Jewel Akens only had only had one hit in his long career, but he made it count.  His recording of ‘The Birds and the Bees” peaked at #3 on the Billboard hot 100 in the early months of 1965, which was no easy feat, especially when you consider he was  competing against all the British groups who had invaided the American charts a the time.  Jewel wasn’t a solo act at the time he recorded his only hit, but the other guys in the group, “The Turnarounds”, hated the song so much he recorded it himself .  Just 24 at the time of his only hit recording, Jewel Akens performed well into his 70′s.  According to his wife, he died this morning from complications of back surgery.  He was 79.

Here’s the original hit version in stereo:

And here’s Jewel with a live performance of his hit from ‘Shindig’.