Bertie Higgins

Elbert Joseph "Bertie" Higgins (born December 8, 1944,^[1] Tarpon Springs, Florida) is an American singer-songwriter.^[2] In 1982, he had his only Top 40 album with Just Another Day in Paradise. It spawned the Top 10 romantic ballad Key Largo, which referenced the Humphrey Bogart movie of the same name and reached #8 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 record chart and #1 in the adult contemporary charts. In 2009, the song was #75 on VH1's Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 80's.

Career

Higgins, who is of Portuguese, Irish and German descent and once supported himself as a sponge diver, began his career in show business at the age of twelve as a ventriloquist. He won prizes in local talent contests and became a favorite at school assemblies around Tampa Bay.

Higgins' first band played proms, homecoming dances, and sock hops. After graduating Tarpon Springs High School, Higgins enrolled in St. Petersburg Junior College to study journalism and fine art. He eventually left college and became a drummer for the Tommy Roe band and The Roemans, and played alongside such groups as The Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys.

Tiring of the rigors of the road and yearning to make his own musical statement, Higgins left The Roemans and returned home to Florida. He put down his drumsticks, picked up a guitar and began crafting music and lyrics. Music producers such as Bob Crewe, Phil Gernhard, and Felton Jarvis took an interest in him and contributed to the growth of the young songwriter. Higgins' talent flourished and he was in demand to play venues throughout the state. During this period, he also met and became a protégé of actor/director Burt Reynolds, who saw Higgins' writing potential and tutored him in screenwriting.

In 1980, Higgins moved to Atlanta and met record producer Sonny Limbo. He arranged a meeting between Higgins and music publisher Bill Lowery, whom Higgins had known through Tommy Roe.

Higgins had been working on a song about a failed romance. He presented the rough cut to Lowery and Limbo. They helped him perfect the lyrics of the song that became Key Largo. Higgins recorded the master and presented it to Kat Family records, a newly formed CBS/Sony distributing company. After an initial rejection, Kat Family agreed to release the single. Key Largo eventually landed in the Top Ten in the United States. Other singles followed such as Just Another Day in Paradise, Casablanca, and Pirates and Poets, but none matched the success of Key Largo.

For the past several years, Higgins and his band have toured extensively around the globe. He was displayed in the now defunct Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon. Besides being a performer, songwriter and vocalist, he is an accomplished screenwriter/novelist and actor. Higgins has owned a successful restaurant in the Florida Keys and has written music for David Letterman, Burt Reynolds, Nancy Wilson, and many others. He has made numerous TV talk show and music variety show appearances around the world. In 2012, following a successful tour of Mainland China, he performed alongside Michael Bolton on two television shows from Beijing including the New Year’s gala. The performances were viewed by an audience of over a billion people worldwide. His numerous appearances on Chinese television and personal appearances have made him a major star in that country. Higgins continues to tour on a regular basis in the Pacific Rim and domestically. In 2014, he released two number one singles in the UK, Europe and Australia.

Higgins has served on the Board of Governors of the Atlanta Chapter of the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for several years. Besides maintaining a rigorous schedule of one-nighters, he also makes regular appearances on the Las Vegas strip.

In recent years, Higgins has moved into film production with his sons Julian and Aaron, producing Beast Beneath (distributed by Entertainment One), 2009's Poker Run(also distributed by Entertainment One), 2012's The Colombian Connection, starring Tom Sizemore and "Christmas in Hollywood". He is currently working on a docudrama about the creation of Rock and Roll from the original bass player of Bill Haley and the Comets, Marshall Lytle's, book.

Higgins supports several national charitable organizations such as Hospice, The American Cancer Society, and The Boys and Girls Clubs of America. He regularly participates in national golf tournaments for charity and supports The Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary based in Florida who's primary mission is saving wounded seabirds.

In 2014, Higgins completed his eighteenth CD entitled, “Cowboys of the Caribbean” distributed by Toucan Cove/Universal Music, which contains a new version of his biggest hit.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

• Official home page
• Key Largo video on YouTube