canadian hit "Sun Goes By". In 1979, Black performed the song "Moondust" on the soundtrack for the movie Meatballs.

In the 2000s, Black hosted an oldies

Oldies

Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....

 radio show in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. He suffered from multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...

 late in life and died as a result of the condition on June 28, 2009 in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.

Solo

• Only Sixteen (1965)
• The Black Plague (1966)
• Meatballs (1979) (2 songs)

Solo

• "Sinner Man" (1964)
• "Unless You Care"/"Can't We Go Somewhere?" (1964)
• "Say It Again"/"Everyone Can Tell" (1964)
• "Little Liar"/"Ordinary Girl" (1965)
• "Only Sixteen" (1965)
• "Kisses For My Baby" (1965)
• "Rainbow" (1966)
• "I (Who Have Nothing)"/"Baby's Gone" (1966)
• "Baby's Gone"/"Ordinary Girl [Version 2]" (1966)
• "Wishing Star" (1967)
• "Ridin' a Daydream" (1972)

with Laurel Ward

• "Goin' Down (On the Road to L.A.)" (1972)
• "Warm Days And Warm Nights" (1972)
• "Love Is The Feeling" (1973)
• "Back Up (Against Your Persuasion)" (1975)
• "Long Time" (1976)
• "Waves of Emotion" (1982)

with Dr. Music

• "Try a Little Harder" (1972)
• "Sun Goes By" (1972)
• "One More Mountain to Climb" (1972)