Dick and Dee Dee
| Company type | Musical duo |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1960 |
| Founder | Richard Gosting (Dick St. John), Mary Sperling (Dee Dee Sperling) |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California , United States |
| Products | Music recordings, live performances |
Dick and Dee Dee (also spelled Dick and Deedee) are a singer-songwriter pair from the United States who rose to fame during the early to mid-1960s. The duo was formed by California classmates Richard Gosting and Mary Sperling, who took on the stage names Dick St. John and Dee Dee Sperling (now known as Dee Dee Phelps). Their breakthrough came in 1961 when their track "The Mountain's High" climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard 100. They toured alongside the Beach Boys and served as the opening act for the Rolling Stones on the Stones' 1964 California tour. Frequently appearing on Shindig!, they enjoyed multiple hits before parting ways in 1969. In the 1980s, St. John performed with his wife, Sandy, until his passing in 2003 due to a fall at home. Since 2008, Dee Dee Phelps has been performing with actor and singer Michael Dunn under the name Dick and Dee Dee, appearing in prominent doo wop and rock and roll events throughout the United States.
Formation
Dick St. John and Dee Dee Sperling first crossed paths as students at Paul Revere Junior High School in Los Angeles, California. Though they attended separate high schools afterward, they reconnected after finishing school. At that time, Sperling was attending college and working at a See's Candy shop, while St. John was seeking employment. Both were singer-songwriters who began collaborating on songwriting and vocal arrangements. The pair did not have a romantic relationship.
Breakthrough with "The Mountain's High"
Their debut single ("I Want Someone" backed by "The Mountain's High") was released on Lama Records, a label established by their producers—the Wilder brothers—and Don Ralke. Their recordings featured four vocal layers, with St. John handling both the highest falsetto and lowest vocal parts, while Dee Dee provided harmonies in the middle range. Without notifying them beforehand, producers changed Mary’s stage name to Dee Dee after the record was released.
"[The Mountain's High]" initially gained popularity in San Francisco before being licensed to Liberty Records for nationwide distribution. The song reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 37 on the UK Singles Chart, selling over one million copies. Following this success, Sperling left college to join St. John on tours throughout America, Europe, and Japan.
Performing with Major Acts
At the start of their career, Dick and Dee Dee performed at various California high schools alongside the then-emerging surf group the Beach Boys. They toured extensively across 49 states, sharing stages with notable artists such as Roy Orbison, the Righteous Brothers, Ike and Tina Turner, Dionne Warwick, the Shirelles, The Dick Clark Caravan of Stars, Paul Revere and the Raiders, the Kingsmen, Patti La Belle, the Crystals, the Drifters, Ben E. King, Jan and Dean, the Miracles, Johnny Tillotson, Jackie Wilson, and Sonny and Cher.
In 1964, they opened for the Rolling Stones during their inaugural California tour. While visiting London that same year, they recorded vocals for three Rolling Stones tracks including "Blue Turns to Grey" and "Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind", both penned by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. As revealed by Dee Dee Phelps in a 2006 BBC Radio interview, their vocal tracks were overdubbed onto Rolling Stones instrumentals after removing Jagger’s original vocals. These recordings were officially released through Warner Bros. Records, largely influenced by manager Andrew Loog Oldham’s role.
Subsequent singles
The pair released eight additional singles that entered the charts, with five of these making it into the Top 30. Among their significant tracks were "Tell Me" (1962), "Young and in Love" (1963), "Turn Around" (1964) — a composition by Malvina Reynolds also recorded by Harry Belafonte — and "Thou Shalt Not Steal" (their second most successful single, peaking at No. 13 in 1965, notable for its distinctive picture sleeve advertising Triumph Motorcycles). They also appeared performing "Bupkiss" on The Dick Van Dyke Show. Following the success of "Thou Shalt Not Steal," they continued to be featured regularly on Jack Good's television program Shindig!.
Breakup and reunions
In 1965, Dee Dee wed the duo's manager, Bill Lee, who later became an executive producer at Dick Clark Productions; they had one son together. By 1969, St. John and Sperling had ended their partnership. Dick St. John pursued songwriting further, including co-writing "Yellow Balloon" for the band bearing the same name. After her divorce in the early 1970s, Dee Dee married Kane Phelps, relocated to Big Sur for approximately ten years, raised two additional children, and eventually moved back to Los Angeles during the 1980s; as of 2011, they remained married.
During the 1980s, St. John revived the act Dick and Dee Dee alongside his wife Sandy. Together they authored The Rock and Roll Cookbook in 1993, which compiled recipes contributed by various rock musicians. St. John passed away in 2003 at age 63 due to injuries sustained from falling off his roof.
Dick & Dee Dee receive multiple mentions in the 1980 film One-Trick Pony, written by and starring Paul Simon.
Dick and Dee Dee in recent years
In 2006, Dee Dee Phelps released her memoir titled Vinyl Highway: Singing as Dick and Dee Dee in the Sixties. Two years later, in 2008, she partnered with actor and vocalist Michael Dunn to bring classic Dick and Dee Dee songs back to the stage.
Michael Dunn received training at the Juilliard School and built a substantial theatrical career in Chicago. As a lyricist, he collaborated with producer and composer Jim Price in Nashville over several years. Dunn provided lead vocals as John Lennon on Dan Castellaneta’s Beatles tribute album Two Lips: The Lost Album (1998) and has performed a solo Charles Dickens theatrical production for audiences in Los Angeles for more than ten years.
Albums
| Year | Album | Record label |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Tell Me – The Mountain's High | Liberty Records |
| 1963 | Young and in Love | Warner Bros. Records |
| 1964 | Turn Around | |
| 1965 | Thou Shalt Not Steal | |
| 1966 | Songs We've Sung on Shindig | |
| 1995 | The Best of Dick and Dee Dee | Varèse Vintage |
Singles
| Year | Title | Highest chart positions | Record Label | B-side | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | AC | CAN (CHUM / RPM) |
UK | |||||
| 1961 | "The Mountain's High" | 2 | – | – | 37 | Liberty Records | "I Want Someone" | Tell Me – The Mountain's High |
| "Goodbye to Love" | – | – | – | – | "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" | |||
| 1962 | "Tell Me" | 22 | – | – | – | "Will You Always Love Me" | ||
| "Life's Just a Play" | – | – | – | – | "All I Want" | |||
| "The River Took My Baby" | – | – | – | – | "My Lonely Self" | |||
| 1963 | "Young and in Love" | 17 | 6 | – | – | Warner Bros. Records | "Say to Me" | Young and in Love |
| "Love Is a Once in a Lifetime Thing" | "103" | "–" | "–" | "–" | "Chug-A-Chug-A Choo Choo" | |||
Television and Film Appearances
- Television
- Film
- Wild Wild Winter (1966) – featured performing "Heartbeats," marking their only cinematic role