James Darren

• Genre: Brill Building Pop
• Hometown: Philadelphia

About

James Darren was a small screen teen heart throb during the Gidget era who subsequently spun off into a recording career. His music was originally aimed at impressionable nymphets, but it holds up as fun semi-rock 'n' roll. The talented Darren's done it all, from being a star during his early-1960s Brill Building phase, to supporting roles on bad taste classics such as T.J. Hooker. His career is on track once again, and when not starring in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, he sings standards in a voice that sounds like an older Jack Jones with phrasing a la Tony Bennett. Oddly enough, while Darren and Jones both had hit singles with "Lollipops and Roses" all those years ago, much of his repertoire, such as "Here's to the Losers" and "Come Fly With Me," is associated solely with Sinatra.

- Nick Dedina