Paul & Paula - Hey Paula (Stereo)

1963... (Australian Bandstand) #1 US Billboard Hot 100 #1 US Hot R&B Singles chart.. “Paula“ was Jill Jackson, the niece of the owner of the boarding house where Ray lived. Hildebrand and Jackson were students at Howard Payne College when a Brownwood, TX, DJ called for entertainers to volunteer to benefit the American Cancer Society. They volunteered and sang “Hey Paula,“ a song Hildebrand wrote. It went over so well that everybody encouraged them to make a record. Major Bill Smith’s LeCam label in Fort Worth, TX, had just scored a major hit with Bruce Channel, so they drove there late in 1962 hoping for an unscheduled audition. Wrong day. Smith was busy recording that Saturday, but they hung around anyway. Opportunity knocked when Amos Milburn Jr. didn’t show and Smith had five musicians sitting around exchanging snaps at five dollars each. Not wanting to blow the money, he asked Hildebrand and Jackson to sing their song. After a brief audition, Smith took them in the studio.