No matter how good a group was, they didn't make the charts if they couldn't find the right song, the right producer, or the right label! In most situations the groups needed a combination of all three elements.
While researching information for this blog, some surprises popped up. I knew that a large number of the groups that sang doo-wop were Black, and a smaller number were Italian, and a smaller number were Puerto Rician, but it's the other numbers that got me. It seems that while most of the groups were minorities, most of the management were non-minorities, mostly Jewish. It seems that the music buisness was a metaphor for what was happening across the country, racism and corruption was rampant through out the industry. Most of the people I'll write about in this blog, tried to be fair, but we'll also talk about some of the people who were deep into the corruption.
Let's start with DEBORAH CHESSLER.
According to Rolling Stone Magezine, Deborah Chessler was a young White girl working in a shoe store when her dream came true. In 1948, 18 year old Chessler, was a wanna be song writer. Chessler had one song, ("Tell Me So") that had been recorded, but it flopped bad. A friend ask Chessler to listen to a group over the telephone. The group was led by a young, Erlington Tilghman, soon to become Sonny Til, the group was called The Vibranaires. The sound she heard was the sound she was looking for. The rest is doo-wop history.
The writer of the Rolling Stone's article, tells how Chessler had to fight the established pattern of racism, sexism and corruption to make things happen. After a lot of hard work, Chessler got the group a contract with Jerry Blaine, owner of the Jubilee label. It was Blaine who changed the groups name to The Orioles. In true doo-wop tradition, Chessler wrote the groups smash hit, "To Soon To Know", on a roll of toilet paper in a rest room.
Most Black groups of the day, like The Mills Brothers and The Ink Spots, aimed their music at White audiences, but The Orioles did just the opposite. They went straight for the Black auduence, with the lyrical impressions of a young White woman, the group was a success. The song went to #1 on the "race" charts and #13 on the pop charts. "To Soon To Know" has been covered by many singers over the years.
In later years Chessler was there to discover eight year old Leslie Uggams.
FLORENCE GREENBERG
Here's a story of an unlikely housewife who turned the music world on it's head when she took an unknown girl group and made them stars. Florence Greenberg was a female pioneer in a male dominated world of Rhythm and Blues. Greenberg said of herself, that she was a triple anomaly: A "White woman" who is in a "Black Business", and "who couldn't carry tune". What she did have was a triple treat "an ear for popular music", "a sharp eye for talent", and "a driving ambition", which worked great for her and the rest of the music loving world. Greenberg is responsible for introducing The Shirelles to the world. Greenberg wrote "Soldier Boy" for the group, and recorded them on her Tiara label. Her labels also produced 60's hits like, "Louie Louie", by the The Kingsmen, "Twist And Shout" by The Isley Brothers, and "Walk On By", by Dionne Warwick. Greenberg also produced "Rain Drops Keep Falling On My Head" sung by BJ Thomas and was on the soundtrack of the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and won an academy Award in 1969.
After the release of "I Met Him On A Sunday" Greenberg made the rounds of all the radio stations and pestered DJ's until she got the song played. The song was such a hit that the demand for the song was fantastic. So much so that her small Tiara label could not handle the orders, so Greenberg sold The Shirelles contract to Decca Records. Not realizing what they had, and thinking the group would be a one hit wonder, Decca returnd The Shirelles to Greenberg, who formed Sceptor Records. Over the next decade, Sceptor became an industry sensation.
Greenberg's eye for talent was never more evident, than when Burt Bacharach, played her a demo. Greenberg said she didn't like the song, but she loved the singer. The next day Bacharach, returned saying that he had signed a new young singer named Dionne Warwick. Partly because of The Shirelles, and Dionne Warwicks successs Gulf and Western offered $6 million for Greenberg"s Sceptor label in 1965, Greenberg declined. This turned out to be a bad choice, Greenberg's success had faded over the years and by 1977, Sceptor folded and Greenberg lost everything.
Bette Midler wanted to make a movie of Greenberg's life, but could not get the required rights from two of the surviving Shirelles, so plans for the movie are dormant.
LUTHER DIXON
Luther Dixon wrote many songs that were hits for many groups of the 50's and 60's, like The Shirelles. Dixon was hired by Florence Greenberg to work at her Sceptor label. Dixon was in charge of artist development, while Greenberg ran the company. The Shirelles had their first hit with Dixon's arrangement of CAROLE KING and GERRY GOFFIN'S song "Will You Love Me Tomorrow".
Dixon produced many more hits including "sixteen Candles", "I Don't Want To Cry", "Soul Serenade, "MaMa Said", and "Big Boss Man".
VIVIAN CARTER
Vivian Carter was one of a few Black record company executives of the doo-wop era. Carter won a talent contest conducted by Al Benson in 1948, for new DJs in Chicago. She worked WGES in Chicago and later at WJOB in Gary, Indiana. In 1944 Carter met and would latter marry Jimmy Bracken, who would also become her business partner.
In 1953 the couple started a record company, called Vee-Jay Records taking it's name from their initials. During the 50's and 60's Vee-Jay grew to become a major independent record label with acts including The Spaniels, Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker, Gene Chandler, and Jerry Butler, The four Seasons and for a while The Beatles.
Because of Carter's relationship with the radio industry she was able to get her groups played and attract new talent.
Carter passed in 1989, but the groups that she recorded and managed will keep her memory alive.
BERT BERNS
Bert Berns was born in the Bronx to Russian Jewish parents. Berns contracted rheumatic fever as a child, and this would affect him for the rest of his life. He turned to music and found comfort in the music of his Black and Latino neighbors. Berns danced the mambo as a young man and made his way to Havana Cuba. After his return he began a seven-year run, from an obscure song writer to the owner of his own labels.
Berns first hit was "A Little Bit Of Soap", by The Jarmels in 1961. A year later he scored with "Twist And Shout", by The Isley Brothers. The song was written by Berns and Phil Medley. Berns wrote for many labels including Wand, United Artist, Capitol, Laurie,MGM, Big Top, Old Town,Roulette, and Atlantic Records.
In 1963 Berns replaced Leiber and Stoller as staff producer for Atlantic Records, where he produced Solomon Burke's "Cry To Me", and "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love", The Drifters' "Under The Boardwalk" and "Saturday Night At The Movies", Barbara Lewis' "Baby I'm Yours" and "Make Me Your Baby", Little Ester Phillips, Wilson Pickettt, and LaVern Baker. Berns was one of the few producers to travel to London, where he produced acts for British Decca.
Berns passed in 1967 and a golden era of rock, soul and doo-wop passed with him. One of his last songs was "Piece Of My Heart", that was recorded by Erma Franklin, the song was covered by many artist over the years.
Berns' BANG and Shout Records catalogue is owned by Sony Music, but the Berns family owns the publishing operations originally called WEB IV Music.
Berns' list of songs cover doo-wop to soul to R&B and the list is long. Berns was not as well known as other Brill Building writers, but Berns should be listed among the most significant and influential of his generation and on par with the likes of Leiber and Stoller, Holland-Dozier-Holland. Berns is also credited with bringing soul,rock, and Latin rhythms together.
CAROLE KING
Born Carol Klein in Brooklyn, New York. Later she added an "e" to her first name and changed her last name to King.
King started out playing piano and moved on to singing and formed a singing group, called The Co-Sines while still attending James Madison High School. It was while she was attending Queens College that she met Neil Sedaka. She was his inspiration for his song "Oh Carol", and in response King wrote "Oh Neil". King befriended Paul Simon and Gerry Goffin who would play an important part in her life for years to come.
King and Goffin soon started writing songs together. Working for Aldon Music at the Brill Building, where hit songs were turned out on a regular basis in the 60's. The first Goffin-King hit was "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", recorded by The Shirelles in 1961. Like a lot of King's songs "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" has been covered by to many singers to count, and is still being sung today.
King and Goffin married in 1960 and divorced in 1968, but their song writing relationship continued during the marriage and after.
Some of the songs out of King's book are: "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", By The Shirelles, "Some Kind Of Wonderful", and "Up On The Roof" by The Drifters, "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby" and "Loco Motion", by Little Eva, "Hey Girl" by Freddie Scott, "One Fine Day", The Chiffons, "Oh No Not My Baby", by Maxine Brown, "Don't Foreget About Me" by Barbara Lewis and " You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin.
As the 60's moved on, King's music changed with the times. King had many more hits in the following years, but it's her early years that are important to doo-wop lovers.
King has been inducted into the Song Writers Hall Of Fame, King and Goffin have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. King has Recieved four Grammy Awards and is look at as one of the greatest song writers around.
GEORGE GOLDNER
Goldner was born in New York, and original made his living as a garment dealer. His love of Latin music led him to run dance halls in the early 40's In the late 40's Goldner started his first label, Tico Records. In and effort to promote his records, Goldner started paying DJ's at the radio stations to play his records. This practice came to be known as payola.
Goldner was a gambler,and was always in need of cash, this problem put him in contact with Morris Levy, another dance hall owner. Over time Goldner would sell parts of his labels to Levy for cash. Goldner and Levy formed Rama Records which would later record R&B music. The Crows" recording of "Gee" inspired the formation of another label, Gee Records, who's most successful act was Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers. Goldner helped establish a number of labels, including Gone Records, End Records, and the more famous, Roulette. Morris Levy would take advantage of Goldner's gambling problems and take control of these labels.
Goldner recorded some of the best doo-wop groups of the time, including, The Crows, The Wrens, The Valentines, The Cleftones, The Five Crowns, (who would become The Drifters), The Heartbeats, The Chantels, Little Anthony and The Imperials, The Starlighters, The Flamingos, The Dubs, The Channels and The Isley Brothers.
Goldner's last run at success was Red Bird Records and it's Blue Cats subsidiary, co-founded by Leiber and Stoller. As a partner of the company Goldner was in charge of promoting Red Bird releases, while Leiber and Stoller worked on production. Red Bird only lasted two years, Leiber and Stoller wanted out of the music business and Goldner started having gambling problems again. Leiber and Stoller sold their part of Red Bird to Goldner for $1.00. The Red Bird catalogue (except for releases by The Shangri-Las, whos contract was sold to Mercury Records) was sold to Morris Levy's Roulette Records. Goldner passed in 1970.
Goldner had his problems, but he also had a big impact on the music scene and started more than few groups on their way.
MORRIS LEVY
Born Moishe Levy in the Bronx, New York, but was known as Morrie Levy to the insiders of the music business.
After leaving the Navy, Levy became the owner of a string night clubs. His most famous club was The Birdland, which Levy is said to have taken over from Joseph "Joe the Wop" Catalano in 1949.
By accident Levy found out the value of publishing rights of a piece of music. Each time a song he owned was performed or played he was entitled to royalties. Levy learned this when an ASCAP representative told Levy at Birdland he must pay publishing companies for performing live music. Levy's lawyer confirmed that fact and soon Levy formed his first publishing company, Patricia Music.
Levy was one of the bad ones. He founded Roulette Records in 1956 where he started what would become his most profitable side of his business. Levy began claiming writers rights on songs he had nothing to do with. The first and most famous is, he claimed writers rights on "Why Do Fools Fall In Love". It is believed that Frankie Lymon and Herman Santiago wrote the song. Levy repeated this pratice through out the years. Levy collected revenues from all sides of the business. He claimed writers rights, he claimed publishing rights and he claimed distribution rights, and he claimed the profits form the sale of his records. There are stories that Levy even bootlegged his own records. Levy became one of the wealthiest executives in the record business.
Levy had a long running law suit with John Lennon over a phrase Lennon used from a Chuck Berry song.
After a time Levy sold Roulette for an estimated $55 million. There was an investigation started in the 50's about Levy's business practices, but it wasn't until 1986 that the law caught up with him. Levy was convicted of extortion, but died in Ghent, New York before serving any time.
Some of Levy's business practices were adopted and perfected by Berry Gordy at MOTOWN.
Next we'll look at Robert and Johnny, The Falcons, The Clovers, The Five Satins, and The Harptones. I onow Robert and Johnny are not really doo-wopers, but Victoria requested them so they're up next.
Please continue to leave comments and make request for your favorite group. In a few weeks we'll look two of the best writers and producers of the doo-wop era, Leiber and Stoller, and we'll take another look a Smokey's songs and productions from the beginning.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
THE DELLS
The Dells are one of the longest lasting groups of all times! They have found a way to keep original members in the group for over forty nine years. Their line-up did not change from 1960 until the death of Johnny Carter on August 21, 2009. Over the years The Dells repertoire included doo-wop, jazz, soul, disco, and rhythm and blues.
The Dells started singing together while attending Thorton Township High School, in Harvey, Illinois. The group formed in 1952, using the name, The El-Rays. The group consisted of Marvin Junior, Mickey McGill, Lucius McGill, Verne Allison, Chuck Barksdale, and Johnny Funches. Lucius McGill left the group in 1954, making the group a quintet. Lucius signed with the Chess brothers' Checker label and recorded a doo-wop single, "Darling I Know", the record flopped.
The group changed their name to The Dells in 1955, and soon signed with Vee-Jay Records. In 1956 they recorded their first hit, "Oh What A Night". Funches was a co-writer and lead singer on the song. The song went to #5 on the R&B charts and is listed at #260 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time. Follow up songs failed to have the same impact.
A tragic car accident in 1958, threatened to derail the group. Mickey McGill, nearly lost his leg in the accident. The group agreed to split-up to give McGill time to recover.
Barksdale joined a new version of The Moonglows, that included a young Marvin Gaye on lead. McGill did recover and Barksdale rejoined the group in 1960. By this time Johnny Funches, had left the group for good, frustrated with the group's slow progress. Funches was soon replaced by Johnny Carter, who came from The Flamingos. This would be the final line-up change for the group for over forty nine years. The Dells went on to sing background for the likes of Dinah Washington, Ray Charles, and Barbara Lewis, of "Hello Stranger" fame. The group got some fine tuning from Quincy Jones, and began to include jazz, and Broadway styled show tunes as part of their live and recorded acts.
The Dells returned to Chess' subsidiary label Cadet, working with Bobby Miller, and Charles Stepney. Stepney would later become an arranger and producer for Earth, Wind, and Fire.
In 1967, The Dells released an album called, "There Is", which included their first R&B hit in years with the titled track. The song featured a contrast to most other groups of the time by having the raspy baritone voice of Marvin Junior on lead, with the very tight harmony in the background. The song was also a top 20 pop hit. After "There Is", The Dells continued with a string of hits, including "Wear It On Your Face", "Always Together", "I can sing A Rainbow/Love Is Blue", and their first #1 hit "Stay In My Corner" in 1968. The song also went to #10 on the pop chart. "Stay In My Corner" featured another contrast, it featured Johnny Carter's first tenor balanced against Marvin Junior's baritone. This arrangement became a trademark of The Dells. The group had to wait until 1969 before they were looked at as R&B stars. That year the group revived their first hit, "Oh What A Night", which was re-produced under a classic soul format. Marvin Junior's husky lead made the song sound new. It was in stark contrast to Johnny Funches smooth tenor on the original recording, this version went to #1. They had more hits with "Open Up My Heart", "Oh What A Day", and "On The Dock Of The Bay".
"The Love We Had Stays On My Mind", was another top 10 hit for the group on the R&B charts in 1971. Charles Stepney took over production duties from Bobby Miller at this time. In 1973 The Dells had their first certified gold record, "Give Your Baby A Standing Ovation", that was produced by Don Davis. The Dells were now a top-selling recording act.
With The Chess Label having financial troubles, Cadet records, a subsidiary started having problems, so The Dells left at the end of 1974. The group then recorded for Mercury, ABC, 20th Century Fox, and Virgin labels, with a few hits including, "I Touched A Dream", which put the group back in the top 40.
For awhile The Dells were confined to the oldies market, until they were asked by Robert Townson to be creative consultants on his acclaimed 1991 musical "The Five Heartbeats". The movie was based loosely on the lives of The Dells. The group had a hit with the George Duke composition, "A Heart Is A Home For Love". The song was issued on the sound track of the movie and went to #13 on the R&B charts. This hit gave the group a push and made them the second group to chart singles in four different decades, after the Isley Brothers.
The group then moved to the Philadelphia International label, where they recorded the album "I Salute You". The Dells have kept an active touring schedule stopping from time to time to record an album, including 2003's "HOTT".
In 2004 the group was inducted in both the Vocal Group Hall Of Fame, and The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.
Like the Imperials, The Dells don't consider themselves a doo-wop group, but on their 1974 recording "I Miss You" you can hear the doo-wops in the background, ten years after doo-wop was said to be dead. In my mind and heart no matter what The Dells sing I hear doo-wop.
The next blog will be about some of the writers, arrangers, producers and managers. These are the behind the scenes people that created the songs, and the acts to sing them. Very few groups were able to direct their own lives once these other people got involved. Some of these people were good for the groups and really helped them along. So many of these groups were young and were exploited by some of these people.
Please leave comments and request and we'll keep doo-woping!!
The Dells started singing together while attending Thorton Township High School, in Harvey, Illinois. The group formed in 1952, using the name, The El-Rays. The group consisted of Marvin Junior, Mickey McGill, Lucius McGill, Verne Allison, Chuck Barksdale, and Johnny Funches. Lucius McGill left the group in 1954, making the group a quintet. Lucius signed with the Chess brothers' Checker label and recorded a doo-wop single, "Darling I Know", the record flopped.
The group changed their name to The Dells in 1955, and soon signed with Vee-Jay Records. In 1956 they recorded their first hit, "Oh What A Night". Funches was a co-writer and lead singer on the song. The song went to #5 on the R&B charts and is listed at #260 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time. Follow up songs failed to have the same impact.
A tragic car accident in 1958, threatened to derail the group. Mickey McGill, nearly lost his leg in the accident. The group agreed to split-up to give McGill time to recover.
Barksdale joined a new version of The Moonglows, that included a young Marvin Gaye on lead. McGill did recover and Barksdale rejoined the group in 1960. By this time Johnny Funches, had left the group for good, frustrated with the group's slow progress. Funches was soon replaced by Johnny Carter, who came from The Flamingos. This would be the final line-up change for the group for over forty nine years. The Dells went on to sing background for the likes of Dinah Washington, Ray Charles, and Barbara Lewis, of "Hello Stranger" fame. The group got some fine tuning from Quincy Jones, and began to include jazz, and Broadway styled show tunes as part of their live and recorded acts.
The Dells returned to Chess' subsidiary label Cadet, working with Bobby Miller, and Charles Stepney. Stepney would later become an arranger and producer for Earth, Wind, and Fire.
In 1967, The Dells released an album called, "There Is", which included their first R&B hit in years with the titled track. The song featured a contrast to most other groups of the time by having the raspy baritone voice of Marvin Junior on lead, with the very tight harmony in the background. The song was also a top 20 pop hit. After "There Is", The Dells continued with a string of hits, including "Wear It On Your Face", "Always Together", "I can sing A Rainbow/Love Is Blue", and their first #1 hit "Stay In My Corner" in 1968. The song also went to #10 on the pop chart. "Stay In My Corner" featured another contrast, it featured Johnny Carter's first tenor balanced against Marvin Junior's baritone. This arrangement became a trademark of The Dells. The group had to wait until 1969 before they were looked at as R&B stars. That year the group revived their first hit, "Oh What A Night", which was re-produced under a classic soul format. Marvin Junior's husky lead made the song sound new. It was in stark contrast to Johnny Funches smooth tenor on the original recording, this version went to #1. They had more hits with "Open Up My Heart", "Oh What A Day", and "On The Dock Of The Bay".
"The Love We Had Stays On My Mind", was another top 10 hit for the group on the R&B charts in 1971. Charles Stepney took over production duties from Bobby Miller at this time. In 1973 The Dells had their first certified gold record, "Give Your Baby A Standing Ovation", that was produced by Don Davis. The Dells were now a top-selling recording act.
With The Chess Label having financial troubles, Cadet records, a subsidiary started having problems, so The Dells left at the end of 1974. The group then recorded for Mercury, ABC, 20th Century Fox, and Virgin labels, with a few hits including, "I Touched A Dream", which put the group back in the top 40.
For awhile The Dells were confined to the oldies market, until they were asked by Robert Townson to be creative consultants on his acclaimed 1991 musical "The Five Heartbeats". The movie was based loosely on the lives of The Dells. The group had a hit with the George Duke composition, "A Heart Is A Home For Love". The song was issued on the sound track of the movie and went to #13 on the R&B charts. This hit gave the group a push and made them the second group to chart singles in four different decades, after the Isley Brothers.
The group then moved to the Philadelphia International label, where they recorded the album "I Salute You". The Dells have kept an active touring schedule stopping from time to time to record an album, including 2003's "HOTT".
In 2004 the group was inducted in both the Vocal Group Hall Of Fame, and The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.
Like the Imperials, The Dells don't consider themselves a doo-wop group, but on their 1974 recording "I Miss You" you can hear the doo-wops in the background, ten years after doo-wop was said to be dead. In my mind and heart no matter what The Dells sing I hear doo-wop.
The next blog will be about some of the writers, arrangers, producers and managers. These are the behind the scenes people that created the songs, and the acts to sing them. Very few groups were able to direct their own lives once these other people got involved. Some of these people were good for the groups and really helped them along. So many of these groups were young and were exploited by some of these people.
Please leave comments and request and we'll keep doo-woping!!
Monday, January 25, 2010
LITTLE ANTHONY AND THE IMPERIALS
One of the longest lasting groups from the doo-wop era is Little Anthony & The Imperials.
The group started out in 1957 as The Chesters. The group included Clarence Collins, Tracy Lord, Nathaniel Rogers, and Ronald Ross. Anthony Gourdine joined the group and became the lead. Ross left the group and was replaced by Ernest Wright, and the group recorded for Apollo Records for a short time. Changing their name to The Imperials the group signed with End Records in 1958. Their first single was "Tears On My Pillow" which went straight to the top. One night while playing "Tears On My Pillow", D.J Alan Freed dubbed Anthony Gourdine, Little Anthony! The B-side "Two Kinds Of People" also became a hit. The next single, for the group was "Shimmy Shimmy , Ko Ko Bop" in 1960.
Little Anthony left the group for a solo career 1961, after their success dropped a little. Some other members left and the line-up became Collins, Wright, Sammy Strain and George Kerr. Kerr was then replaced by Kenny Seymour, this group had very little success.
Little Anthony returned in 1963, replacing Seymour. Little Anthony, Ernest Wright, Clarence Collins, and Sammy Strain, became the classic line-up for the group. With the help of record producer/songwriter Teddy Randazzo, (a long time friend of the group), The Imperials found success at a new label, DCP (Don Costa Productions) with a new release "I'm On The Outside Looking In" in 1964. Then came a string of hits, "Going Out Of My Head" (1964), "Hurt So Bad" (1965), "I Miss You So" (1965),"Take Me Back" (1965), "Hurt"(1966), and "Out Of Sight Out Of Mind"(1969). In 1965 The Imperials appeared on the CBS-TV special Murray The K, It's What's Happening, Baby. On the show they delivered an explosive perfromance of a 50's hit "I'm Alright" before a live audience in New York.
The Imperials then joined United Artist and were assigned to it's Veep subsidary and then back to the parent label. During this time they recorded "Better Use Your Head", "World Of Darkness", " If I Remember To Foreget", "Yesterday Has Gone", and the Thom Bell produced "Help Me Find A Way (To Say I Love You)".
After this the group moved to Janus Records where they recorded the single "Father Father", which they performed on The Merv Griffin Show. The group then moved to Avco Records in the early 70's and recorded an album "On A New Street, and charted with "La La La" and "I'm Falling In Love With You". The album was produced by both Bell and Randazzo. Most of these songs did well on the R&B charts, but not so well on the Pop charts. A second album for Avco "Hold On" was pulled from the market.
Ernest Wright left the group in 1971, to join Tony William's Platters. He was replaced by Kenny Seymour, who was replacd by Bobby Wade. Strain left in 1972, and joined The O'Jays. Harold Jenkins replaced Strain, he had been the groups choreographer. Jenkins and Seymour were together in The Impacts. Little Anthony left again for a some what successful solo career. Collins, Wade and Jenkins continued on as The Imperials. Clarence Collins left 1988 and was replaced by Sherman James. The group became Bobby Wade's Imperials. James left in 1992 and was replaced by Ron Stevenson. That same year Collins, Wright, Strain and Little Anthony reunited for a concert at Madison Square Garden. The reunion was so successful that the group decided to stay together. When the decision was made for the group to tour again, Wade gave up the use of the name Imperials, and his group became The Emperors. The Emperors became the house band at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Strain left The O'Jays and permanently returned to The Imperials. 1992 the year of the groups reformation, just happened to be the 40th anniversary of Dick Clark's American Bandstand, and he invited The Imperials to appear as part of the television special celebration.
The line-up of Anthony, Strain, Wright, and group founder Collins, is considered the classic and best Imperials line-up, this is the group that had the hits. It's this same group that has been seen by millions of fans on television shows like, The Ed Sullivan Show, American Bandstand, Shindig, Hullabaloo, Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall, The Mike Douglas Show, and other natioal shows. In 1977 they were featured on NBC's Today Show's Summer Concert Series. The group also appeared on two PBS Rock, Rhythm and Doo-wop shows.
Anthony, Strain, Collins, and Wright continued touring as Little Anthony and The Imperials, until Strain retired in 2004. Harold Jenkins returned to replaced him. As of now The Imperials are the second oldest group keeping original members over the years, they are second behind The Dells. The are also one a few groups that have reinvented themselves and went on to have consistent recording success well passed the 60's.
The Imperials songs have been covered by some of the biggest names in the buisness, Frank Sinatra, Linda Ronstadt, Sergio Mendez, The Delfonics, Wes Montgomery, Ray Conniff, Ella Fitzgerald, Luther Vandross, Reba McEntire, The Miracles, Chris Montez, and The Lettermen.
The Imperials were inducted into the Long Island Music Hall Of Fame, in 2006, and The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999 In Oct. 2008 the group recorded a new album called "You'll Never Know" ad they performed on The David Letterman Show that same year. The Imperials song "Shimmy Shimmy Ko Ko Bop" was featured in the 1988 Tom Hanks movie Big.On January 14, 2009 Little Anthony and The Imperials were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. Sammy Strain is one of a few artist to be inducted in two different groups. The Imperials and The O'Jays.
The Imperials' last Doo-wop show was in June 2009, they did a half hour set, which displeased Little Anthony. He felt that 30 minutes was not enough time to showcase their talents. Anthony commented that The Imperials were not a Doo-wop group, but an R&B group.
On Oct. 29, 2009, The Imperials returned to Madison Square Gardens for the 25th anniversary of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert. They were featured in a segment devoted to The Originals of New York. The show was aired Thanksgiving, weekend.
The next group will be The Dells, another long lasting group.
Please leave comments and request for future blogs. Coming soon we'll talk about the writers, arrangers and producers. These people gave us some of the greastes
The group started out in 1957 as The Chesters. The group included Clarence Collins, Tracy Lord, Nathaniel Rogers, and Ronald Ross. Anthony Gourdine joined the group and became the lead. Ross left the group and was replaced by Ernest Wright, and the group recorded for Apollo Records for a short time. Changing their name to The Imperials the group signed with End Records in 1958. Their first single was "Tears On My Pillow" which went straight to the top. One night while playing "Tears On My Pillow", D.J Alan Freed dubbed Anthony Gourdine, Little Anthony! The B-side "Two Kinds Of People" also became a hit. The next single, for the group was "Shimmy Shimmy , Ko Ko Bop" in 1960.
Little Anthony left the group for a solo career 1961, after their success dropped a little. Some other members left and the line-up became Collins, Wright, Sammy Strain and George Kerr. Kerr was then replaced by Kenny Seymour, this group had very little success.
Little Anthony returned in 1963, replacing Seymour. Little Anthony, Ernest Wright, Clarence Collins, and Sammy Strain, became the classic line-up for the group. With the help of record producer/songwriter Teddy Randazzo, (a long time friend of the group), The Imperials found success at a new label, DCP (Don Costa Productions) with a new release "I'm On The Outside Looking In" in 1964. Then came a string of hits, "Going Out Of My Head" (1964), "Hurt So Bad" (1965), "I Miss You So" (1965),"Take Me Back" (1965), "Hurt"(1966), and "Out Of Sight Out Of Mind"(1969). In 1965 The Imperials appeared on the CBS-TV special Murray The K, It's What's Happening, Baby. On the show they delivered an explosive perfromance of a 50's hit "I'm Alright" before a live audience in New York.
The Imperials then joined United Artist and were assigned to it's Veep subsidary and then back to the parent label. During this time they recorded "Better Use Your Head", "World Of Darkness", " If I Remember To Foreget", "Yesterday Has Gone", and the Thom Bell produced "Help Me Find A Way (To Say I Love You)".
After this the group moved to Janus Records where they recorded the single "Father Father", which they performed on The Merv Griffin Show. The group then moved to Avco Records in the early 70's and recorded an album "On A New Street, and charted with "La La La" and "I'm Falling In Love With You". The album was produced by both Bell and Randazzo. Most of these songs did well on the R&B charts, but not so well on the Pop charts. A second album for Avco "Hold On" was pulled from the market.
Ernest Wright left the group in 1971, to join Tony William's Platters. He was replaced by Kenny Seymour, who was replacd by Bobby Wade. Strain left in 1972, and joined The O'Jays. Harold Jenkins replaced Strain, he had been the groups choreographer. Jenkins and Seymour were together in The Impacts. Little Anthony left again for a some what successful solo career. Collins, Wade and Jenkins continued on as The Imperials. Clarence Collins left 1988 and was replaced by Sherman James. The group became Bobby Wade's Imperials. James left in 1992 and was replaced by Ron Stevenson. That same year Collins, Wright, Strain and Little Anthony reunited for a concert at Madison Square Garden. The reunion was so successful that the group decided to stay together. When the decision was made for the group to tour again, Wade gave up the use of the name Imperials, and his group became The Emperors. The Emperors became the house band at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Strain left The O'Jays and permanently returned to The Imperials. 1992 the year of the groups reformation, just happened to be the 40th anniversary of Dick Clark's American Bandstand, and he invited The Imperials to appear as part of the television special celebration.
The line-up of Anthony, Strain, Wright, and group founder Collins, is considered the classic and best Imperials line-up, this is the group that had the hits. It's this same group that has been seen by millions of fans on television shows like, The Ed Sullivan Show, American Bandstand, Shindig, Hullabaloo, Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall, The Mike Douglas Show, and other natioal shows. In 1977 they were featured on NBC's Today Show's Summer Concert Series. The group also appeared on two PBS Rock, Rhythm and Doo-wop shows.
Anthony, Strain, Collins, and Wright continued touring as Little Anthony and The Imperials, until Strain retired in 2004. Harold Jenkins returned to replaced him. As of now The Imperials are the second oldest group keeping original members over the years, they are second behind The Dells. The are also one a few groups that have reinvented themselves and went on to have consistent recording success well passed the 60's.
The Imperials songs have been covered by some of the biggest names in the buisness, Frank Sinatra, Linda Ronstadt, Sergio Mendez, The Delfonics, Wes Montgomery, Ray Conniff, Ella Fitzgerald, Luther Vandross, Reba McEntire, The Miracles, Chris Montez, and The Lettermen.
The Imperials were inducted into the Long Island Music Hall Of Fame, in 2006, and The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999 In Oct. 2008 the group recorded a new album called "You'll Never Know" ad they performed on The David Letterman Show that same year. The Imperials song "Shimmy Shimmy Ko Ko Bop" was featured in the 1988 Tom Hanks movie Big.On January 14, 2009 Little Anthony and The Imperials were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. Sammy Strain is one of a few artist to be inducted in two different groups. The Imperials and The O'Jays.
The Imperials' last Doo-wop show was in June 2009, they did a half hour set, which displeased Little Anthony. He felt that 30 minutes was not enough time to showcase their talents. Anthony commented that The Imperials were not a Doo-wop group, but an R&B group.
On Oct. 29, 2009, The Imperials returned to Madison Square Gardens for the 25th anniversary of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert. They were featured in a segment devoted to The Originals of New York. The show was aired Thanksgiving, weekend.
The next group will be The Dells, another long lasting group.
Please leave comments and request for future blogs. Coming soon we'll talk about the writers, arrangers and producers. These people gave us some of the greastes
Friday, January 22, 2010
ITALIAN AMERICANS AND DOO-WOP
We would need a social scientist of some kind to explain why so many Italian Americans found the so-called race music of the 50's and 60's so intoxicating. Even without the scientific explanation we know that Italian Americans in New York, D.C., Baltimore, and other cities had almost identical experiences when it came to doo-wop. The street corner groups, the tight harmonies, the doo-wop sounds in the songs, and the showmanship on stage. In many cases if you closed your eyes, you couldn't tell the Italian groups from the Black groups. They sounded the same, the high first tenor, and the deep rumbling bass. There must have been fifty groups Black and White that sang "Gloria". There were cross-over songs in New York long before MOTOWN. So in this blog we'll talk about some of those groups.
While doing the research for this blog, I found something that surprised me. I had always thought that TIMI YURO, was Black and Korean mixed. I was just going by her name and the sound of her voice. As it turns out, Timi Yuro was Italian American. Yuro is considered the first non Black female to sing soul and R&B with success. Timi Yuro (real name,Rosemary Timothy Yuro) was born in Las Vegas in 1940 to Italian American parents.
Yuro's family moved to Los Angeles to open a restaurant. Yuro sang in the restaurant and local clubs until she was discovered by executives of Liberty Records. After being signed to the label, Yuro had a #4 hit with a cover of a Roy Hamilton song, "Hurt" in 1961. She also scored a #12 hit with her follow up song, "What's The Matter Baby" (Is It Hurting You), in 1962. Yuro had an emotional style that she claimed was influenced by Dinah Washington and other Black Jazz singers. From her sound, many listners thought Yuro was Black.
In 1961 Yuro was asked to tour with Frank Sinatra on his Australian tour.
Yuro covered all kinds of music, on one album "Make The World Go Away", Yuro covered country and blues standards. Yuro added some soul to some of the standards of the day like, "Let Me Call You Sweetheart", "Smile", and "I Apologize".
In the 60's Yuro made two appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, and was on American Bandstand, Where The Action Is, and The Lloyd Thaxton Show. In 1967 Yuro appeared in a black and white film in the Philippines.
Yuro performed in venues from London to Las Vegas, but her career lost it's early momentum, and Yuro quit the business after she got married in 1969. Yuro started singing again in the 80's, but found out she had throat cancer. Her larynx was removed, but Yuro passed in 2004. Her last album called "Today" was released in 1982 by Ariola Records and was produced by her friend Willie Nelson.
Yuro is still admired in Great Britain and the Netherlands.
Now let's get to the Italian doo-wop groups!!!!!
Let's start with LARRY CHANCE and the EARLS. The Earls were a popular doo-wop group formed in the Bronx, New York. Their two biggest hits were "Remember Then" and "Life Is But A Dream". The group had two other songs that charted, "Never" and "I Believe". Some say the The Earls took the original Black doo-wop street corner harmony and refined it, but if you listen to their songs you'll find that they had more instruments, but the groove was the same as the Black doo-wopers.
Larry Chance was the driving force behind the group. Chance grew up in Philadelphia, and attended high school with Chubby Checker, Frankie Avalon, and Danny Rapp, of Danny and The Juniors. In 1957 Chance moved with his parents to the Bronx. Chance formed a group at Tecumsa Social Club, called the High Hatters. The group included Chance, Bob Del Din, Eddie Harder, Larry Palumbo, and John Wray.
In the fall of 1959 the group was singing in front of a subway station when Johnny Powers heard them and wanted them to sing on his small Rome label. The group had to use their own money to record four tracks, they were still the High Hatters at this point, but they soon changed their name to The Earls.
In 1960 Larry Palumbo was lost in an army skydiving accident.
In 1961 Rome Records released "Life Is But A Dream". The group soon found themselves in the big time performing for Murray the K and Dick Clark's American Bandstand. The Earls were helping to make doo-wop popular with non Black listners. It was in 1962 that the group hooked up with Stan Vincent and recorded the song they are most remembered for "Remember Then", for Old Town Records. The song went to #24 on the Billboard charts.
Some time in late 1963 or early 1964 Chance went solo for a short time and recorded "Let Them Talk". Chance went back to The Earls, who had recruited two new members, Bob Moricco,and Ronnie Calabrese. In 1967 the group started playing their own instruments.
The group is still one of the most requested groups on the oldies circuit.
THE TOKENS
The Tokens were formed in 1955 at Brooklyn's Abraham Lincoln High School and were known as the Linc-Tones. The group includd Neil Sedaka, Hank Medress, Eddie Rabkin, and Cynthia Zolotin. Rabkin left the group and was replaced by Jay Siegel in 1956. The band recorded it's first song, "While I Dream" that same year. In 1957 Sedaka and Zolotin left the group leaving Siegel and Medress who recruited two new members for the group, and recorded the single "Picture In My Wallet" as Darrell and the Oxfords. After some more changes the group became The Tokens. The changes included recruiting a 13 year old kid that played many instruments, brothers Mitch and Phil Margo and guitarist Joe Venneri.
In 1961 The Tokens released a single for Warwick Records called "Tonight I Fell In Love" which went to #15 on the Billboard charts and earned them a spot on American Bandstand. This opportunity got them the chance to cover the Solomon Linda's song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" for RCA Victor. The song went to #1 on the Billboard charts and stayed there for three weeks. From 1962 to 1970 the group released nine more songs that made it to the top ten, including "I Hear Trumpets Blow" in 1964, and "Portrait Of My Love" in 1967. The group also served as producers for a number of other groups including, The Chiffons, Randy and The Rainbows, and The Happenings.
In 1973 Medress left the group and Siegel teamed with the Margo brothers and formed a group called Cross Country, which had some success when they covered "In The Midnight Hour"
The Tokens reunited in 1975 for some work on a game show called Musical Chairs. In 1978 the group recorded a song for School House Rock.
A version of of The Tokens still tours. There have been some law suits, about who owned the name of the group, and who owned the rights to their arrangement of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
VITO AND THE SALUTATIONS
Vito and The Salutation were a 60's doo-wop group out of New York (surprise!!), whose first recording, "Gloria", was a regional hit.
In 1963 The Salutations scored a hit with an up-tempo version of "Unchained Melody", which went to #60 on the Cash Box charts, and made the top ten in many cities.
The group lasted from 1961 to 1965, and had reunion in 1971. Lead singer Vito Balsamo,also sang with The Del Vons and The Kelloggs and still performs in The Golden Group Memories.
The group's version of "Unchained Melody" has been included in several movies, including the popular movie Goodfellas.
THE DUPREES
The group was formed in 1960 in Jersey City, New Jersey, by William L. Dickinson High School students Michael Arnone, Joe Santollo, John Salvato, Tom Bialoglow, and Joey Canzano.
George Paxton a former big band leader was impressed by the group's style and signed them to his Coed Records label. Their first single was a re-make of a Jo Stafford 1952 hit, "You Belong To Me". The Duprees version had doo-wop vocals and a big band backing and reached the top ten in the US.
The group had a few more top 40 hits over the years. They scored with "My Own True Love" a vocal adaptation of "Tara's Theme" from the soundtrack of Gone With The Wind. "Have You Heard" and "Why Don't You Believe Me" also reached the top 40. The group became know for mixing doo-wop vocals with big band arrangements. Like most of these groups The Duprees changed members often.
The Duprees continued to get work even after the British Invasion, by turning towards a more pop sound and had songs in the top 100 even into the 70's.
In Novenber 2008, The Duprees were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
THE CAPRIS
The story of The Capris reads like most of the stories of doo-wop groups, but this story has a twist.
The Capris formed in Ozone Park, Queens New York, in 1957. The group included Nick Santamaria (aka Nick Santo), Mike Mincelli, Frank Reina, Vinnie Naccarato, and John Cassese. All of the members were teenagers and still in school. In 1958 the final member of the group was recruited and the group was on their way. The Original name of the group was The Supremes, but soon changed to The Capris. They took their name from the 50's Lincoln Capri car.
The group gained experience and popularity by performing at local venues and school dances. In 1958 the group was at Bell Studios in New York recording their biggest hit, "There's A Moon Out Tonight". The song was released by Planet Studios in early 1959. They recorded only one other song called "Indian Girl".
After that release the group disbanded, and everyone went their own way.
Here comes the strange twist!
"There A Moon Out Tonight" was so popular, that collectors in New York scoured the city looking for copies of the record. A group of collectors bought the masters of the songs and pressed 330 copies on red vinyl and gave a few copies to some DJ's. The song became popular all over again. The song ended up in the hands of Murray the K at WINS. Murray had show called "Rate The Record". On the show Murray had five records going against each other. "There's A Moon Out Tonight" won one night and came in second on another night. Second to "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" by The Shirelles. The Capris quit their jobs and reunited, the next week they were at The Apollo Theater, and then at Brooklyn's Paramount. They were everywhere and on the rise again. In 1961 the song hit the charts and stayed there for 14 weeks. The group released more songs and changed labels, but didn't have another hit until 1982. In 1982 the group released an album called "There's A Moon Out Tonight". On the album were some covers of some popular songs and a new track, "Morse Code Of Love". The song had the old doo-wop sound. Many people thought the song was a foregotten oldie, but not so, it was a new song. So 23 years after they had their first hit, and doo-wop was dead, the group had another doo-wop hit.
Some of the group's members have passed and some have retired from singing, but the remaining members are still performing on the oldies circuit.
These are just some of the groups that helped doo-wop cross over and become mainstream. With our Italian brothers singing what was considered race music (Black music) the doors were opened for Atlantic Records, Stax, and MOTOWN to become the labels that provided the sound tracks of our lives.
By no means is this the end of Italian Americans and doo-wop, we will re-visit them again!
Next up, Little Anthony and The Imperials. Please enjoy the blog and leave comments and request for information on other groups.
While doing the research for this blog, I found something that surprised me. I had always thought that TIMI YURO, was Black and Korean mixed. I was just going by her name and the sound of her voice. As it turns out, Timi Yuro was Italian American. Yuro is considered the first non Black female to sing soul and R&B with success. Timi Yuro (real name,Rosemary Timothy Yuro) was born in Las Vegas in 1940 to Italian American parents.
Yuro's family moved to Los Angeles to open a restaurant. Yuro sang in the restaurant and local clubs until she was discovered by executives of Liberty Records. After being signed to the label, Yuro had a #4 hit with a cover of a Roy Hamilton song, "Hurt" in 1961. She also scored a #12 hit with her follow up song, "What's The Matter Baby" (Is It Hurting You), in 1962. Yuro had an emotional style that she claimed was influenced by Dinah Washington and other Black Jazz singers. From her sound, many listners thought Yuro was Black.
In 1961 Yuro was asked to tour with Frank Sinatra on his Australian tour.
Yuro covered all kinds of music, on one album "Make The World Go Away", Yuro covered country and blues standards. Yuro added some soul to some of the standards of the day like, "Let Me Call You Sweetheart", "Smile", and "I Apologize".
In the 60's Yuro made two appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, and was on American Bandstand, Where The Action Is, and The Lloyd Thaxton Show. In 1967 Yuro appeared in a black and white film in the Philippines.
Yuro performed in venues from London to Las Vegas, but her career lost it's early momentum, and Yuro quit the business after she got married in 1969. Yuro started singing again in the 80's, but found out she had throat cancer. Her larynx was removed, but Yuro passed in 2004. Her last album called "Today" was released in 1982 by Ariola Records and was produced by her friend Willie Nelson.
Yuro is still admired in Great Britain and the Netherlands.
Now let's get to the Italian doo-wop groups!!!!!
Let's start with LARRY CHANCE and the EARLS. The Earls were a popular doo-wop group formed in the Bronx, New York. Their two biggest hits were "Remember Then" and "Life Is But A Dream". The group had two other songs that charted, "Never" and "I Believe". Some say the The Earls took the original Black doo-wop street corner harmony and refined it, but if you listen to their songs you'll find that they had more instruments, but the groove was the same as the Black doo-wopers.
Larry Chance was the driving force behind the group. Chance grew up in Philadelphia, and attended high school with Chubby Checker, Frankie Avalon, and Danny Rapp, of Danny and The Juniors. In 1957 Chance moved with his parents to the Bronx. Chance formed a group at Tecumsa Social Club, called the High Hatters. The group included Chance, Bob Del Din, Eddie Harder, Larry Palumbo, and John Wray.
In the fall of 1959 the group was singing in front of a subway station when Johnny Powers heard them and wanted them to sing on his small Rome label. The group had to use their own money to record four tracks, they were still the High Hatters at this point, but they soon changed their name to The Earls.
In 1960 Larry Palumbo was lost in an army skydiving accident.
In 1961 Rome Records released "Life Is But A Dream". The group soon found themselves in the big time performing for Murray the K and Dick Clark's American Bandstand. The Earls were helping to make doo-wop popular with non Black listners. It was in 1962 that the group hooked up with Stan Vincent and recorded the song they are most remembered for "Remember Then", for Old Town Records. The song went to #24 on the Billboard charts.
Some time in late 1963 or early 1964 Chance went solo for a short time and recorded "Let Them Talk". Chance went back to The Earls, who had recruited two new members, Bob Moricco,and Ronnie Calabrese. In 1967 the group started playing their own instruments.
The group is still one of the most requested groups on the oldies circuit.
THE TOKENS
The Tokens were formed in 1955 at Brooklyn's Abraham Lincoln High School and were known as the Linc-Tones. The group includd Neil Sedaka, Hank Medress, Eddie Rabkin, and Cynthia Zolotin. Rabkin left the group and was replaced by Jay Siegel in 1956. The band recorded it's first song, "While I Dream" that same year. In 1957 Sedaka and Zolotin left the group leaving Siegel and Medress who recruited two new members for the group, and recorded the single "Picture In My Wallet" as Darrell and the Oxfords. After some more changes the group became The Tokens. The changes included recruiting a 13 year old kid that played many instruments, brothers Mitch and Phil Margo and guitarist Joe Venneri.
In 1961 The Tokens released a single for Warwick Records called "Tonight I Fell In Love" which went to #15 on the Billboard charts and earned them a spot on American Bandstand. This opportunity got them the chance to cover the Solomon Linda's song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" for RCA Victor. The song went to #1 on the Billboard charts and stayed there for three weeks. From 1962 to 1970 the group released nine more songs that made it to the top ten, including "I Hear Trumpets Blow" in 1964, and "Portrait Of My Love" in 1967. The group also served as producers for a number of other groups including, The Chiffons, Randy and The Rainbows, and The Happenings.
In 1973 Medress left the group and Siegel teamed with the Margo brothers and formed a group called Cross Country, which had some success when they covered "In The Midnight Hour"
The Tokens reunited in 1975 for some work on a game show called Musical Chairs. In 1978 the group recorded a song for School House Rock.
A version of of The Tokens still tours. There have been some law suits, about who owned the name of the group, and who owned the rights to their arrangement of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
VITO AND THE SALUTATIONS
Vito and The Salutation were a 60's doo-wop group out of New York (surprise!!), whose first recording, "Gloria", was a regional hit.
In 1963 The Salutations scored a hit with an up-tempo version of "Unchained Melody", which went to #60 on the Cash Box charts, and made the top ten in many cities.
The group lasted from 1961 to 1965, and had reunion in 1971. Lead singer Vito Balsamo,also sang with The Del Vons and The Kelloggs and still performs in The Golden Group Memories.
The group's version of "Unchained Melody" has been included in several movies, including the popular movie Goodfellas.
THE DUPREES
The group was formed in 1960 in Jersey City, New Jersey, by William L. Dickinson High School students Michael Arnone, Joe Santollo, John Salvato, Tom Bialoglow, and Joey Canzano.
George Paxton a former big band leader was impressed by the group's style and signed them to his Coed Records label. Their first single was a re-make of a Jo Stafford 1952 hit, "You Belong To Me". The Duprees version had doo-wop vocals and a big band backing and reached the top ten in the US.
The group had a few more top 40 hits over the years. They scored with "My Own True Love" a vocal adaptation of "Tara's Theme" from the soundtrack of Gone With The Wind. "Have You Heard" and "Why Don't You Believe Me" also reached the top 40. The group became know for mixing doo-wop vocals with big band arrangements. Like most of these groups The Duprees changed members often.
The Duprees continued to get work even after the British Invasion, by turning towards a more pop sound and had songs in the top 100 even into the 70's.
In Novenber 2008, The Duprees were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
THE CAPRIS
The story of The Capris reads like most of the stories of doo-wop groups, but this story has a twist.
The Capris formed in Ozone Park, Queens New York, in 1957. The group included Nick Santamaria (aka Nick Santo), Mike Mincelli, Frank Reina, Vinnie Naccarato, and John Cassese. All of the members were teenagers and still in school. In 1958 the final member of the group was recruited and the group was on their way. The Original name of the group was The Supremes, but soon changed to The Capris. They took their name from the 50's Lincoln Capri car.
The group gained experience and popularity by performing at local venues and school dances. In 1958 the group was at Bell Studios in New York recording their biggest hit, "There's A Moon Out Tonight". The song was released by Planet Studios in early 1959. They recorded only one other song called "Indian Girl".
After that release the group disbanded, and everyone went their own way.
Here comes the strange twist!
"There A Moon Out Tonight" was so popular, that collectors in New York scoured the city looking for copies of the record. A group of collectors bought the masters of the songs and pressed 330 copies on red vinyl and gave a few copies to some DJ's. The song became popular all over again. The song ended up in the hands of Murray the K at WINS. Murray had show called "Rate The Record". On the show Murray had five records going against each other. "There's A Moon Out Tonight" won one night and came in second on another night. Second to "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" by The Shirelles. The Capris quit their jobs and reunited, the next week they were at The Apollo Theater, and then at Brooklyn's Paramount. They were everywhere and on the rise again. In 1961 the song hit the charts and stayed there for 14 weeks. The group released more songs and changed labels, but didn't have another hit until 1982. In 1982 the group released an album called "There's A Moon Out Tonight". On the album were some covers of some popular songs and a new track, "Morse Code Of Love". The song had the old doo-wop sound. Many people thought the song was a foregotten oldie, but not so, it was a new song. So 23 years after they had their first hit, and doo-wop was dead, the group had another doo-wop hit.
Some of the group's members have passed and some have retired from singing, but the remaining members are still performing on the oldies circuit.
These are just some of the groups that helped doo-wop cross over and become mainstream. With our Italian brothers singing what was considered race music (Black music) the doors were opened for Atlantic Records, Stax, and MOTOWN to become the labels that provided the sound tracks of our lives.
By no means is this the end of Italian Americans and doo-wop, we will re-visit them again!
Next up, Little Anthony and The Imperials. Please enjoy the blog and leave comments and request for information on other groups.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
What is DOO-WOP and where did it come from??
When we think of doo-wop today we think of the music of the 50's and 60's. The groups from the street corners, usally with tight five part harmony. What comes to most peoples mind is African Americans singing the songs of the day a capella and adding doo-wops and oohs to fill in where instruments would be. The strange thing is, that this style of singing became so popular that the professional artist started taking the sound into the studio. Before MOTOWN most groups had only small combos to back them up, maybe a piano, bass and guitar, or guitar, bass and drums. So the added sounds filled out the background and gave the songs a fuller sound.
It is an establish fact that the music of the time was seperated by race and there were very few mixed gruops at the time, however in the mid 50's things started to change, Whites and Blacks started listening to the same music. The Ink Spots, The Mills Brothers, and The Orioles had set a standard that had everyone listening to them regardless of race. The Orioles appeared on The Arthur Godfrey Show in 1948, as the first Black group to be on national television. The Ink Spots, The Mills Brothers, and The Platters soon followed on other shows. In my mind The Platters were the classiest of all.
The street corner sound seemed to be confined to the east coast for awhile. Most of the groups were concentrated in cities like Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, Newark, and New York City. Pittsburg, Clevland, and Detroit, carried the middle of the country. Black teenagers would form groups and sing on the corners trying to sound like their favorite groups.
There are a couple of ideas as to how the name Doop-wop came to be attached to this kind of music. One idea is that it was named after the sound that was made when the groups sang, doo-wop tee dee, doop-wop do ahhh, and so on. I think that there is one idea that is closest to the truth. Duop dego, is an Italian phrase that was used as a derogatory insult against what would be considered low class Italians. The same as using the N-word for African Americans. Here's where it comes together. For some unknown reason Italian Americans started listening to and singing the pop and R&B songs of the day. They formed their groups on the corners and sang what was considered race music,(Black music). Because these teens were singing what was look at as race music, which was unacceptable, they were called duop degos. The word duop is pronounced DOO-WOP, and the kids were called duopers. After awhile the word caught on, and anyone that sang that kind of music, was said to be duoping. As time went by the spelling and meaning changed.
There is some dispute as to which song first contained the phrase doop-wop, but the first hit to use the phrase was "When You Dance" by the Turbans in 1955. The chant doo-wop can be heard through-out the song.
The term doo-wop, first appeared in print in 1961, in the Chicago Defender.
The end came for doo-wop from two fronts. One was the British Invasion, the other was MOTOWN. I think that even with the British Invasion, doo-wop would have lasted a year or two more, if MOTOWN had not happened. In my mind MOTOWN wounded doo-wop, but The Temptations, killed it. Once The Temptations got started, everybody wanted to be them. Here was a group that had five lead singers. They had the smoothness of The Moonglows, the harmony of The Orioles and the stage presence of The Platters. When other groups heard The Temptations, everyone stopped what they were doing and tried to become The Temptations. However there is always one exception, and that would be The Dells. It seems to me that The Dells found a new way to do doo-wop and kept their style of doo-wop going for a few more years.
The next blog will be about the Italian American groups that sang doo-wop.
Please add your comments and pass the blog on to your friends, there is also a facebook page called Let's do-wop. If you can't leave a message on the blog please leave one on face book.
Thanks to everyone who has been to the blog. If there are any questions or if you have any groups that you would like to read about, please let me know. I would like to see this blog last for a long.
It is an establish fact that the music of the time was seperated by race and there were very few mixed gruops at the time, however in the mid 50's things started to change, Whites and Blacks started listening to the same music. The Ink Spots, The Mills Brothers, and The Orioles had set a standard that had everyone listening to them regardless of race. The Orioles appeared on The Arthur Godfrey Show in 1948, as the first Black group to be on national television. The Ink Spots, The Mills Brothers, and The Platters soon followed on other shows. In my mind The Platters were the classiest of all.
The street corner sound seemed to be confined to the east coast for awhile. Most of the groups were concentrated in cities like Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, Newark, and New York City. Pittsburg, Clevland, and Detroit, carried the middle of the country. Black teenagers would form groups and sing on the corners trying to sound like their favorite groups.
There are a couple of ideas as to how the name Doop-wop came to be attached to this kind of music. One idea is that it was named after the sound that was made when the groups sang, doo-wop tee dee, doop-wop do ahhh, and so on. I think that there is one idea that is closest to the truth. Duop dego, is an Italian phrase that was used as a derogatory insult against what would be considered low class Italians. The same as using the N-word for African Americans. Here's where it comes together. For some unknown reason Italian Americans started listening to and singing the pop and R&B songs of the day. They formed their groups on the corners and sang what was considered race music,(Black music). Because these teens were singing what was look at as race music, which was unacceptable, they were called duop degos. The word duop is pronounced DOO-WOP, and the kids were called duopers. After awhile the word caught on, and anyone that sang that kind of music, was said to be duoping. As time went by the spelling and meaning changed.
There is some dispute as to which song first contained the phrase doop-wop, but the first hit to use the phrase was "When You Dance" by the Turbans in 1955. The chant doo-wop can be heard through-out the song.
The term doo-wop, first appeared in print in 1961, in the Chicago Defender.
The end came for doo-wop from two fronts. One was the British Invasion, the other was MOTOWN. I think that even with the British Invasion, doo-wop would have lasted a year or two more, if MOTOWN had not happened. In my mind MOTOWN wounded doo-wop, but The Temptations, killed it. Once The Temptations got started, everybody wanted to be them. Here was a group that had five lead singers. They had the smoothness of The Moonglows, the harmony of The Orioles and the stage presence of The Platters. When other groups heard The Temptations, everyone stopped what they were doing and tried to become The Temptations. However there is always one exception, and that would be The Dells. It seems to me that The Dells found a new way to do doo-wop and kept their style of doo-wop going for a few more years.
The next blog will be about the Italian American groups that sang doo-wop.
Please add your comments and pass the blog on to your friends, there is also a facebook page called Let's do-wop. If you can't leave a message on the blog please leave one on face book.
Thanks to everyone who has been to the blog. If there are any questions or if you have any groups that you would like to read about, please let me know. I would like to see this blog last for a long.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
The Clickettes, The Chantels, and The Shirelles
As we look at the groups of the 50's and 60's that were part of the Doo-wop generation, we have to look at some of the girl groups that set the stage for the likes of The Supremes, and The Marvelettes.
Today we'll talk about three of those girl groups that paved the way. The groups are The Clickettes, The Chantels and The Shirelles.
THE CLICKETTES
The Clicketts started out on the Dice Label in 1958, guided by hit duo Johnnie and Joe, who owned the label. According to biographer John Clemente, the original line-up was lead singer, Barbara English, alto, Sylvia Hammond, and two sopranos, Trudy and Charlotte McCartney. According to the group Charlotte sang baritone.
A year after their releases with Dice, the group changed. The McCartney sisters left the group to stay in school, and were replaced by Jean Bolden and Barbara Saunders. The group released five singles for Dice, notably the double-sided hit, "Because Of My Best Friend"/"To Be A Part Of You", which made the top spot in Pittsburgh and Philly in 1959. The group left Dice in 1960 and moved to Guyden records.
The Clickettes were later taken over by Richard Barrett, lead singer of The Valentines and manager of the legendary Chantels. Barrett wrote and produced the song "Where is He", on Guyden.
There were a number of Clickettes recordings released in the late 50's and early
60's, not all of them actually featured the girls. "Tonight And Forever" for instance was probably recorded by a group called The Teen Clefs. This type of thing happned all the time.
Barbara English and a number of ex-Clickettes continued to record into the early
60's for labels like Roulette, Warwick, and Elmor. Helen Powell of The Impacts, replaced Sylvia Hammond in 1961. The group recorded two singles for Roulette including a New York favorite, "We Need Them", billed as Barbara English and The Fashions. This group disbanded when Barbara left for a solo career in 1963 and Helen went to the Chantels.
The Clickettes made their first United Group Harmony appearance in March 2000, the crowd gave them a great welcome. This group included Barbara English, Trudy McCartney-Cunningham, and Sylvia Hammond-Akridge, all originals. The other original Charlotte could not join the group at the time so Lorraine Joyner of The Veneers was brought in to round out the group.
The Clickettes only reunited in 1999, but sounded like they had been singing together for the past thirty years. The comments form the concert were that the ladies were remarkable.
The group lost one of it's original members when Charlotte McCartney-Ford passed. In 2006 the group replaced Lorraine with the McCartney's youngest sister Carlene Sabb. She was an easy fit, she grew up listening to to the group rehearse, she also rehearsed with The Teen Clefs from time to time.
I have been informed that the Clickettes will soon be doing their thing in the Washington, D.C. area. They will be in concert at The Knights Of Columbus. 3611 Stewart Road, Forestville, MD. For more information call 301-839-2233. Also on the show The Marques, and Special Guest William DeVaughn. The Date is February 21, 2010 at 6:30 P.M. Doors open at 5:00.
THE CHANTELS
The Chantels were established in the early 50's at St. Anthony of Padua school in the Bronx. The group included lead, Arlene Smith, Sonia Goring, Rene Minus, Jackie Landry Jackson, and Lois Harris. they got their name from their rival school St.Frances de Chantal.
The group was discovered by Richard Barrett, lead singer of The Valentines and signed to End Records. Their first single was "He's Gone" which went to #71, in August of 1957. In January 1958 they released "Maybe" which went to #15 on billboard's hot 100. The group released afew more singles, but none had the success of "Maybe".
The group was dropped by End in 1959 and Arlene Smith decided to go solo. Lois Harris left to go college. Annette Smith (no relation to Arlene) joined the group in 1960. The group moved to Carlton Records where they had their second major hit, "Look In My Eyes" which went to #6 on the R&B charts. The group recorded several more singles and changed labels afew more times. Personnel changed throughout the 60's and they recorded their last single in 1970.
Arlene fronted a new group in the 70's that included Carol Douglas, who would later become a disco queen. The other original Chantels reformed and hired Noemi (Ami)Ortiz as their lead. Arlene Smith reunited with the group for a PBS Doo-Wop special and dedicated "Maybe" to Jackie Landry who passed in 1997.
The Chantels were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall Of Fame in 2002. In 2001 they made the final cut for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but did not get enough votes to be inducted. In September 2009 is was revealed they were one twelve nominees to be inducted in 2010.
The Shirelles
The Shirelles were a girl group from the 60's and the first girl group to have a #1 single on the Billboard hot 100. The members of the group included, lead Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston, then Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley, Beverly Lee, and Addie 'Micki' Harris. The group formed in New Jersey in 1958 and had a string of hits over the years, including "Dedicated To The One I Love", "Blue Holiday", "Foolish Little Girl", and "Baby It's You".
The group was first called The Poquellos' and wrote a song called "I Met Him On Sunday" and sang it a cappella in the school talent show. A school friend had them audition her mother, Florence Greenberg. Greenberg ran a small record label, and was so impressed with the group that she became the groups manager, and changed their name to The Shirelles and had them record the song. Two more single followed "I Met Him On A Sunday" , but flopped. Greenberg had licensed the groups songs to Decca Records, but after the two flops Decca refused the released any more records by the group. Greenberg then signed them to her new lable, Scepter Records, and brought in Luther Dixon whose imaginative arrangements would help shape the group's sound.
"Tonight's The Night" went to #20 on the R&B chart in 1960, but they had a huge hit with the Goffin/King song "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" released late in 1960. The song went to #1 on the pop charts, making them the first all-female group of the rock era to do that. The song also went to #2 on the R&B charts, and #2 in the UK in 1961. The success of this song made it possible for some of their older songs to be re-released and become hits. "Big John went to #2 that same year. In 1962 the group had another hit with "Soldier Boy" a Luther Dixon/Florence Greenberg song, that became their second #1 hit. In 1963 they scored with "Foolish Little Girl" which went to #9 on the R&B charts but the group found it difficult to maintain their previous level of success.
In the next year The Shirelles, recorded songs for the movie, "It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World", headlined the first intergrated concert in Alabama, and helped a young Dionne Warwick get some exposure by having her sub for Reeves and Jackson when each took time off to get married.
A money dispute caused some problems in 1964, which kept the group from recording for awhile. The dispute was settled, but the group was stuck at a lable where their success had run out. Some say that the British invasion was part of the problem because it took attention away from American groups. There is some truth to that because a lot of groups that were just holding on, just dropped off the charts once the invasion started. Some of the groups songs were covered by some other groups, including The Beatles, Manfred Mann, The Temprees, The Mama and the Papas, The Masqueraders, and Roberta Flack. In 1967 They recorded "Last Minute Miracle", it didn't chart. Jackson soon left the group to remarry and raise a family. The group continued as a trio, recording for Bell Records, United Artist, and RCA, as Shirley and The Shirelles through 1971. The group toured the Oldies circuit and appeared in the 1973 documentary "Let The Good Times Roll". Shirley Alston left the group to start a solo career in 1975, and was replaced by Doris Jackson. Shirley Alston recorded as "Lady Rose" on the Scepter Strawberry subsidiary, and as Shirley Alston for a moonlighting Motown executive Barney Ales' Prodigal label until the label was purchase by Motown. That year she recorded an album called "With A Little Help From My Friends", with artist like Shep and The Limelites, The Five Satins, Danny and The Juniors, The Flamingos, and The Drifters singing on the album.
Doris Jackson took a leave of absence from 1979 to 1982 and was replaced by Louise Bethune. Doris Jackson returned to the group only to have Micki Harris die from a heart attack, during a performance in Atlanta on June 10,1982. Louise Bethune came back to the group to fill Harris' spot. The group split in 1986, but as with most of the groups of this era, multiple groups of Shirelles appeared on the scene. It got so bad that two of the best groups divided the country in half, and one group worked only on the west coast and the other worked the east coast. The hard part was finding an original Shirelle to be apart of these groups.
The group reunited brieffly for a program honoring them at their high school in New Jersey, and sang background for Dionne Warwick when she covered their song " Will You Love Me Tomorrow?". The Shirells sang with Bo Diddley one of his albums in 1996.
Beverly Lee secured the official trademark for the group's name. The group has been working hard for years for royalty reform, medical coverage and fair treatment of pioneer artist. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked The Shirelles at #76 on their all time Greatest Artist List. Passaic New Jersey honored the group by renaming part of Paulson Avenue for the group in 2008.
In the next blog we'll talk about what is DOO-WOP, and where did it come from. Please leave comments and suggestions for groups you would like to hear about.
Thank you again Dr. Nick for your help and Victoria for your comments.
Today we'll talk about three of those girl groups that paved the way. The groups are The Clickettes, The Chantels and The Shirelles.
THE CLICKETTES
The Clicketts started out on the Dice Label in 1958, guided by hit duo Johnnie and Joe, who owned the label. According to biographer John Clemente, the original line-up was lead singer, Barbara English, alto, Sylvia Hammond, and two sopranos, Trudy and Charlotte McCartney. According to the group Charlotte sang baritone.
A year after their releases with Dice, the group changed. The McCartney sisters left the group to stay in school, and were replaced by Jean Bolden and Barbara Saunders. The group released five singles for Dice, notably the double-sided hit, "Because Of My Best Friend"/"To Be A Part Of You", which made the top spot in Pittsburgh and Philly in 1959. The group left Dice in 1960 and moved to Guyden records.
The Clickettes were later taken over by Richard Barrett, lead singer of The Valentines and manager of the legendary Chantels. Barrett wrote and produced the song "Where is He", on Guyden.
There were a number of Clickettes recordings released in the late 50's and early
60's, not all of them actually featured the girls. "Tonight And Forever" for instance was probably recorded by a group called The Teen Clefs. This type of thing happned all the time.
Barbara English and a number of ex-Clickettes continued to record into the early
60's for labels like Roulette, Warwick, and Elmor. Helen Powell of The Impacts, replaced Sylvia Hammond in 1961. The group recorded two singles for Roulette including a New York favorite, "We Need Them", billed as Barbara English and The Fashions. This group disbanded when Barbara left for a solo career in 1963 and Helen went to the Chantels.
The Clickettes made their first United Group Harmony appearance in March 2000, the crowd gave them a great welcome. This group included Barbara English, Trudy McCartney-Cunningham, and Sylvia Hammond-Akridge, all originals. The other original Charlotte could not join the group at the time so Lorraine Joyner of The Veneers was brought in to round out the group.
The Clickettes only reunited in 1999, but sounded like they had been singing together for the past thirty years. The comments form the concert were that the ladies were remarkable.
The group lost one of it's original members when Charlotte McCartney-Ford passed. In 2006 the group replaced Lorraine with the McCartney's youngest sister Carlene Sabb. She was an easy fit, she grew up listening to to the group rehearse, she also rehearsed with The Teen Clefs from time to time.
I have been informed that the Clickettes will soon be doing their thing in the Washington, D.C. area. They will be in concert at The Knights Of Columbus. 3611 Stewart Road, Forestville, MD. For more information call 301-839-2233. Also on the show The Marques, and Special Guest William DeVaughn. The Date is February 21, 2010 at 6:30 P.M. Doors open at 5:00.
THE CHANTELS
The Chantels were established in the early 50's at St. Anthony of Padua school in the Bronx. The group included lead, Arlene Smith, Sonia Goring, Rene Minus, Jackie Landry Jackson, and Lois Harris. they got their name from their rival school St.Frances de Chantal.
The group was discovered by Richard Barrett, lead singer of The Valentines and signed to End Records. Their first single was "He's Gone" which went to #71, in August of 1957. In January 1958 they released "Maybe" which went to #15 on billboard's hot 100. The group released afew more singles, but none had the success of "Maybe".
The group was dropped by End in 1959 and Arlene Smith decided to go solo. Lois Harris left to go college. Annette Smith (no relation to Arlene) joined the group in 1960. The group moved to Carlton Records where they had their second major hit, "Look In My Eyes" which went to #6 on the R&B charts. The group recorded several more singles and changed labels afew more times. Personnel changed throughout the 60's and they recorded their last single in 1970.
Arlene fronted a new group in the 70's that included Carol Douglas, who would later become a disco queen. The other original Chantels reformed and hired Noemi (Ami)Ortiz as their lead. Arlene Smith reunited with the group for a PBS Doo-Wop special and dedicated "Maybe" to Jackie Landry who passed in 1997.
The Chantels were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall Of Fame in 2002. In 2001 they made the final cut for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but did not get enough votes to be inducted. In September 2009 is was revealed they were one twelve nominees to be inducted in 2010.
The Shirelles
The Shirelles were a girl group from the 60's and the first girl group to have a #1 single on the Billboard hot 100. The members of the group included, lead Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston, then Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley, Beverly Lee, and Addie 'Micki' Harris. The group formed in New Jersey in 1958 and had a string of hits over the years, including "Dedicated To The One I Love", "Blue Holiday", "Foolish Little Girl", and "Baby It's You".
The group was first called The Poquellos' and wrote a song called "I Met Him On Sunday" and sang it a cappella in the school talent show. A school friend had them audition her mother, Florence Greenberg. Greenberg ran a small record label, and was so impressed with the group that she became the groups manager, and changed their name to The Shirelles and had them record the song. Two more single followed "I Met Him On A Sunday" , but flopped. Greenberg had licensed the groups songs to Decca Records, but after the two flops Decca refused the released any more records by the group. Greenberg then signed them to her new lable, Scepter Records, and brought in Luther Dixon whose imaginative arrangements would help shape the group's sound.
"Tonight's The Night" went to #20 on the R&B chart in 1960, but they had a huge hit with the Goffin/King song "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" released late in 1960. The song went to #1 on the pop charts, making them the first all-female group of the rock era to do that. The song also went to #2 on the R&B charts, and #2 in the UK in 1961. The success of this song made it possible for some of their older songs to be re-released and become hits. "Big John went to #2 that same year. In 1962 the group had another hit with "Soldier Boy" a Luther Dixon/Florence Greenberg song, that became their second #1 hit. In 1963 they scored with "Foolish Little Girl" which went to #9 on the R&B charts but the group found it difficult to maintain their previous level of success.
In the next year The Shirelles, recorded songs for the movie, "It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World", headlined the first intergrated concert in Alabama, and helped a young Dionne Warwick get some exposure by having her sub for Reeves and Jackson when each took time off to get married.
A money dispute caused some problems in 1964, which kept the group from recording for awhile. The dispute was settled, but the group was stuck at a lable where their success had run out. Some say that the British invasion was part of the problem because it took attention away from American groups. There is some truth to that because a lot of groups that were just holding on, just dropped off the charts once the invasion started. Some of the groups songs were covered by some other groups, including The Beatles, Manfred Mann, The Temprees, The Mama and the Papas, The Masqueraders, and Roberta Flack. In 1967 They recorded "Last Minute Miracle", it didn't chart. Jackson soon left the group to remarry and raise a family. The group continued as a trio, recording for Bell Records, United Artist, and RCA, as Shirley and The Shirelles through 1971. The group toured the Oldies circuit and appeared in the 1973 documentary "Let The Good Times Roll". Shirley Alston left the group to start a solo career in 1975, and was replaced by Doris Jackson. Shirley Alston recorded as "Lady Rose" on the Scepter Strawberry subsidiary, and as Shirley Alston for a moonlighting Motown executive Barney Ales' Prodigal label until the label was purchase by Motown. That year she recorded an album called "With A Little Help From My Friends", with artist like Shep and The Limelites, The Five Satins, Danny and The Juniors, The Flamingos, and The Drifters singing on the album.
Doris Jackson took a leave of absence from 1979 to 1982 and was replaced by Louise Bethune. Doris Jackson returned to the group only to have Micki Harris die from a heart attack, during a performance in Atlanta on June 10,1982. Louise Bethune came back to the group to fill Harris' spot. The group split in 1986, but as with most of the groups of this era, multiple groups of Shirelles appeared on the scene. It got so bad that two of the best groups divided the country in half, and one group worked only on the west coast and the other worked the east coast. The hard part was finding an original Shirelle to be apart of these groups.
The group reunited brieffly for a program honoring them at their high school in New Jersey, and sang background for Dionne Warwick when she covered their song " Will You Love Me Tomorrow?". The Shirells sang with Bo Diddley one of his albums in 1996.
Beverly Lee secured the official trademark for the group's name. The group has been working hard for years for royalty reform, medical coverage and fair treatment of pioneer artist. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked The Shirelles at #76 on their all time Greatest Artist List. Passaic New Jersey honored the group by renaming part of Paulson Avenue for the group in 2008.
In the next blog we'll talk about what is DOO-WOP, and where did it come from. Please leave comments and suggestions for groups you would like to hear about.
Thank you again Dr. Nick for your help and Victoria for your comments.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Re-visit The Paragons
As often happened in the doo-wop era, there were many groups with the same name. While doing my research for The Paragons I found what I thought was a reliable source of information. I checked two other sources and they pointed me in the same direction. However after posting the blog I got a call from Dr. Nick, a friend and doo-wop lover. Nick informed me that I had the wrong group of Paragons. The doo-wop group were not Jamaicans, but were from Bedford-Stuyvesant, NY.
So Victoria let me apologize for the mis-information, but thanks to DR. Nick I looked in a different place on found the New York PARAGONS. So Victoria here are The Paragons.
The Paragons were formed by three friends in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of New York city in 1955. The friends were Al Brown, Ricky Jackson, and Donald Travis. They found two more members, Gable "Ben" Frazier and Julius "Mack" McMichael, who became the lead.
Brown suggested the name Paragons because of all the Paragon oil trucks that moved through New York. The group used The Drifters and The Flamingos as inspiration. The group would practice near the Ralph Avenue subway station, because of the echos. In 1956 Hiram Johnson heard them and started working with them. The problem was that Johnson was working with another group called The Marvels who had a release on ABC-Paramount in November 1956. The record didn't chart, but Johnson believed they could make it so he put most of his time in on The Marvels. He even started Johnson Records to promote them. At this time they changed their name to The Dubs.
The Paragons heard about Paul Winley, whose Winley Records was right down the street from Johnson's office. The group jumped at the chance to work with Winley. Winley's brother was the bass singer for The Clovers.
The Paragon's first release was "Florence"/"Hey Little School Girl". Both songs were lead by McMichael. The keyboard work was done by Dave "Baby" Cortez (real name Davey Clowney). The group released two more songs "Two Are Better Than One" and "Twilight". In 1959 The group released an album called "The Paragons Meet The Jesters". This was the first rock and roll compilation album, and the best selling. At this time McMichael left the group to join The Olympics and was replaced by Bill Witt. Al Brown also left and was replaced by David Outlaw. Witt didn't stay long and was gone by the time the group released their last record for Winley. The song was "So You Will Know". From this point on there were too many changes to keep track of. The group disbanded in 1967. Some time later Bill Witt revived the group and they toured for afew years.
Later this week I'll be talking about some of the girl groups that came out of this period. I'll be talking about The Chantels, The Shirells, and The Clickettes.
Please leave your comments and request, I will address all request.
Thank you again Victoria for your request and thanks again Dr. Nick for your help!!
So Victoria let me apologize for the mis-information, but thanks to DR. Nick I looked in a different place on found the New York PARAGONS. So Victoria here are The Paragons.
The Paragons were formed by three friends in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of New York city in 1955. The friends were Al Brown, Ricky Jackson, and Donald Travis. They found two more members, Gable "Ben" Frazier and Julius "Mack" McMichael, who became the lead.
Brown suggested the name Paragons because of all the Paragon oil trucks that moved through New York. The group used The Drifters and The Flamingos as inspiration. The group would practice near the Ralph Avenue subway station, because of the echos. In 1956 Hiram Johnson heard them and started working with them. The problem was that Johnson was working with another group called The Marvels who had a release on ABC-Paramount in November 1956. The record didn't chart, but Johnson believed they could make it so he put most of his time in on The Marvels. He even started Johnson Records to promote them. At this time they changed their name to The Dubs.
The Paragons heard about Paul Winley, whose Winley Records was right down the street from Johnson's office. The group jumped at the chance to work with Winley. Winley's brother was the bass singer for The Clovers.
The Paragon's first release was "Florence"/"Hey Little School Girl". Both songs were lead by McMichael. The keyboard work was done by Dave "Baby" Cortez (real name Davey Clowney). The group released two more songs "Two Are Better Than One" and "Twilight". In 1959 The group released an album called "The Paragons Meet The Jesters". This was the first rock and roll compilation album, and the best selling. At this time McMichael left the group to join The Olympics and was replaced by Bill Witt. Al Brown also left and was replaced by David Outlaw. Witt didn't stay long and was gone by the time the group released their last record for Winley. The song was "So You Will Know". From this point on there were too many changes to keep track of. The group disbanded in 1967. Some time later Bill Witt revived the group and they toured for afew years.
Later this week I'll be talking about some of the girl groups that came out of this period. I'll be talking about The Chantels, The Shirells, and The Clickettes.
Please leave your comments and request, I will address all request.
Thank you again Victoria for your request and thanks again Dr. Nick for your help!!
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