Top :Tommy Nelli, Billy Shelly & Dominick Scretti - Bottom : Jan Perolla

Little Jan & The Radiants (2) (Syracuse, NY)
aka The Teen-Tones (1)


Personnel :

Jan Perolla (Lead)

Billy Shelly (First Tenor)

Dominick Scretti (Baritone)

Tommy Nelli (Bass)

Discography :

The Teen-Tones (1)
1958 - Miss Sweet / Darling I Love You (Dandy Dan 1958)

Little Jan & The Radiants (2)
1960 - If You Love Me / Heart And Soul (VIM 507)

Jan & The Radiants (2)
1960 - Is It True (I Still Believe In You) / Now Is The Hour (Clock 1028)
1961 - If You Love Me / Is It True (I Still Believe In You) (Queen 247)



Biography :

Syracuse vocal group Little Jan and the Radiants were formed in 1958, when three male members of the Teen-Tones : Billy Shelly (1st tenor), Dominick Scretti (baritone) and Tommy Nelli (bass) replaced Billy Sanders, who went into the service, with Carl Irvine (2nd tenor), and added none other than the departed Billy’s girlfriend, 17 year old Jan Perolla. Originally christened Little Jan & the Orients, their infectious sound crossed cultural lines and the group quickly became a local favorite. Sports-o-ramas, sock-hops, house parties and high school dances gave way to the big time.

The Teen-Tones (Sam Furco, Tommy Nelli, Billy Sanders, Billy Shelly and Dominick Scretti)

When a producer representing Syracuse University graduate and SAMMYS Lifetime Achievement Award winner Dick Clark came to Syracuse to audition Jeff & the Notes, their friends Little Jan and the Radiants were also there and invited to “sing a few bars of Earth Angel”.  Shortly thereafter, the group got a call from the producer, met at The Orange at Syracuse University, signed a contract with CLOCK Records, and the renamed Little Jan and the Radiants were on their way.

  
                                                                                                                                        Jan Perolla

“Heart And Soul” b/w “If You Love Me” was recorded in Buffalo NY in 1959, and “Is It True” b/w “Now Is The Hour”, recorded in Rochester, was released the following year, both garnering significant radio airplay across the United States, rumored to have hit the top 10 in some major markets. The discs were so popular that they were later re-released nationally on Queen Records in 1961. In their heyday, the group shared stages with such notables as Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell, Gene Pitney and an early lineup of the not yet famous Four Seasons.


Songs :

The Teen-Tones (1)

  
Darling I Love You                                   Miss Sweet       

Little Jan & The Radiants (2)

  
If You Love Me                                  Heart And Soul

Jan & The Radiants (2)

  
Is It True (I Still Believe In You)                      Now Is The Hour    


...

clockwise from top : Morrie Marino, Robert A Fortunato, Nick Fortunato, Vinny Gangi & William Schwartz

 
The Alladins  (Greenwich, Connecticut)


Personnel :

Morrie Marino

Robert A Fortunato

William Schwartz

Vinny Gangi

Nick Fortunato

 

Discography :

1960 - Then / Gee (Prism 6001)

 

Biography :

Vocal group from Greenwich (Connecticut) The Aladins (with one L)  was composed  by Morrie Marino, Nick and Robert A. Fortunato, William Schwartz & Vinny Gangi. The Group recorded the Crows’ biggest song "Gee". Prism, a local label, released the single as The Alladins (with two L).

Songs :

    
Then                                               Gee

…

The Du-Ettes & The Vanguards

The Du-Ettes (1) (Seattle, Washington)


Personnel :

Bonnie Dee Sloan

Annie Laurie Sloan


Discography :

The Du-Ettes (1)
1960 - Neither You Nor I / Blue Point Drive (Jimmy Phelps) (Mecca 5-6)

The Du-Ettes (1) With The Vanguards
1960 - Donny / Wild (The Vanguards) (Mecca LB 2422/23)

 

Biography :

The Du-ettes,  Bonnie and Annnie Sloan, teenage daughters of longtime Seattle songsmith, Sterling "Bud" Sloan, owner of Mecca Records (920 3rd Avenue Seattle, Washington). In February 1960, they recorded "Neither You Nor I" backed with  "Blue Point Drive" by Jimmy Phelps . For their second single, the Du-ettes added the Vanguards, an instrumental group they performed at teen dances with and recorded “Donny”. The flip, “Wild” is an instrumental by the Vanguards.

http://oldwax.blogspot.com/

Songs :


Donny


…

The Jarmels  (Richmond, Virginia)

 
Personnel :

Paul Burnett (Lead)

Nathaniel Ruff (Tenor)

Earl Christian (Tenor)

Ray Smith (Baritone)

Tommy Eldridge (Bass)

Discography :

Singles:
1961 - Little Lonely One / She Loves To Dance (Laurie 3085)
1961 - A Little Bit Of Soap / The Way You Look Tonight (Laurie 3098)
1961 - I'll Follow You / Gee Oh Gosh (Laurie 3116)
1962 - Red Sails In The Sunset / Loneliness (Laurie 3124)
1962 - One By One / Little Bug (Laurie 3141)
1963 - Come On Girl / Keep Your Mind On Me (Laurie 3174)
Unreleased:
1962 - Why Am I A Fool For You (Laurie)
1962 - You Don't Believe A Word I Say (Laurie)

Discography :

The Jarmels were one of those one-hit wonder groups, responsible for a number 12 single in 1961 entitled "A Little Bit of Soap." If none of their other five singles did remotely as well, that song has lingered in the public consciousness, partly with help from periodic new hit versions by the Exciters in the mid-1960s and Showaddywaddy in England during the 1980s.

The Jarmels came from Richmond, Virginia, where the five members had all begun singing together in church and school. Nathaniel Ruff (b. 1939), Ray Smith (b. 1941), Paul Burnett (b. 1942), Earl Christian (b. 1940), and Tom Eldridge (b. 1941) may have come from Virginia, but the name of the group they formed in the late 1950s came from a street in Harlem. Their manager was Jim Gribble, who also managed the Mystics and the Passions, and brought the Jarmels to Laurie Records in New York in 1961. They were a rather unusual addition to the Laurie roster, for most of the company's artists were white, and sounded more pop than R&B-influenced. The Jarmels combined pop and R&B influences, most notably the sound of the post-1958 Drifters.

Their first single, "Little Lonely One," was a hit in New York but never charted nationally. Their second record, "A Little Bit of Soap," written by future Neil Diamond/Van Morrison manager Bert Berns, (who also produced the Drifters), got to number 12 in America in the summer of 1961 during a six-week run on the charts. This was the Jarmels' first and last chart success, none of their four subsequent singles charting at all. They recorded their last single, "Come on Girl," in 1963, and the group soldiered on for a while into the mid-1960s with numerous personnel changes -- their later membership included Major Harris, who subsequently became part of the Delfonics.
Bruce Eder, All Music Guide

Songs : 

     
Little Lonely One                   She Loves To Dance               A Little Bit Of Soap

     
The Way You Look Tonight             I'll Follow You                        Gee Oh Gosh         

     
Red Sails In The Sunset                    Loneliness                        One By One 

     
            Little Bug                          Come On Girl                    Keep Your Mind On Me

  
    Why Am I A Fool For You      You Don't Believe A Word I Say 

…

The Emanons (1) (Brooklyn, New York)
ref : The Sequins (1)


Personnel :

Ronald Coleman (Lead)

Carl White (First Tenor)

Ralph Steely (Second Tenor)

James Dukes (Baritone)

James Hill (Bass)


Discography :

The Emanons (1)
Singles :
1956 - Change of Time / Hindu Baby (Gee 1005)
1956 - Blue Moon / Wish I Had My Baby (Josie 801)
Unreleased :
1956 - Itty Bitty Mama (JOZ/Josie 801)

The Sequins (1)
1956 - Don't Fall In Love / Why Can't You Treat Me Right (Red Robin 140)


Biography :

The Emanons hailed from New York. The group members were Ronald Coleman (Lead), Carl White (First Tenor), Ralph Steely (Second Tenor), James Dukes (Baritone) and James Hill (Bass). Coleman also was the lead voice for the Sequins with Carl White when they recorded "Don't Fall In Love" and "Why Can't You Treat Me Right" who was the last record on the Red Robin label. The Emanons (the No Names spelled backward) recorded "Change of Time" / "Hindu Baby" for Gee Records, a New York-based American record label formed as a subsidiary to George Goldner's Tico Records and Rama Records labels. The same year, they recorded "Blue Moon" and it’s the first time it was performed in an up-tempo fashion, five years before Pittsburgh’s Marcels had a #1 hit with it. The Marcels’ version on Colpix #186 charted nationally on Billboard in April 1961 for 14 weeks reaching #1. It stayed #1 for 3 weeks. "Blue Moon" is one of the classic popular standard songs written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1934. Through its different lyric changes by Hart, it has been featured in many movies through the years and recorded by many artists. Some artists were: Frank Sinatra, Elvis, Dean Martin, Herb Lance & The Classics, Sam Cooke, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, Bobby Vinton, Nat King Cole, Billy Eckstine, Mel Torme, Rosemary Clooney, Jo Stafford - with too many more to list.



Songs :

The Emanons (1)

  
     Blue Moon                                     Wish I Had My Baby

  
Change of Time                                  Hindu Baby


Itty Bitty Mama



The Sequins (1)

  
      Don't Fall In Love                          Why Can't You Treat Me Right


…