 |
| Mighty Pope |
| Jamaican-born Earl Heedram grew up in Canada. He sang in church choirs as a boy but that was basically the extent of his vocal performances. Upon graduation from high school he decided to pursue work as an account in Toronto. Following a dare from his friends he entered a local talent contest in 1966 and won. Bitten with the showbiz bug, Earl became the Pope, and boring accounting was replaced with a flashy singing career. His career break came in 1970 when he opened for Natalie Cole at the Ontario Place Forum in Toronto. The next seven years were spent playing anywhere and everywhere he could. That consisted of mainly small clubs, corporate parties and weddings. By 1977 disco was in full swing and Earl had adapted his repetoire to cater to the flashy sound. A scout for RCA-Canada caught Earl's act and signed him to a one album deal. His debut release scored a minor hit on the Canadian disco scene with "Heaven On The Seventh Floor." A second single, "Can't Get By Without You" didn't fare as well. And just as quickly as his recording career started it also seemed to end. By 1978 the now christened Mighty Pope had made enough contacts and a name for himself that he was able to land another album shot with Quality Records. When producer John Driscoll took Earl into the studio for what would be his second album he surrounded him with top-notch talent, amongst them was Gino Soccio. When "Sweet Blindness" was released the album shot up the club charts and through Soccio it was picked up for American release by Soccio's label RFC Records. The first 12" single was a killer remake of the Bobby Rydell hit "Sway." Followed by a 12" single of "Sweet Blindness." Both hits received sweet remixes by Jim Burgess and went top 40 on the U.S. disco charts. Timing was the Mighty Pope's enemy, as he was scoring his first taste of American success the bottom fell out of the disco market and RFC Records closed. It is believed that Earl continued on with his singing career for several more years before throwing in the towel and returning to the more stable field of accounting. Anyone with more information should contact us to fill in the blanks. But for now we give him his place in the DiscoMuseum and say thanks! |
 |