doo-wop

The Four Directions (Wantagh, New York)

Personnel :

Tony Presto (Lead)

Dominick Montiglio (First Tenor)

Joe Riccobene (Baritone)

Chuck Rothberg (Second Tenor)

Discography :

1965 - Tonight We Love / (Doin'The) Arthur (Coral 62456)

Biography :

This four-member vocal group from Wantagh consisted of lead singer Tony Presto, First Tenor Dominick Montiglio, Baritone Joe Riccobene and Second Tenor Chuck Rothberg. Tony Presto also sang lead with another group called the Themes who recorded "Marnie (I Love You)" b/w "There's No Moon Out Tonight"  for the Stork label in 1964

   
                                                                                           Dee Dee Warwick (back up singer)

The Four Directions recorded "Tonight We Love" b/w  "(Doin'The) Arthur" on the Coral label. "Tonight We Love" was recorded in 1964 at Decca with a 23 piece orchestra, plus three female back up singers, one of whom was Dione Warwick's  sister, Dee Dee Warwick. Henry Jerome was the A&R guy & Horace Ott was the conductor/arranger.





Songs :
(updated by Hans-Joachim) 

 
  
Tonight We Love                               (Doin'The) Arthur

….

The Chaunteurs (Chicago)
aka The Chanteurs (1)

Personnel :

Sollie McElroy (Lead Tenor)

Eugene Record (First Tenor)

Robert "Squirrel" Lester  (Second Tenor)

Clarence Johnson (Baritone)

Eddie Reed (Bass)






Discography :

The Chaunteurs
Singles :
1961 - Wishin' Well / New Rockin' Baby (La Salle 501)
Unreleased :
1961 - I'll Do What You Want Me to Do (La Salle)

The Chanteurs (1)
1963 - You've Got A Great Love / The Grizzly Bear (Vee Jay 519)

Biography :

In 1954, After the first two years of the Flamingos, Lead singer Sollie McElroy sang with the Moroccos for about three years. After scoring several regional hits, The Moroccos disbanded in 1957. In 1961, Sollie McElroy joined a group know as the Chaunteurs which included Clarence Johnson (Baritone), Robert "Squirrel" Lester  (Second Tenor), Eddie Reed (Bass) and Eugene Record (First Tenor).

  

Sollie McElroy and Eugene Record shared Lead on the La Salle Label release, which sounds more like a 1957 recording. Burt Bowen (Baritone) replaced Sollie  and in 1963 the group cut "You've Got A Great Love" b/w "The Grizzly Bear" on Vee Jay records in 1963 as The Chanteurs.

The Chaunteurs (1961) : Clarence Johnson, Robert Lester, Eddie Reed, Sollie McElroy and Eugene Record

The Next Year, Eugene Record, Robert "Squirrel" Lester, and Clarence Johnson) teamed up with Marshall Thompson and Creadel "Red" Jones of the Desideros to form the Hi-lites. Noting that the name Hi-lites was already in use, and wishing to add a tribute to their home town of Chicago, they changed their name to "Marshall and the Chi-Lites" in 1964. Johnson left later that year, and their name was subsequently shortened to The Chi-Lites.





Songs :

The Chaunteurs

    
Wishin' Well                                   New Rockin' Baby


The Chanteurs (1)

  
You've Got A Great Love                       The Grizzly Bear

...

Tico & The Triumphs (1) (Queens, N.Y.)





Personnel :

Paul Simon "Jerry Landis" (lead)

Marty Cooper « Tico » (lead)

Mickey Borack

Howie Beck





Discography :

Tico & The Triumphs  (1)

Singles:
1961 - Motorcycle / I Don't Believe Then  (Madison 169/ Amy 835)
1962 - Wild Flower / Express Train (Amy 845)
1962 - Cry, Little Boy, Cry / Get Up And Do The Wobble (Amy 860)

Unreleased :
1962 - She'll Be The One Who's Crying (Amy)
1962 - Here Comes The Garbage Man (Amy)
1962 - The Biggest Lie I Ever Told (Amy)
1962 - My Little Girl  (Amy)

Jerry Landis bb The Triumphs (1) (uncredited)
1961 - I’m Lonely / I Wish I Weren't In Love (Canadian American 130)
1962 - The Lone Teen Ranger / Lisa (Amy 875)

Tico bb The Triumphs  (1) (uncredited)
1962 - Cards Of Love / Noise (Amy 876 / Jackson scott 14)




Biography :


The story begins in the summer of 1961 when a guy by the name of Jerry Landis aka Paul Simon (that Paul Simon) was already a singer with quite a reputation. Between 1957 and 1961, Simon wrote, recorded, and released many songs, occasionally reuniting with Garfunkel as Tom & Jerry for some singles. Simon already had a few songs under his belt and was working with Amy Records producing music. His path would cross a group of young kids hanging out in the Kew Garden Hills area of Flushing, New York. Original member Marty Cooper had moved from Brooklyn and started attending Parsons Jr. High School. He met Mickey Borack at school. Marty and Mickey would hang out on the street corner near the Honeycomb Luncheonette and sing.

  
Paul Simon "Jerry Landis"                                                         

There, they met up with Howie Beck . They also had a female member - Gail Lynn who didn't continue with the group when they later started recording. They started performing together (Marty, Mickey and Gail) and later won a local talent contest at their school - Parsons Jr. High School, Flushing, New York. The group performed some more gigs and wound up one night at Forest Hills Jewish Centre.  Simon was in the audience that night and caught their show. Looking for new talent to produce, he approached the group about doing some work with him. He started grooming them to record. 

Simon used the group to back him on a recording for Canadian American Records in October 1961. They released I Wish I Weren't In Love under the name of "Jerry Landis." Following the Canadian American release, the group joined with Howie Beck and recorded two songs for Madison Records - Motorcycle and I Don't Believe Them. On some of the Tico and the Triumphs' records, Simon can be heard singing lead and on others it is Cooper. Madison later went bankrupt and sold the master for "Motorcycle" to Amy Records.

     
                                                                     Paul Simon "Jerry Landis" 

Amy released it again and in November 1961 the record did well hitting around 99 on the charts thanks to being featured on Murray the K's show in WINS. The song was the "pick of the week."Following the release of Motorcycle, the group did a lot of record hops. But Simon never performed with the group. It was always just Cooper, Borack and Beck.  So, while Paul Simon certainly was a big part of the group's success and sound, it was really these three guys that were Tico and Triumphs. It was Marty Cooper that sang lead on all of the group's live performances. The group's next two Amy releases did not do as well.

The group (credited only as Tico) without Simon went on to release Cards of Love b/w Noise in December 1962. Cooper took the lead on those. It was a return to the doo-wop sound that the group always loved. At that point, Simon had moved on to running Amy and later Bell records and he turned his attention to other artists. The group backed Simon on The Lone Teen Ranger b/w Lisa (Amy 865 - 1962) and after that the group split up. Simon had been partners with a guy named Bobby Susser. Cooper teamed up with Susser and start writing and producing records.
http://rthimel.free.fr/Paul-Simon-nouvelle-version/fs-sg-titre-album-tom-jerry-meet-tico-triumphs.htm





Songs :


Tico & The Triumphs  (1)

     
Motorcycle                       I Don't Believe Then                Express Train

     
Cry, Little Boy, Cry   Get Up And Do The Wobble    She'll Be The One Who's Crying

     
Here Comes The Garbage Man    The Biggest Lie I Ever Told           My Little Girl



Jerry Landis bb The Triumphs (1) (uncredited)

     
I’m Lonely                   I Wish I Weren't In Love             The Lone Teen Ranger


Lisa



Tico bb The Triumphs (1) (uncredited)

  
Cards Of Love                             Noise






Cds :

….

The Jive Five (Brooklyn, New York)
The Early Years






Personnel :

Eugene Pitt (Lead)

Norman Johnson (Bass)

Richard Harris (Second Tenor)

Billy Prophet (Baritone)

Jerome Hanna (First Tenor)





Discography :


The Jive Five

Singles:
1961 - My True Story / When I Was Single (Beltone 1006)
1961 - Never, Never / People From Another World (Beltone 1014)
1962 - Hully Gully Callin' Time / No Not Again (Beltone 2019)
1962 - What Time Is It / Beggin' You Please (Beltone 2024)
1962 - Do You Hear Wedding Bells / These Golden Rings (Beltone 2029)
1963 - Johnny Never Knew / Lily Marlene (Beltone 2030)
1963 - Rain / She's My Girl (Beltone 2034)
1964 - United / Prove Every Word You Say (Sketch 219)

Unreleased :
1962 - Hurry Back (Beltone)
1962 - You Know What I Would Do (Beltone)
1962 - The Girl With The Wind In Her Hair (Beltone)
1962 - I Don't Want To Be Without You Baby (Beltone)

Eugene Pitt (bb The Jive Five )
1962 - She's My Girl / Every Day Is Like A Year (Beltone 2027)






Biography :

Eugene Pitt hailed from Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, musically influenced by his father, a gospel singer, who taught Eugene and his sisters how to harmonize; they performed gospel songs in churches until about 1950, when he entered his restless teenage years. The atmosphere of Brooklyn's streets, with doo wop singers everywhere, stirred a desire for rhythm and blues stardom and by mid-decade he had joined a group called The Akrons . A little later Eugene sang with a group headed by Claude Johnson, but they separated when Johnson left for Long Island to join The Genies, the outfit that later scored a national hit with "Who's That Knocking."

Top : Norman Johnson, Richard Harris & Eugene Pitt - Bottom : Billy Prophet & Jerome Hanna

In 1959 Pitt put together his own group, The Jive Five, with friends from the neighborhood. He and Jerome Hanna sang tenor, supported by Richard Harris, Thurmon "Billy" Prophet and bass singer Norman Johnson. Not much happened at first; Pitt was working as a stock clerk in a supermarket in early '61 when all five jivers auditioned for Les Cahan and Joe Rene at the Beltone Studio on Broadway in New York. Cahan, who'd been running the studio for several years, had decided to branch out with Beltone Records and made a spectacular splash shortly afterwards with Bobby Lewis's "Tossin' and Turnin'," the biggest hit of the entire year. One of the songs the Jive Five sang that day was an original ballad by Pitt and Oscar Waltzer, "My True Story," based on Eugene's own experience of losing a girlfriend to one of his (former?) pals.

Billy Prophet, Eugene Pitt, Jerome Hanna, Norman Johnson & Richard Harris

Doo wop was at the peak of its early 1960s "revival," a time of renewed interest in many '50s recordings. "My True Story," with backing by Rene's band, had an addicting 'Cry, cry-y-y...' vocal hook (often resulting in record store customers who didn't know the actual title offering their own wailing "Cry-cry-cry" in attempts to identify the song). It captured the essence of older doo wop but got off to a slow start at the beginning of summer '61; by September, though, it had gained momentum, moving into the top ten on the pop charts while hitting number one R&B. The uptempo flip side "When I Was Single" lamented married life (without mention of a "Mother-In-Law" as Ernie K-Doe had done with great success a few months earlier) and had a following of its own.

   

The quintet followed with the low-charting "Never, Never" at the end of the year, an outstanding track regardless of its similarity to the debut single. Many of the Beltone B sides could have been hits under the right circumstances, including this 45's flip, "People From Another World," a wild slice of flying saucer paranoia. "Hully Gully Callin' Time," with the expanded label credit The Jive Five with Eugene Pitt, was the group's contribution to a current dance craze. Next came the best ballad since the initial release, "What Time Is It?" Pitt's falsetto (often used to supplement his lead vocals) is at full throttle on this track, which might have been much bigger had it been possible to turn the clock back a year or two prior to the fall of '62. After this, Billy Prophet left to pursue a solo career and, tragically, Jerome Hanna developed walking pneumonia and passed away, leaving the group in search of replacements. Andre Coles signed on briefly. Casey Spencer joined for a longer stretch.

(On United Artists) Eugene Pitt, Norman Johnson, Casey Spencer, Beatrice Best & Webster Harris

Figuring ballads were the Five's forte, Cahan put out "These Golden Rings" late in the year and it did well, making an appearance on the R&B charts. "Rain," with its hypnotic 'drip...drop...' backing vocals by J.R. Bailey, Bobby Phillips and Charles Brooks, all former members of The Cadillacs, appeared in early 1963 as Beltone Records fell deeper into financial straits with distributor King Records. With no major hits since the Bobby Lewis and Jive Five smashes of '61, Cahan had stood by as finances gradually dwindled. The label ceased operation in early '64 but Cahan kept the recording studio going as before.The Jive Five An "extended family" of singers came and went over the next couple of decades, the one constant being lead singer Eugene Pitt. After a one-shot '64 release on the tiny Sketch label, "United" (remaking the 1957 hit by Otis Williams and his Charms), they signed with United Artists Records in 1965.




Songs :


     
My True Story                   When I Was Single                     Never, Never

     
People From Another World      Hully Gully Callin' Time           No Not Again

     
What Time Is It               Beggin' You Please                        She's My Girl

     
Every Day Is Like A Year     Do You Hear Wedding Bells           These Golden Rings

     
Johnny Never Knew                Lily Marlene                           Rain

     
United                                   Hurry Back            You Know What I Would Do

      
The Girl With The Wind In Her Hair       I Don't Want To Be Without You Baby      Prove Every Word You Say

…

The Prells (Asbury Park, NJ)





Personnel :

Anthony Castellucia

Frank Campanelli

John Petillo

Tony Orifici (Guitar)





Discography:

1963 - It's a Wig / Peter Gunn (Skymac 1004)





Biography :


By the 1950’s Asbury Park’s schools were integrated and white teenagers were getting into black music, especially doo wop.  One such group, the Darchaes traces its origins back to the Siciliano home on the 1400 block of Asbury Avenue. Sam  Siciliano sang with the Darchaes & Patsy Siciliano had his own group, Patsy & the Prells .

The Prells were Anthony Castellucia, Frank Campanelli, John Petillo and Tony Orifici. The Prells without Patsy recorded and released the fantastic doo wop « It's a Wig » b/w « Peter Gunn »  and toured the New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania Tri-State area, opening up for the 'Dick Clark Caravan of Stars' Summer tours and other recording acts of the era such as the Temptations, 4 Tops, 4 Seasons, Supremes, The Drifters the Tokens and many others. The Prells disbanded in 1966.




Songs :
(updated by Hans-Joachim) 

It's a Wig /  Peter Gunn





...

• The Four Directions | 02-03-2015
• The Chaunteurs aka The Chanteurs (1) | 01-03-2015
• Tico & The Triumphs | 19-02-2015
• The Jive Five | 16-02-2015
• The Prells | 14-02-2015
• The Five Lords | 13-02-2015
• The Paramours (1) | 11-02-2015
• The Love Notes (2) aka The Shadows (2) | 10-02-2015
• Chang Lee & The Du Barrys ref The Zani-Acts | 09-02-2015
• The Tempo-Tones | 08-02-2015
• The Delmonicos (1) | 06-02-2015
• The Tune Tailors | 03-02-2015
• The Emersons aka The Demens (1) | 01-02-2015
• The Kids From Texas | 01-02-2015
• The Continettes | 31-01-2015