Deep Purple by Nino Tempo and April Stevens

Peter DeRose wrote “Deep Purple” as a piano composition in the 1930s. It became very popular, and Mitchell Parish added lyrics a few years later. In 1963, this version by siblings Nino Tempo and April Stevens went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won the Grammy Award for Best Rock and Roll Record. The way April Stevens speaks the lyrics adds to the feeling of a love now gone. The record sold more than one million copies and earned them an RIAA gold record. Nino Tempo was born Antonino LoTiempo, in Niagara Falls, New York. He is a musician, singer, and actor. Tempo is known for his jazz clarinet and tenor saxophone playing. He has appeared in the films The Red Pony, The Glenn Miller Story, and Operation Petticoat. He was worked with Maynard Ferguson, the Modern Jazz Quarter, and as a member of The Wrecking Crew session musicians for Phil Spector. April Stevens was born Carol LoTiempo, in Niagara Falls, New York, and started recording when she was just a teenager. At 15, she recorded Cole Porter's "I'm in Love Again" with the Henri René Orchestra, which went to #6 on the U.S. Pop Chart. She also had success with "Whispering," "All Strung Out," "The Coldest Night of the Year," and "Wanting You." Here are the lyrics: "Oh oh oh whoah oh uh whoah oh oh When the deep purple falls over sleepy garden walls And the stars begin to twinkle in the night In the mist of a memory, you wander on back to me Breathing my name with a sigh-igh-yigh In the still of the night once again I hold you tight Though you're gone, your love lives on when moonlight beams And as long as my heart will beat, sweet lover, we'll always meet Here in my deep purple dreams When the deep purple falls over sleepy garden walls And the stars begin to twinkle in the night In the mist of a memory, you wander back to me Breathing my name with a sigh-igh-yigh In the still of the night once again I hold you tight Though you're gone, your love lives on when moonlight beams And as long as my heart will beat, sweet lover, we'll always meet Here in my deep purple dreams And as long as my heart will beat, sweet lover, we'll always meet Here in my deep purple dreams" For more golden oldies, please visit the Daily Doo Wop at: http://dailydoowop.com/recroom/

Added 24 May 2026