doo-wop

 

The Clientelles (Upper Darby, Pennsylvania)
Pictures update from http://whitedoowopcollector.blogspot.com

 

Personnel :

Jimmy Dilks (Lead)

Tommy Payne (First & Second Tenor)

Chuck Frederico (Second Tenor & Baritone)

Jack Shingle (Second Lead)

Mike Orlando (Bass)

 

Discography :

1961 - Church Bells May Ring / My love (M.B.S.7)



Biography :

The Clientelles formed in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, in 1960. Group Members changed frequently. Once they were in place, the members shown above became dedicated and practiced religiously for three years at the home of their manager, who eventually took them to a club in North Philadelphia where they were quite sucessful. the Club, however had different intentions.

Without their manager present, group members and their parents met with one of the owners of this club who asked that each member contribute 100$ to help launch their musical career. The group's manager was never aware of this and soon brought them to a studio to cut some demos. He paids $500 for their time and an additional $500 to a record pressing plant for the discs.

The Only thing he receveid was some 500 to 1,000 records pressed on the mysterious M.B.S records label. Although several other records are know to exist on the M.B.S. label, the situation with the Clientelles remains cloudy.

The Clientelles did many local shows to support their disc, but nothing positive was ever realized; there was no promotion, support, or airplay. By 1962, the Clientelles' entertainment career was finished.



Their songs :

    
Church Bells May Ring                     My love

 

 

The Four After Fives aka The Rivingtons (Los Angeles)

Personnel :

Carl White (Lead)

Al Frazier (Tenor)

Sonny Harris (Lead)

Turner "Rocky" Wilson Jr (Bass)

 

Discography :

1961 - Hello Schoolteacher! / I Gotta have somebody (Lonely boy) (All Time 9076)

Their Songs :

   
Hello Schoolteacher!              I Gotta have somebody

The Admirations (1) (Brooklyn, New York)
Pictures  update from http://whitedoowopcollector.blogspot.com

Personnel :

Joe (Cookie) Lorello

Fred Mastanduno (First Tenor)

John Mahlan (Second Tenor)

Ralph Minichino (Baritone)

Lou Moshella (Bass)



Discography :

1959 - The Bells of Rosa Rita / Little Bo-Beep (Mercury 71521)
1961 - To the Aisle / Hey senorita (Mercury 71833)
1961 - Remember the day (Mercury) (Unreleased)
1961 - It all Happened so fast (Mercury) (Unreleased)
1974 - Over the rainbow / In my younger days (Kelway 108)



Biography :

If the quality of a vocal group was judged by the number of records released, then the Admirations would have been judged unfairly.
One of the best late-'50s white doo wop groups, the Admirations were also one of the few such acts with only two records on a major label.
The quintet would have been better off with one of New York's rock and roll independents,who were used to breaking records like theirs, but in 1958, 15-year-old high school students couldn't possibly forsee such things.
The group members were all friends from the same neighborhood in brooklyn, growing up around Elderts Lane  and Liberty Avenue.
They consisted of lead Joe (Cookie) Lorello, Fred Mastanduno (First Tenor), John Mahlan (Second Tenor), Ralph Minichino (Baritone), and Lou Moshella (Bass).

They practiced in hallways, on street corners, and at the neighborhood candy store and locked their eyes on a large advertisement for admiration cigar.
At that moment the Admirations were born. They began doing dances and record hops. performing songs by their favorite groups like The Flamingos and Belmonts.
In the fall of 1958, an A&R assistant to Mercury's Clyde Otis named Jerry
Maggat saw the group perform and brought them to Otis, who signed them up.
Although their first recording was done in February 1959, for some inexplicable reason "Bells of Rosa Rita" was not released by Mercury until November of that year.

It became one of those classic East-Coast doo wop records that seemed more popular as an "oldie" than it was at the time of its ill-fated initial release.
With Mercury's interest on the wane after just one record,  the group decided to disband, but in 1960 they reformed with Joe Mertens and Diane Salemme (Joe's wife) replacing John Mahlam (In the Army) and Ralph Minichino.

By the summer of 1960, the group got an opportunity and cut four more sides for Mercury, two of which were never released and two ("To the Aisle" and "Hey Senorita") that weren't issued until 1961.

Though their record releases were few, the Admirations' powerful five-part chime harmony on "Bells of Rosa Rita" have endeared them to vocal group enthusiasts for almost 30 years. Disappointed with Mercury's disinterest, the group disbanded for a second time  later thant year as John became a police officer, Joe and Fred joined the sanitation department, and lou joined a construction company.  In 1974, the group was resurrected for a third time doing various revival appearances in the New York city Aera.
The lack of exposure for Admirations records is evident in the rarity of those recordings on the collector's market.

Members of the group have acknowledged at one time or another that even they don 't have a copy of "To the Aisle".
Jay Warner (American singing groups: a history from 1940s to today)

 

Songs :

   
To the Aisle                         It all Happened so fast


   
The Bells of Rosa Rita           Little Bo-Beep

 

Lee Andrews & The Hearts (3) (Philadelphia)

Personnel :

Lee Andrews aka Arthur Lee Andrew Thompson (Lead）

Rory Calhoun aka Royalston Calhoun (Tenor）

Thomas 'Butch' Curry（Tenor）

Jimmy McCallister（Baritone）

John Young（Bass）

 

Discography :

Lee Andrews & The Hearts (3)
1954 - Maybe tou'll be there / Baby come back（Rainbow 252/Riviera 965）

1954 - White cliffs of Dover / Much too much（Rainbow 256）

1954 - The fairest / Bells of st. Mary's（Rainbow  259）

1955 - Bluebird of happiness / Show me the merengue（Gotham 7318）
1956 - Lonely room / Leona（Gotham 7320）
1956 - Just suppose / It's me（Gotham 7321）

1957 - Long lonely nights / The clock（Mainline 102/Chess-1665/Grand 157）

1957 - Teardrops / The girl around the corner（Argo 1000/Chess-1675/Grand 156）

1958 - Try the impossible / Nobody's home（UA 123/Casino 452）

1958 - Why do I ? / Glad to be here（UA 136）

1958 - Maybe you'll be there / All I ask is love（UA 151）
1962 - Together Again / My Lonely Room (Gowen 1403)
1962 - I'm sorry Pillow / Gee but I'm lonesome (Parkway 860)
1966 - You're Taking A Long Time Coming Back / Quiet As It's Kept  (RCA 47 8929)

1967 - Island Of Love / Oh My Love (Crimson 1002)
1967 - Cold Gray Dawn / All You Can Do (Crimson 1005)

1967 - Never The Less  / Never The Less (Crimson 1009)
1967 - Island Of Love / Never The Less (Crimson 1009)
1968 - I've Had It / Little Bird (Crimson 1015)

1968 - Cold Gray Dawn / All You Can Do (Lost nite 1001)

1968 - Oh My Love / Can't Do Without You (Lost nite 1004)
1968 - Quiet As It's Kept / Island Of Love (Lost nite 1005)
1981 - Sipping A Cup Of Coffee / Just Suppose (alt. take) (Gotham 323)
1981 - Window Eyes / Long Lonely Nights (alt. take) (Gotham 324)

1981 - I Miss My Baby / Boom (alt. take) (Gotham 325)

Lee Andrews With The Hearts (3)
1959 - Just suppose / Boom（UA 162）
1959 - I wonder / Baby Come Back (Casino 110)
1961 - I've got a right to cry / I miss you so (Swan 4065)
1961 - A night like tonight / You Gave me (Swan 4076)
1961 - P.S I love you / I Cried (Swan 4087)
1965 - You You You / Hug-a-bee (V.I.P 1601)

The Hearts (3)
1960 - It's Unbelievable / On My Honor (Chancellor 1057)

The Five Hearts (3)
1959 - Unbelievable / Aunt Jenny (Arcade 107)

The Famous Hearts
1962 - Aisle of love / Momma (Guyden 2073)

Congress Alley
1972 - God Bless the children / Congress Alley (Avco 4610)
1973 - God Save America  (Avco 4616)

Biography :

Lee Andrews & The Hearts By Marv Goldberg © 2004 by Marv Goldberg “Long Lonely Nights,” “Tear Drops,” “Try The Impossible”: those were the hits, the charted legacy of Lee Andrews and the Hearts, one of the finest groups to emerge from Philadelphia. Their story had more downs than ups, but they turned out a body of wonderful music.

Arthur Lee Andrew Thompson (guess where the “Lee Andrews” came from) was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina to a musical family. His father, Beechie Thompson, had been with the Dixie Hummingbirds gospel group. When Lee was two (around 1940), his family moved to the Woodland Avenue and 49th Street section of Southwest Philadelphia, where Lee grew up. He attended Bertram High School, where, in 1952, he helped to form a vocal group called the Dreamers. This group, which would go on to become the Hearts, was comprised of: Lee (lead), Royalston “Roy” Calhoun (first tenor), Thomas “Butch” Curry (second tenor), Jimmy McCalister (baritone), John Young (bass), and Kenny Lowe (piano).

Their influences were the usual: the Orioles, the 5 Keys, the 5 Royales, and the Ravens. Lee's special influences were Nat “King” Cole and Bing Crosby; he loved pop music, and it shows in the recordings, which are not as heavily R&B as those of their contemporaries. They originally sang spirituals, guided by Butch's aunt. But little by little they expanded their repertoire to include Rhythm 'n' Blues In July, they played the Apollo, sharing the stage with Lloyd Price, the Moonglows, the Teenchords, and the Hearts (the Baton group, of “Lonely Nights” fame).

   

In August, the Hearts appeared on Philadelphia's TV Bandstand. The end of the month saw them as part of the Apollo Theater's Labor Day Week show, on the same bill with the Harptones, Fats Domino, Bo Diddley, Big Maybelle, the Cookies, Little Joe and the Thrillers and the Reuben Phillips Orchestra. Guess who the MC was (I'll give you a hint: his initials were “Jocko”). Another Jocko show followed on the 14th of September at the Laurel Gardens in Newark. This time they took the stage with Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Doc Bagby, the Teenagers, the Chantels, the Channels, the Love Notes, the Sentimentals, the Shepherd Sisters, and the Shells.

By the time “Long Lonely Nights” had peaked, it had gone to 45 on the pop charts and 11 on R'n'B. In spite of the fact that the record-buying public favored Clyde's version then (it went to 1 on the R'n'B charts), it's rarely heard today. Regardless of talent, most R&B vocal groups never make the charts. Lee Andrews and the Hearts were there three times.

   

They weren't major hitmakers, but they did better than most. As with any group, there are a few clinkers in there, but for the most part, they came off as a polished, professional group, that probably should have done even better than they did.

http://www.myspace.com/leeandrewsandthehearts
http://home.earthlink.net/%7Ev1tiger/leehearts.html
http://www.destinationdoowop.com/leeandrewsandhearts.htm
http://home.att.net/~marvart/Lahearts/lahearts.html



SONGS :

The Hearts (3)

   
It's Unbelievable                      On My Honor



Lee Andrews & The Hearts (3)

   
All i ask is love                      Boom



CD :

 

 

The Donnybrooks (Cannonsburg,PA)
Pictures & Informations  update from http://whitedoowopcollector.blogspot.com


Personnel :

Robert Korbert aka Bobby Shaw

Ken Paige

Frank Trebel

John Alterio



Discography :

1959 - Everytime We Kiss / Break The Glass (Calico 108)
1959 - Coming Home From The School / Mandolins Of Love (Calico 112)

 

Their Songs :

   
Everytime We Kiss                  Break The Glass

   
Coming Home From The School        Mandolins Of Love

 

 

• The Clientelles | 06-11-2009
• The Four After Fives aka The Rivingtons | 05-11-2009
• The Admirations (1) | 03-11-2009
• Lee Andrews & The Hearts (3) | 30-10-2009
• The Donnybrooks | 30-10-2009
• The Rockin' Kids | 29-10-2009
• The Darts (2) | 27-10-2009
• The Four Haven Knights aka The Haven Knights | 25-10-2009
• The Hi-Fives (1) | 23-10-2009
• Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans | 21-10-2009
• The Capitals | 20-10-2009
• The Vonnair Sisters | 20-10-2009
• The Accents (1) | 18-10-2009
• The Emeralds (3) | 17-10-2009
• The Stereophonics | 16-10-2009