Although Lawrence and Gormé were best known as a team, both also had huge solo hits just months apart in the early 1960s.
Dionne Warwick, a longtime friend, said in a statement that Lawrence was “resting with comfort in the arms of the Heavenly Father. My heartfelt condolences go out.” Carol Burnett, in a statement, called Lawrence one of her favorite guests on her variety show. “He was also my very close friend,” she said. “He will always be in my heart.”
Lawrence scored first in 1962 with the achingly romantic ballad “Go Away Little Girl,” written by the Brill Building songwriting team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King. Gormé matched his success the following year with “Blame It on the Bossa Nova,” a bouncy tune about a dance craze of the time that was written by Brill hitmakers Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil.
By the 1970s, Lawrence and his wife were a top draw in Las Vegas casinos and nightclubs across the country. They also appeared regularly on television, making specials and guesting on various shows.
In the 1980s, when Vegas cut down on headline acts and nightclubs became scarcer, the pair switched to auditoriums and drew large audiences.
“People come with a general idea of what they’re going to get with us,” Lawrence said in 1989. “It’s like a product. They buy a certain cereal and they know what to expect from that package.”
Lawrence launched his professional singing career at age 15. After two failed auditions for “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts” TV show, he was accepted on the third try, going on to win the competition and the prize of appearing on Godfrey’s popular daytime radio show for a week.
King Records, impressed by the teenager’s strong, two-octave voice, signed him to a contract. His first record, “Poinciana,” sold more than 100,000 copies, and his high school allowed him to skip classes to promote it with out-of-town singing dates.
After several guest appearances on Steve Allen’s television show, Lawrence…
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