Jordan Christopher

Jordan Christopher (October 23, 1940 – January 21, 1996) was an American actor and singer. He was the lead singer of The Wild Ones, who recorded the original version of the rock classic "Wild Thing" after Christopher had left the band. Early life Born in Youngstown, Ohio, to Macedonian immigrants Eli and Dorothy Zankoff, he moved at an early age to Akron, where his father ran a downtown bar. Music and marriage Christopher became interested in singing with the rise of rock & roll, spending much of his time at the music clubs in Akron's black neighborhoods. He formed a doo-wop group called the Fascinations, who released unsuccessful singles on several small labels in the early 1960s. Christopher's break came when he joined The Wild Ones, the house band at New York's Peppermint Lounge, as singer and guitarist. After a residency at the Peppermint Lounge of eight months, The Wild Ones were hired to play at Arthur, the Manhattan discothèque operated by Sybil Williams, then recently divorced from Richard Burton. Within a month of meeting, Christopher and Williamseleven years his seniorbegan dating and married in 1966. They had a daughter named Amy, and he had a daughter named Jodi from a previous marriage.