One of 16 children, she moved to New York and had some success as a young singer: Little Eva, according to history-of-rock.com.

Eva Boyd grew up in North Carolina. She was part of a big family, one of 16. From biography.com, Eva sang in church as a child, then around 1960 moved to Brooklyn. There she stayed with relatives and they were known as the singing group the Cookies. Eva would at times sing with the Cookies if one was unable to show up.

She began babysitting for a married songwriting team, Gerry Goffin and Carole King . When the couple returned home, Eva was singing "Locomotion," a song meant for Dee Dee Sharp. They went to the studios and King sang backup.

The song went to No. 1. Little Eva appeared on TV shows like American Bandstand and toured the U.S. and England. Her other hits -- "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby," "Let's Turkey Trot" and "Old Smokey Locomotion" -- were in the Top 20. She did not have much success after that and would once again sing with the Cookies.

Little Eva retired in the 1970s. She married James Harris and they had three children. They separated, then reconciled before his death.

In the late 1980s and into the '90s, Little Eva began performing with an Oldies Show. Eva Boyd-Harris died in 2003 of cervical cancer.

More From KRFO-AM