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Dave "Baby" Cortez

 


Dave Baby Cortez | Discogs | tc009

David Cortez Clowney was born in Detroit, Michighan, on August 13, 1938. His recording career started in 1956, singing with The Pearls and The Valentines, but it was his 1959 recording “The Happy Organ” which made history, becoming the first instrumental to make number one on America’s pop charts. Gary Hammond played drums and Jimmy Spruill played guitar on the recording. Clowney then signed with Chess records and his 1962 recording “Rinky Dink” became well known, being used as a signature tune used widely in television and radio. Clowney’s last recording was issued in 2011. His Chess masters are understood to have been destroyed in the 2009 Universal warehouse fire.

After living a mainly reclusive life outside the music business, David Clowney died at his home in New York on 31 May 2022. His sister was only informed of his death when she was contacted by the royalties organisation BMI. His death was announced to the public in 2025.

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