Kalin Twins

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The Kalin Twins were a pop music recording duo, comprising Herbert and Harold Kalin.

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[edit] The Twins

Hal Kalin - born Harold Kalin, 16 February 1934, Port Jervis, New York — died 23 August 2005, as a result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident.

Herbie Kalin - born Herbert Kalin, 16 February 1934, Port Jervis — died 21 July 2006, of a heart attack.

[edit] One Hit Wonders

The Kalin Twins remain the archetypal one-hit wonders. Their only chart hit - "When" - may have cruelly prophesied the question as to further success. Originally discovered by Clint Ballard Jr, the writer of many hit records such as "Good Timin'" for Jimmy Jones, and "I'm Alive" for The Hollies, the sibling duo had a couple of early recording flops. However, in 1958, after searching through piles of writers' demo tapes, their management discovered the song called "When", written by Paul Evans and Jack Reardon. It topped the UK Singles Chart, got to Number 5 in their U.S. homeland, and sold over two million copies in the process. The track remained in the UK listings for eighteen weeks, five of which were at Number One. They did manage to have a second hit with "Forget Me Not", which peaked at #12 that year.

Harold and Herbert were the first set of twins to reach number one in the UK, followed years later by The Proclaimers. But despite further releases, the pairing could not crack the top ten again.

Herbert was married and had four children, Suzan Lynn, Kelly Lee, Buddy Ladd, and Jonathan Ray.

Eventually, disillusioned with diminishing returns, the brothers returned to their day jobs, with each pursuing college degrees. They did not perform again until 1977, when a mutual friend booked them to appear at his new night club. Sometimes they performed with their younger sibling, Jack, and thus appeared as the Kalin Brothers.

They disappeared again as a performing act, until 1989. Then, their one-time support act, Cliff Richard, invited them to play at his Wembley Stadium 'The Event' concerts, as part of a sequence paying homage to the 1950s TV pop show Oh Boy!.

Harold Kalin was killed in an automobile accident in August 2005, at the age of 71, whilst his slightly younger brother, Herbie, died as a result of a heart attack less than eleven months later.

[edit] Discography

  • "Jumpin' Jack / Walkin' To School" - (1957)
  • "When" - (1958) - UK Number One - U.S. Number Five.
  • "Forget Me Not" - (1958) - U.S. Number Twelve.
  • "Oh! My Goodness" - (1959)
  • "It's Only The Beginning" - (1959)
  • "Sweet Sugar Lips" - (1959)
  • "Sometimes It Comes, Sometimes It Goes" - (1966) - Amy Records.
  • "Silver Seagull" - (1978).
  • "American Eagle" - (1979).

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[edit] References

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