Steve Alaimo

Steve Alaimo recorded several albums in the early '60s, but is best remembered for hosting and co-producing Dick Clark's Where the Action Is TV show later that decade. A native of Rochester, NY, Alaimo was studying at the University of Miami when he formed the Redcoats, who scored a local hit with "I Want You to Love Me." He signed to the Checker label as a solo act early in the '60s and released two unsuccessful albums, Twist with Steve Alaimo and Mashed Potatoes. Alaimo had grazed the Top 100 in March 1962 with the title track to the latter album, but gained his greatest chart success the following year, when "Everyday I Have to Cry Some" peaked at number 46. He recorded seven more charting singles and several albums, but moved into production by the mid-'60s; he recorded acts such as Sam & Dave and Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes at TK Records, the label he co-owned with Henry Stone. By the 1970s, TK moved from soul/R&B into disco, recording KC & the Sunshine Band and the first 12" with gold-selling distinction, Peter Brown's 1977 single "Do You Wanna Get Funky with Me." In 1987, Steve Alaimo founded the Vision label with Ron and Howard Albert to record Stephen Stills, Jimmy Cliff, and Inner Circle, among others. He also appeared in several adventure films in the early '70s, including Wild Rebels (1971), Alligator Alley (1972), and Stanley (1972). ~ John Bush