Johnny Paris
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Johnny Paris (August 29, 1940 – May 1, 2006) is best known as the leader of Johnny and the Hurricanes. He was born John Pocisk in Walbridge, Ohio, he had two top 40 hits in 1959.
Johnny and the Hurricanes was formed in 1957 and signed with Twirl Records in 1959. The band did not have a lead singer with Paris's sax and Paul Tesluk's Hammond organ being the hallmark of their records.
Their first release "Crossfire" was a significant hit reaching #23 in the charts in 1959. Their second single "Red River Rock", a reworking of "Red River Valley" reached #5 in the US charts and was a million seller [1]. They released two singles with a similar sound called "Reveille Rock" and "Beatnik Fly" which failed to achieve the same level of success.
The band developed a strong following in Europe. In 1962, they played a show at the Star Club in Hamburg where a little known British group called The Beatles was a support act. [2] The group continued to record until 1965. By that stage Paris was the only original member remaining . The band continued to tour Europe until his death on May 1, 2006 in Ann Arbor, Michigan
