Singer with doo-wop groups The Five Echoes and The Flamingos, Tommy Hunt later moved on to the British Northern Soul scene. Born Thomas James Hunt in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 18, 1933, he developed a passion for singing at an early age, entering competitions at the expense of his schooling. After spending his teenage years in Chicago, he deserted his military service to support his dying mother, which led to a spell in prison. In 1952, his tenor voice benefited the group The Five Echoes, which recorded a handful of singles during the two years of its existence, alongside another future star named Johnnie Taylor (1934-2000). Approached by Zeke Carey of The Flamingos, he joined the group in 1956, singing on their doo-wop hits including "I Only Have Eyes for You" in 1959. After his departure in 1960, Tommy Hunt embarked on a solo career with "Human" and other singles for Scepter Records, including "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" (1962), a song by Hal David and Burt Bacharach that he was the first to perform, before the better-known version by Dionne Warwick. He performed regularly at the Apollo in Harlem, New York, and it was after a European tour that he decided to settle in England, where he found success with "Crackin' Up" (#39 in 1975), "Loving on the Losing Side " (#28 in 1976) and "One Fine Morning" (#44 the same year). The pillar of the Northern Soul scene, who along with his former partners in The Flamingos won a Rhythm and Blues Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996, wrote his autobiography Only Human, My Soulful Life (2008) and performed with other bands until the end of his life. On February 12, 2025, Tommy Hunt died at the age of 91.
