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Jewel Akens

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LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jewel Akens, a pop singer who had a 1960s hit with "The Birds and the Bees," has died in Southern California. He was 79.

His wife, Eddie Mae Akens, tells the Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/XmXa83 ) that Akens died last Friday from back surgery complications at an Inglewood hospital.

Akens was in a group called the Turnarounds when they were offered a song that talked about "the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees and the moon up above - and a thing called love."

Other members disliked it so Akens recorded it solo. The song was No. 3 on Billboard's Top 100 chart in 1965 and was later covered by Dean Martin and others.

Akens never duplicated its success but he performed into his 70s.

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Information from: Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com

Copyright © 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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