Len Barry – born Leonard Borisoff in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 12, 1942 – was a blue-eyed soul singer best known for his 1965 hit “1-2-3”. While in school, Barry had hopes of being a professional basketball player but changed his mind while serving in the U.S. Coast Guard. Singing with the Coast Guard band, he was inspired to pursue a musical career. After his discharge, Barry co-founded the doo-wop group The Dovells in his hometown of Philadelphia. The Dovells scored a Number 2 hit in the U.S. with their 1961 single “Bristol Stomp”, which sold over one million copies. Other big hits by the Dovells include “Hully Gully Baby” and “You Can’t Sit Down”. After an appearance in the film Don't Knock the Twist (1962) and an English tour, Len Barry left the group to pursue a solo career, releasing the 1965 single "Lip Sync" accompanied by television appearances. His second solo single, “1-2-3”, proved to be his breakthrough solo hit. The single rose to the Number 2 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles chart and was the most successful single of his career. His debut solo album, also titled 1-2-3, was released on the heels of the recent hit. While he continued to release singles – including “Somewhere”, which reached Number 26 – he never achieved the same type of success that “1-2-3” had achieved. While he released another dozen singles, he only issued two more full-length albums: My Kind of Soul (1967) and Ups and Downs (1972). In 1969, he participated in The Electric Indian project for the instrumental "Keem-O-Sabe", which was performed by musicians of American Indian origin. As a producer, he collaborated with The Fat Larry's Band and Booker Newberry III in the 1980s. Len Barry died in Philadelphia on November 5, 2020, at the age of 78.
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