Little Anthony & The Imperials rehearsing at the famous Fox Theater, downtown Detroit, Michigan in 1959:                                                 
An oddities so rare I had to dig deep into the musician photo archives in order to find this photo and have it reprinted off the orginal negitive: Once in a life time for a collector to obtain:        
Little Anthony & The Imperials is a rhythm and blues/soul/doo-wop vocal group from New York, first active in the 1950s. Lead singer Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine was noted for his high-pitched falsetto voice influenced by Jimmy Scott.                                                                                                                                                                                                                           In 1957, a doo-wop group known as The Chesters existed with members Clarence Collins, Tracy Lord, Nathaniel Rodgers, and Ronald Ross. Anthony Gourdine, a former member of The Duponts, joined as lead vocalist. Ernest Wright took over for Ross, and the group recorded shortly for Apollo Records
Changing their name to The Imperials, they signed with End Records in 1958. Their first single was "Tears on My Pillow", which was an instant hit. (While playing this song, D.J. Alan Freed dubbed the name "Little Anthony".) The B side, "Two Kinds of People" was also a hit. The group followed up with "Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko Ko Bop" in 1960. When their success dwindled in 1961, Little Anthony left to attempt a solo career.

Little Anthony returned in 1963, replacing Seymour. The group's classic line-up; "Little Anthony" Gourdine, Ernest Wright, Clarence Collins and Sammy Strain was now complete. With the help of record producer/songwriter Teddy Randazzo (a childhood friend of the group), the Imperials found success on the new DCP (Don Costa Productions) label with the dramatic pop-soul records "I'm On The Outside Looking In" (1964), "Goin' Out Of My Head" (1964), "Hurt So Bad" (1965), "I Miss You So" (1965), "Take Me Back" (1965),"Hurt" (1966), and "Out of Sight, Out Of Mind" (1969).

The lineup of Anthony, Strain, Wright, and Collins is considered the "classic" and "definitive" Imperials lineup, as this was the unit that is the best known, and that had virtually all of the group's big 1960s hits. This is also the lineup that has been seen by millions of fans on television programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show, American Bandstand, Shindig!, Hullabaloo, Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall, and other national network programs. On August 30, 1997, they were also featured on NBC's Today show as part of that show's "Summer Concert Series",and appeared on two popular PBS specials; "Rock,Rhythm, and Doo Wop,and "Soul Spectacular: 40 Years Of R&B in 2002 and 2003, respectively.
They are also one of the very few 1950s-based groups to successfully re-invent themselves and go on to maintain consistent recording success well into the 60s and 70s.Their songs have been covered by a wide range of artists, including Frank Sinatra, Linda Ronstadt, Sergio Mendez, Reba McEntire, and The Lettermen. On their Discovery album, the electronic music duo Daft Punk sampled Little Anthony & the Imperials' 1977 recording of "Can You Imagine" for the track "Crescendolls".                                                                                                                                                                                 Little Anthony & the Imperials were inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15, 2006, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999, and received The Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Pioneer Award in 1993.

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