Earl Grant

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Earl Grant (January 20, 1931 - June 11, 1970) was an American easy listening pianist, Hammond organist, and vocalist popular in the 1950s and 60's

Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Grant was gifted with keyboard skills and a fine singing voice. Other instruments he was skilled at playing were trumpet, drums and Hammond organ. Grant attended four music schools, then became a music teacher, augmenting his income by performing in clubs during his army service, stationed in Texas. Before long, Grant signed with Decca Records in 1958 and his first single "The End" reached number 7 on the music charts. Ebb Tide, released in 1961, was his first album, which also rose to number 7 on the charts. He recorded five more singles that made the charts, including "Swingin' Gently" (from Ebb Tide), and six additional albums (mostly on the Decca Records label) through 1968. He also recorded the album Yes Sirree and the instrumental album Trade Winds, single-tracked on the Hammond organ and piano, featuring the love theme from the film El Cid and Chaplin's "Eternally". This album features some very realistic "tropical bird calls" done on the organ. "The House of Bamboo" was a famous single cut.

Grant also made a few appearances in film and television, including Tender Is the Night (1962), Juke Box Rhythm (1959), and The Ed Sullivan Show (1961).

He died instantly in a car accident in Lordsburg, New Mexico, at the age of 39.

Selected Discography