Dodie Stevens (born Geraldine Ann Pasquale, February 17, 1946) is an American rock and pop singer. She is best known for her 1959 song "Pink Shoe Laces." It debuted at #96 on the Billboard Hot 100 when Stevens was one day short of 13 years old, and eventually
Stevens was born in Chicago, Illinois. She and her family moved to the San Gabriel Valley in California when she was three. She soon started taking singing and dancing lessons. In 1954, at the age of eight, she recorded her first song, "Merry-Go Merry-Go Round." The song was performed on the Art Linkletter's House Party TV show and was issued on Gold Star Records under the name Geri Pace.
The president of Crystalette Records, Carl Burns, happened to see her in a local show called Strictly Informal. He gave her the name Dodie Stevens and the song "Pink Shoe Laces". Although Stevens did not initially like her new name or the song, she recorded "Pink Shoe Laces" in 1959 for the Crystalette label (which was picked up by Dot for National distribution).
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The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It sold more than one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Following the song’s success, Dot Records signed her to a recording contract. Her first Dot recording was "Mairzy Doats" in 1959.
In the early 1960s, she had several minor hit singles on Dot including "No" and "Yes I'm Lonesome Tonight" , as well as "Merry, Merry Christmas Baby" (M. Sylvia / G. Lopez) , which continues to enjoy airplay during the Christmas season. Dot also released Dodie's cover of the Patsy Cline hit "I Fall to Pieces" in 1961, and a remake of "Pink Shoe Laces" in 1962. She also recorded three non-charting albums for the label: Dodie Stevens (1959). Over the Rainbow (1960) and Pink Shoe Laces (1963)
Stevens appeared in the following films:Hound-Dog Man (1959) as Nita Stringer; Alakazam the Great aka Saiyu-Ki (1961) as DeeDee the Monkey and in Convicts 4 (1962) as Resko’s sister.Stevens married at the age of sixteen and moved to Missouri to live on a farm. A few years later, she had a daughter, Stephanie. Soon thereafter, in 1966, she ended her marriage and resumed her singing career. In 1969, she once again appeared in the Billboard charts, peaking at #117 pop, #57 country, with "Billy, I've Got to Go to Town" (an answer record to "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town"), recorded under the name Geraldine Stevens.
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Dick Clark, Dodie Stevens, Fabian, Mitchell Torok |
heard Dodie’s voice on television commercials including Sprint and
By 1990 she was starring in, as well as co-producing her Doo Wop Revue, “Bop”, a high energy show full of some of the most memorable songs from the early years of rock & roll, including her own hit, “Pink Shoe Laces”. For the next few years she worked casinos in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Reno to standing ovations. As Geri Stevens she also toured with Fabian and her own company "Dodie Stevens and The Pink Shoe Laces Review."
Shortly thereafter, Dodie began touring with other recording artists from the 50’s and 60’s and included her daughter Stephanie in her shows. They later formed a southern-rock band, “a.k.a. Stevens”, singing classic rock & roll and country and co-writing all their originals. They recorded only one album “Outlaw of the Heart”, was the opening act for Toby Keith and worked a variety of venues across the country.
Today, Dodie continues to sing with her daughter, making personal appearances in Doo Wop concerts nationwide. When Dodie is not performing, she teaches singing and is a performance coach in San Diego, California, which gives her the opportunity to share her expertise and experience in the music industry with the new generation of talent. (Edited from Wikipedia & dodiestevens.com)