The Beavers (Hollywood, Fl)

Personnel :

Warner Alfred Weidler

Walter Wolfgang Weidler 

William George Weidler

Discography :

1958 - Sack Dress / Rocking At The Drive-in   (Capitol 3956)
1958 - Low As I Can Be  / Road to Happiness  (Capitol 4015)

Biography :

Warner Weidler was one of the three Weidler Brothers who recorded as the Wilder Brothers and owned Odin Music (ASCAP). All three were ASCAP registered and wrote under their birth names, altho, confusingly, various record labels list them (the composers) as "Wilder".  They have two release in 1958 on Capitol Records.

The Beavers with Phil Mac Lean on his KYW Bandstand TV Show & Rubbi Buckley                                                           

Songs :

     
Sack Dress                                    Rocking At The Drive-in  


    
Low As I Can Be                              Road to Happiness

 ...

The Titans (Los Angeles)
aka The Vitamins




Personnel :

Charles Wright (First Tenor, Second Tenor & Baritone)

Sam Barnett (First Tenor, Second Tenor & Baritone)

Curtis McNair (Second Tenor & Baritone)

Alvin Branom (Tenor & Baritone)

Larry Greene (Baritone & Bass)




Discography :

The Titans
Singles :
1957 - So Hard To Laugh, So Easy To Cry / Rhythm And Blues (Vita 148)
1957 - G'win Home Calypso / Look What You're Doing Baby (Vita 158)
1957 - Sweet Peach / Free And Easy (Speciality 614)
1957 - Just A Little Lovin' / When The Sun Has Begun To Shine (Speciality 617)
1957 - Don't You Just Know It / Can It Be (Speciality 625)
1958 - Arlene / Love Is A Wonderful Thing (Speciality 632)
1959 - No Time / The Tootin' Tutor (Class 244)
1960 - Everybody Happy / What Have I Done ( Fidelity 3016)

Unreleased :
 N/A - Deep Down (Speciality)
 N/A - April In Paris (Speciality)
 N/A - I Swear By All The Stars (Speciality)


The Vitamins
1972 - It's So Hard To Laugh, So Easy To Cry / Rhythm N' Blues (Vita 101/148)

Biography :

Los Angeles R&B group the Titans were formed in 1956 by bass Larry Green, an alumnus of East Coast acts including the Four Dots and the Heartbreakers -- according to Marv Goldberg's profile in the June 1977 issue of Yesterday's Memories -- Green relocated to Southern California in hopes of mounting a solo career, even contributing to a handful of Walt Disney soundtracks, but was so impressed by the caliber of talent working the club circuit that he opted to form a new combo instead.

 First Tenor Charles Wright, Second Tenor Sam Barnett,Tenor / baritone Alvin Branom, and baritone Curtis McNair completed the lineup, who originally called themselves the Egyptians before adopting the Titans in honor of the U.S. Air Force's new Titan missile.After signing to the Vita label, the group issued its debut single "So Hard to Laugh, So Easy to Cry" in early 1957. The record went nowhere, and "G'wan Home Calypso" followed in the spring, earning the Titans a spot in the rock & roll B-movie Bop Girl Goes Calypso.

Upon moving to the Specialty label, the group resurfaced in the fall of 1957 with "Sweet Peach." They also backed Don & Dewey on the duo's "Just a Little Lovin'," but despite this additional exposure the Titans failed to break into the consumer consciousness, and after releasing a cover of Huey Smith & the Clowns' "Don't You Just Know It" to shrugs, Branom announced his resignation in early 1958.

   

The remaining Titans forged on as a quartet for their final Specialty session, "Arlene," and soon after their new manager Bob Gordon packaged the group together with fellow clients the Nighthawks, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, and Mikki Lynn to create The Harlem Nocturne Revue, a variety showcase that ran for two years at Lakewood, CA's Squire's Inn.

In January 1959 the Titans also issued a one-off single on the Class label titled "No Time." The Fidelity release "Everybody Happy" followed a little more than a year later. In the middle of 1960, McNair exited the lineup to care for his ailing father, and after a brief stint as a trio, the Titans split. Green later returned to the Squire's Inn as the "Singing Chef," cooking in a tuxedo and apron while singing to the restaurant's patrons. McNair later changed his name to Curtis Knight and assembled a backing band he dubbed the Squires.

In October 1965, he hired a dazzling young guitarist named Jimmy James, who cut several records with the group before mounting a solo career under his given name of Jimi Hendrix.
http://www.uncamarvy.com/Titans/titans.html

Videos :

So Hard To Laugh So Easy To Cry

Songs :

   
Arlene                                       Free And Easy

   
So Hard To Laugh So Easy To Cry                  No Time

   
Sweet Peach                              What Have I Done


Love Is A Wonderful Thing



...

The Four Joes (Pontiac, MI)

Personnel :

Louis Tulianello

Kenny Davis

Peter Antos (Tenor)

Steve Antos (Baritone)

Discography :

1954 - In Your Loving Care / Hajji Baba (MGM 11857)
1954 - Oh, How i miss You Tonight / Slow down Baby (MGM 11911)
1955 - While You're Away / Impossible (Cha Cha) (MGM 12053)
1955 - Honey, My Little Honey / Annelise (Anna Lisa) (MGM 12147)
1956 - Sometimes / These Are The Things (I Remember) (MGM 12259)
1956 - My Heart Says "Thanks" To You (Trois Fois Merci) / Blues In The Night (MGM 12316)
1956 - Lifetime Of Happiness / Uh-Huh (Darl 1005 )
1956 - Please forget about me / It's me,It's me,It's me,My Love (Darl 1009)

Biography :

During his school years Kenny Davis met Pete and Steve Antos who were also vocally talented. They formed a group called Two Sharps and a Natural. They refined their craft and through their high school years they performed the music of the times in many local venues.

Their style was soft and smooth harmony and brought them much success as showmen. Upon graduating from Pontiac High School, Hollywood beckoned. Time there was well spent as they met celebrities and stars including Bing Crosby and enjoyed life-changing experiences.

   
Peter Antos

As the Korean War began, they enlisted. Aside from performing their military duties of which Kenny was the platoon leader, they were called upon to entertain troops while stationed in Korea and Japan. The name of the group changed to the Four Joes [GI Joes] as the group expanded to include accordionist, Lou Tulianello. The highlight of their tour of duty was performing with Eddie Fisher who was a huge star at the time and even became honorary president of the Four Joes fan club. The act was a combination of comedy and show material.

After three years of enlistment was over, the popularity of the Four Joes soared as the biggest nightclubs and music halls opened their doors to them in New York, Las Vegas .Coca Cola Hour show on television gave them even more celebrity. status. They cut over a dozen records and also appeared with Sammy Davis Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, Red Buttons, Milton Berle, Arthur Godfrey and Pearl Bailey.



Songs :

    
Sometimes                                    Uh-Huh

 
My Heart Says "Thanks" To You (Trois Fois Merci) / Blues In The Night

   
These Are The Things I Remember     Lifetime Of Happiness

...

The Rovers (Sacramento, Calif.)
aka The Five Rovers

Personnel :

Oliver "Sunny" Stevenson (Lead)

Jay Payton (Tenor)

Hank Swarn (Baritone)

Billy Ray Williams (Bass)

Ralph Helms (High Tenor)

Discography :

The Rovers
1954 - Ichi-Bon Tami Dachi / Why-Ohh (Music City 750/Capitol 3078) 

1955 - Salute To Johnny Ace /Jadda (Music City All Stars) (Music City 780) 

1955 - Whole Lot Of Love / Tell Me Darling (The Gaylarks) (Music City 792)

The Five Rovers
1956 - Down To The Sea / Change Your Mind  (Music City 798)

Biography :

The Rovers formed in 1954, and They recorded for Music City as both the rovers and The Five Rovers. Payton was about ten years older than the others.

By the middle of 1954, they'd added high tenor Ralph Helms to the group. Another student at Grant Union, he was one of those guys who just hung around until one day you noticed he was part of the group. Most of the songs that the Rovers practiced were either by the Clovers or tunes that they'd written themselves. All the tunes that they ended up recording were original songs.

"Ichi-Bon Tami Dachi" means number one girlfriends. Payton wrote the song based on his time in the service in Japan. Just after recording their one disc as the Rovers for Music city, it was leased out to Capitol records for greater distribution as sales began to increase.

When their last disc for Music city was released, they were on their way to Breaking up.
http://www.uncamarvy.com/Rovers/rovers.html

Songs :

The  Rovers

   
Ichi-Bon Tami Dachi                          Salute To Johnny Ace

    
Whole Lot Of Love                            Why-Ohh

The Five Rovers  

   
Change Your Mind                                Down To The Sea

...

The Cheers (Los Angeles)


Personnel :

Bert Convy

Gil Garfield

Sue Allen


Discography :

The Cheers
1954 - Bazoom (I Need Your Lovin') / Arivederci (Capitol 14189)
1955 - Bernie's Tune / Whadaya Want? (Capitol 14248)
1955 - Blueberries / Can't We Be More Than Friends (Capitol 14280)
1955 - I Must Be Dreaming / Fancy Meeting You Here (Capitol 14337)
1955 - Black Denim Trousers And .../ Some Night In Alaska (Capitol 14377)
1956 - Chicken / Don't Do Anything (Capitol 14561)
1956 - Que Pasa Muchacha / Heaven On Earth (Bert Convy) (Capitol 14601)
1957 - Chug Chug Toot Toot / Big Feet (Mercury 71083)

Bert Convy & The Cheers
1957 - Two Hearts / You never have time (Mercury 71100)


Biography :

The Cheers were a rock and roll vocal group that had a string of hits in the mid 1950s starting with "(Bazoom') I Need Your Lovin'", which hit number fifteen on the U.S. charts in 1954. This was one of the first hits written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller to chart on the Pop charts in the United States, and was one of the first rock and roll hits by a white group (after The Crew Cuts and Bill Haley and the Comets).

   
                                                                                 With Buddy Bregman (musical arranger, record producer and composer)

The following year, they followed it up with "Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots", a song about a wild-living leather-jacketed motorcyclist, which went to number six on the charts. "Black Denim Trousers" was covered for the French market by none other than Edith Piaf, as "L'Homme A La Moto".

   
With Buddy Bregman                                                        

Bert Convy,Born Bernard Whalen Convy, was the lead singers of the Cheers. The Cheers featured Bert Convy, Gil Garfield and Sue Allen. The songwriting Team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller used the group to sing demo records that Jerry and Mike had written. All five A-sides of their Capitol singles are Leiber-Stoller compositions and some of the B-sides too.

After recording two more singles in 1957 for Mercury, the Cheers broke up towards the end of that year. Convy decided to become an actor and later became a very popular television personality, playing in countless TV shows and hosting his own long-running show "Tattletales".

    
                                                                       Bert, Sue and Buddy listening to the comments of Lee Gillette (engineer at Capitol Recording Studios)

He kept making occasional solo records, like the monster novelties "The Monster's Hop"/"The Gorilla" on Contender Records. At the end of "The Gorilla", the Purple People Eater ends up being eaten by a gorilla. The late 70s and early 80s brought continued success to Mr. Convy, including a nomination for an Emmy Award. In 1990, Bert became ill with a brain tumor and passed away on July 15, 1991, aged 57.
http://www.rockabilly.nl/references/messages/bert_convy.htm
http://www.buddybregman.com/photos1.html


Songs :

   
Bazoom (I Need Your Lovin')     Black Denim Trousers And Motorcycle Boots

   
Chicken                                       Whadaya Want?

   
Chug Chug Toot Toot                           Some Night In Alaska

Big Feet

...