* 1940 Houston Texas.

Jewel Akens was eigenlijk een eendagsvlieg  artiest die in de 60ger jaren een zeer populair liedje bracht.

Akens hield van zingen. Zijn moeder vond dat hij een mooie stem had  recommandeerde hem om naar Los Ageles e gaan, waar i mogelijk en groter gehoor zou vinden. Jewel volgde het advies op van zijn moeder en vetrok naar Los Angeles, daar kwam hij tot de ontdekking dat ze gelijk had.

Hij kreeg een job als achtergrond zanger  bij Herb Newman, de eigenaar van Era Records.

Jewel was working at a recording session one day in 1965 when Newman handed him a song on a sheet of paper that had been written by a young man named Eddie Earl Daniels. Akens recorded The Birds And The Rees on the Era label and it entered the charts on February 6, 1965. Although the prevailing thrust in the pop music business at the time was British Invasion music, Akens' version of The Birds And The Rees became very popular immediately. It remained on the charts for twelve weeks and peaked at the number three position.

Jewel Akens was in demand. He released a similar record, Georgie Porgie, which did not sell nearly as weIl. Akens appeared on music entertainment shows on television such as Shindig, Hullaballo, and American Bandstand. He also toured regularly with Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars.

Akens has toured regularly since 1965 and includes a tribute to his mentor, the late Sam Cooke, in most of his shows.

Enkele van zijn songs:

The Birds and the Bees  || My first lonely night || Drunk nights
Yes We Can-"Let's Do It For America" || Jammin' with The Toes On An Oldies Song ||

Let me teIl ya 'bout the birds and the bees
And the flowers and the trees
And the moon up above
And a thing called "Love"

Let me teIl ya 'bout the stars in the sky

And a girl and a guy

And the way they could kiss

On a night like this

When I look into your big brown eyes

It's so very plain to see

That it's time you learned about the facts of life

Starting from A to Z

Let me teIl ya 'bout the birds and the bees

And the flowers and the trees

And the moon up above

And a thing called "Love" (Yeah!)

When I look into your big brown eyes

It's so very plain to see

That it's time you learned about the facts of life

Starting from A to Z

Let me tell ya 'bout the birds and the bees

And the flowers and the trees

And the moon up above

And a thing called "Love"

Let me teil ya 'bout the birds and the bees

And the flowers and the trees

And the birds and the bees

And the flowers and the trees 'bout the birds

FADE

and the bees .