Rosemary Victoria Yuro (August 4, 1941 – March 30, 2004), known professionally as Timi Yuro, was an American singer. Sometimes called "the little girl with the big voice", According to one critic, "her deep, strident, almost masculine voice, staggered delivery and the occasional sob created a compelling musical presence".
Early years
Yuro was born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 4, 1941, and, despite their opposition, in local nightclubs before catching the eye and ear of talent scout Sonny Knight.
Career
Signed to Liberty Records in 1959, she had a U.S. Billboard No. 4 single in 1961 with "Hurt", an R&B ballad that had been an early success for Roy Hamilton. On both "Hurt" and "What's a Matter Baby", Yuro showed an emotional but elegant vocal style that owed a debt to Washington and other black jazz singers. Many listeners in the early 1960s thought Yuro was black. In 1965 and 1968, she sang at the Sanremo Music Festival, Italy's most popular music contest. However, her career lost its early momentum and she quit the music business altogether after her marriage in 1969. and "What's a Matter Baby". The former has remained an important Northern soul track; the latter was covered by The Small Faces as the B-side of their debut single in 1965 and re-released on Kent Records in the 1980s.
Yuro's 1962 recording of "Satan Never Sleeps" is the theme song that plays over the opening credits of the 1962 film of the same name. It also plays over the closing credits of Penny Lane's 2019 documentary film Hail Satan? and Episode 5 of Season 1 of It: Welcome To Derry.
Discography
Albums
- Hurt!!!!!!! (Liberty Records 7208, 1961)
- Soul (Liberty Records 7212, 1962)
- Let Me Call You Sweetheart (Liberty Records 7234, 1962)
- What's a Matter Baby (Liberty Records 7263, 1963)
- The Best of Timi Yuro (Liberty Records 7286, 1963)
- Make the World Go Away (Liberty Records 7319, 1963)
- The Amazing Timi Yuro (Mercury Records 60963, 1964)
- Timi Yuro (Sunset Records 5107, 1966)
- Something Bad on My Mind (Liberty Records 7594, 1968)
- Live at PJ's (Liberty Records, 1969)
- The Very Best of Timi Yuro (Liberty Records LBR 1034) 1980
- All Alone Am I (Dureco Benelux 77.011, 1981)
- I'm Yours (Arcade, 1982)
- Today (Ariola, 1982)
CD collections
- Hurt! The Best of Timi Yuro (Liberty Records, 1963 /EMI Records, 1992)
- Timi Yuro – 18 Heartbreaking Songs (Intermusic, 1993 – RMB 75061)
- Timi Yuro: The Lost Voice of Soul (RPM Records, 1993 – RPM-117)
- Timi Yuro: The Voice That Got Away (RPM Records, 1996 – RPM-167)
- The Amazing Timi Yuro: The Mercury Years (Spectrum Music – Universal International (UK), 2005 – 982-596-5)
- Timi Yuro: The Complete Liberty Singles (Real Gone Music, 2012 – RGM-0066)
- Timi Yuro: I'm a Star Now Rarities 1956–1982 (RPM RECORDS, 2014 – RPM-955)
- Timi Yuro: Hurt!/Live at PJs (Liberty Bell, 1986 – LST-7208, Italy, 2 lps on 1 cd)
- Timi Yuro: Something Bad on My Mind/The Unreleased Liberty Collection(Morello Records, 2015 – MRLLX-50)
Singles
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Song
! colspan="3"| Chart positions
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="50"| US
! width="50"| US AC
! width="50"| US R&B
|-
| rowspan="5"| 1961
| align="left"| "Hurt"
| 4
| 2
| 22
|-
| align="left"| "I Apologize"
| 72
| 19
| —
|-
| align="left"| "Smile"
| 42
| 9
| —
|-
| align="left"| "She Really Loves You"
| 93
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "I Believe" <small>(with Johnnie Ray)</small>
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="4"| 1962
| align="left"| "Let Me Call You Sweetheart"
| 66
| 15
| —
|-
| align="left"| "I Know (I Love You)"
| —
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "What's a Matter Baby (Is It Hurting You)"
| 12
| —
| 16
|-
| align="left"| "The Love of a Boy"
| 44
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1963
| align="left"| "Insult to Injury"
| 81
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "Make the World Go Away"
| 24
| 8
| —
|-
| align="left"| "Gotta Travel On"
| 64
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="6"| 1964
| align="left"| "Permanently Lonely"
| 130
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "Call Me"
| —
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "A Legend in My Time"
| —
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "I'm Movin' On"
| —
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "If"
| 120
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)"
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="4"| 1965
| align="left"| "You Can Have Him"
| 96
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "I Can't Stop Running Away"
| —
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "Big Mistake"
| —
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "E Poi Verrà L'Autunno / Ti Credo"
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1966
| align="left"| "Once a Day"
| 118
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "Don't Keep Me Lonely Too Long"
| —
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| "Turn the World Around the Other Way"
| —
| 37
| —
|-
| 1967
| align="left"| "Why Not Now"
| —
| —
| —
|-
| 1969
| align="left"| "It'll Never Be Over for Me"
| —
| —
| —
|-
| 1975
| align="left"| "Southern Lady"
| 108
| —
| —
|-
|}