Bobby Paris - I Walked Away
Night Owl 1966 (original by The Dukays – 1963)
I Walked Away (1967)
Per-son-ally (1968)
Bobby Paris was a Puerto Rican American who recorded a version of Night Owl, originally sang by the Dukays . I Walked Away was a record that fitted firmly into the Northern Soul category.
He started his career in a Doo Wop group, The Fantastic Secrets. A little known fact about Bobby Paris is that he became a record producer and was responsible for a massive hit in the seventies Ode To Billie Joe by Bobbie Gentry. I remember being asked for a tie breaker question on for a quiz on a cruise up the river Nile in Egypt way back in 2011. The losing team said Billie Joe Spears…close but no cigar!!
Bobby Paris can be seen re-doing his more famous tracks live on the DVD collection: The Strange World Of Northern Soul:
The Strange World of Northern Soul - Part 1
‘Here comes the night owl…’ sort of had links with the nocturnal habits of the Twisted Wheel goers – and later took up as an anthem at Wigan Casino, hence the Night Owl badges etc.
Kev Roberts puts Night Owl by Bobby Paris at 54 on his all time Top 500 Northern Soul records and I Walked Away at 94. And another entry at 365 with Per-son-ally.
UK release first on Polydor then UK Tetragrammaton.