Johnny Rebb - Think Me A Kiss (1960)

(Ray Stanley)
 Australia
#10 Sydney #22 Brisbane #10 Adelaide | #21 Australia

Single on CBS Coronet October 1960 by Sydney singer whose assured covers of rock’n’roll tracks stood up well beside the originals.

Johnny Rebb (Donald Delbridge, 1939-2014), known as The Gentleman of Rock’n’Roll, was signed by EMI for one single on Columbia in 1958 before joining Sydney entrepreneur Lee Gordon’s Leedon and Lee Gordon labels. Noelene / Hey Sheriff was his first Leedon single, released at the end of 1958, and gave him his first charting single early in 1959. He became a regular on Johnny O’Keefe’s Six O’Clock Rock, even filling in as host in JO’K’s absence.

Johnny Rebb’s earliest singles were released as Johnny Rebb & His Rebels: see, for example, Hey Sheriff (1958). He later sang with surf instrumental band The Atlantics, for example on their charting single I Put A Spell On You (1966).

Johnny Rebb had been retired from the music business for many years when he died in July 2014.

Disambiguation: This is not the Johnny Rebb who released at least one single on New Orleans label Flame in 1959.

Further reading: 1. Johnny Rebb obituary at Sydney Morning Herald. 2. Johnny Rebb by Ken Sparkes at Juke Box Saturday Night’s Rock and Roll Heaven.