The Senators (1) (Gary, IN)


Personnel :

Delroy Bridgeman (Lead)

Richard Bursua

Jack Friedland

Ronald Hedelius

Robert Hutson

Dean Croxton

Discography :
Singles :
1959 - Scheming / Tafu (Bristol 1916)
1959 -   It Doesn't Matter / Julie (Abner 1031)
Unreleased :
1959 - Till Forever More (Vee Jay)

Biography :

Delroy Bridgeman first started singing in elementary school in the mid-50s, inspired by the earlier East Chicago group the Dream Kings, the Gary group the Spaniels, and the Harvey group the Dells. In high school in the late 50s, in the tenor section of the choral club, Delroy formed the Senators.

The Senators were a mixed-race group that recorded "Scheming" / "Tafu" (along with two unreleased tracks) for the Bristol record label out of Hammond, IN. The record got some local play in Chicago and the group even appeared on the Jim Lounsbury dance show. Although they were not supposed to be performing R&B material in the choral club, their choral club director Mr. Croxton became the group's manager and encouraged the group to enter a talent show in Gary, IN, competing for a recording contract for Vee Jay records.

The Senators won the talent show and ended up releasing a record "It doesn't matter" / "Julie" on Vee Jay's Abner subsidiary (they also recorded two more unreleased tracks for Vee Jay). The record received some local play and the group continued to do local shows. The group soon disbanded after the members graduated and entered college.

Songs :

   
 Scheming / Tafu                             It Doesn't Matter

...

The Four-Evers (1) (Brooklyn, New York)

Personnel :

Steve Tudanger

John Cipriani

Nick Zagami

Joe DiBenedetto

Discography :

Singles :
1962 - You Belong To Me / Such A Good Night For Dreaming (Columbia 42303/Jason Scott 4)
1963 - It's Love / Lover, Come Back To Me (Smash 1853)
1964 - Please Be Mine / If I Were A Magician (Smash 1887)
1964 - Be My Girl / If I Were A Magician (Smash 1887)
1964 - Doo Bee Dum, (Say I Love You) / Everlasting (Smash 1921)
1965 - Out Of The Crowd / Stormy (Constellation 151)
1966 - You Never Had It So Good / What A Scene (Red Bird 10078)
1966 - The Girl I Want To Bring Home / A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening (Columbia 43886)
1978 - Dreamland / I'm Gonna Tell Your Mother (Crystall Ball 121)

Unreleased :
N/A - You're so fine (Crystall Ball)
N/A - Lover
N/A - White Christmas
N/A - Dancing on the Celling
N/A - Let It Be

Biography :

Early in 1957 three junior high school students from Brooklyn - Marty Jolton, John Cipriani and Steve Tudanger - formed Marty & the Joltineers. Soon they met Larry and Sal Ruggiero, and the Corsairs were founded.

Marty & the Joltineers

When Larry dropped out, the group changed its name to The Vocal Lords and recorded "At Seventeen", released first on the tiny Abel logo, and then on Taurus. The disc earned the group some local fame and a spot on Clay Cole's TV show. While at Taurus, they also did back-ups on releases by Donnie & the Delchords and the Fireflies, whose song "Good Friends" Steve also wrote. Meanwhile, in another neighbourhood, Joe DiBenedetto, Jimmy Gallagher, Tommy Saltzo and Nick Zagami formed the Paladians.

The Vocal Lords

After releasing "I'd Climb The Highest Mountain" the outfit disbanded, with Jimmy joining the Passions, while Nick and Joe teamed up with John and Steve of the Vocal Lords. This new quartet renamed themselves the Four-Evers.

They landed a recording contract at Columbia Records in 1961 and a management deal with Al Kasha, who produced their single, "You Belong To Me". While at Columbia the Four-Evers also sang background on 45s by Bob Halley, Gene Montgomery and Billy Casher, alias Al Kasha himself.

In 1963 Kasha introduced the group to Bob Crewe, who took the guys under his wing and secured them a new deal with Smash Records. Crewe linked the group with songwriter Bob Gaudio of the Four Seasons, who produced their Smash debut, "Lover Come Back To Me".

With Dj Hal jackson

1964 proved to be the Four-Evers' year, with "Be My Girl" and "(Say I Love You) Doo Bee Dum" both reaching the national charts. Meanwhile the group continued working as studio singers, backing up Tracey Dey ("Teenage Cleopatra"), Bob's brother Tom Crewe ("Mighty Fine Girl"), Vinnie Monte ("Hey, Look At The Winter Snow"), Cathy Carroll ("I Don't Want To Give You Up"), Eddie Rambeau ("Concrete And Clay") and many others.  Steve also had compositions recorded by the Dynamics and the Candy Girls, a group he managed. After further singles on Constellation, Red Bird and Columbia, the Four-Evers disbanded.
http://www.spectropop.com/remembers/SteveTudanger.htm

Songs :

       
Stormy                      The Girl I Wanna Bring Home              Dreamland

       
Lover, Come Back To Me     You Belong To Me      Such A Good Night For Dreaming

     
It's love                    Be My Girl (Please, Be Mine)            If I Were A Magician

     
Doo Bee Dum                      Everlasting                         Out Of The Crowd

...

The Arnells (Elizabeth, NJ)
aka The Teenettes (3)

Personnel :

Judy Roberts (Lead)

Janice alexander

Marsha Roberts

Betty Jackson

Susan Robertson

Discography :

The Arnells
1963 - Heart Repair Shop / Take A Look   (Roulette 4519)

The Teenettes (3)
1963 - Let Me Be The One / Bye Bye Baby (Sandy 250)

Biography :
 
The girls were all from Elizabeth high school (NJ.) and The lead singer was Judy Roberts . They recorded two singles under two different names, The Arnells  on Roulette and The Teenettes on the litlle label Sandy.

Songs :

The Arnells

  
Take A Look                                   Heart Repair Shop

The Teenettes (3)


Bye Bye Baby

...

The Impressions circa 1958 (top) J. Butler, S. Gooden, A. Brooks (bottom) R. Brooks, C. Mayfield

 The Impressions (1) (Chicago)
(Part 1 : Early Years With Jerry Butler)

Personnel :

Jerry Butler (Lead/baritone)

Curtis Mayfield (Tenor)

Arthur Brooks (Tenor)

Richard Brooks (Tenor)

Sam Gooden (Baritone)


 

Discography :

Jerry Butler & The Impressions (1)
1958 - For Your Precious Love / Sweet Was The Wine (Vee-Jay 280/Falcon 1013/Abner 1013)

The Impressions (1) featuring Jerry Butler
1958 - Come Back My Love / Love Me (Abner 1017)

The Impressions (1)
1958 - The Gift Of Love / At The County Fair (Abner 1023)

Biography :

The Impressions were actually made up of members of two groups: Arthur and Richard Brooks (tenors) and Sam Gooden (baritone) of the Roosters, and Jerry Butler (baritone) and Curtis Mayfield (tenor) of the Northern Jubilee Gospel Singers.  The three Roosters splintered from their original quintet when they moved to Chicago from Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1957.

Clockwise from L - C.Mayfield, Vivian Carter (Vee Jay),S.Gooden, A. Brooks, R. Brooks, J.Butler

The Jubilees' Jerry and Curtis were Chicago residents who were traveling the gospel circuit and performing in the Traveling Souls Spiritualist Church, of which Mayfield's grandmother was a pastor. To help out with the family finances, both boys sang with secular groups on the side, Jerry with the Quails and Curtis as part of the Alphatones.

When the Roosters came on the scene, Jerry convinced Curtis to join, and soon they had both a sound and a manager named Eddie Thomas. During 1957 Thomas came up with an unusual gig for the teenagers: a downtown fashion show. Performing their usual set of rhythm and blues doo wop songs, the group also did an original with music by the Brooks brothers and lyrics by Butler titled "For Your Precious Love."

 The Impressions (top) A. Brooks, S. Gooden and Fred Cash,  (bottom) C. Mayfield and R. Brooks

It caught the attention of one Mrs. Vi Muzinski, who arranged an audition with Calvin Carter of Vee-Jay Records.   They auditioned with "For Your Precious Love" right in the hallway and wound up recording for the label a few days later. (they changed the name of the Roosters to the Impressions. )

The single  was released on Vee-Jay in May 1958.  By July 28th "For Your Precious Love" was at number 11 Pop and number three R&B. Its flip side, the more traditional doo wop rocker "Sweet Was the Wine," became a street-corner vocal group favorite over the years. In September, their second single, "Come Back My Love," with a similarity to " Precious Love," came out and went to #28 R&B but never crossed into Pop. By the fall of 1958, Jerry Butler decided to go solo.

Three remaining Ewart Abner singles under the name the Impressions went nowhere, including "At the County Fair," the first recording with a Curtis Mayfield lead. Meanwhile, Fred Cash of Chattanooga, a Rooster before that group moved north, took Jerry's place in the Impressions.
American Singing Groups: From 1940 to Today by Jay Warner

Songs :

     
For Your Precious Love          Sweet Was The Wine        Come Back My Love

      
Love Me                                The Gift Of Love                   At The County Fair

 ...

Ray Denney, 

Dave Booker, 

Frank Conner, 

Gene Bunton

The Statics (2) (Brewer & Bangor, Maine)

Personnel :

Ray Denney

Dave Booker

Frank Conner

Gene Bunton

Discography :

Singles :
1958 - Girl In My Dreams / The Day You Left Me (Event 4279)

Unreleased :
1958 - White Cliffs Of Dover (Event)
1958 - Tell Me That You Love Me (Event)

Biography

The Statics Came From Bangor, Maine. The statics rolled, performing at schools, grange halls, etc. across Maine. In early 1958 They Recorded Their Only Single "Girl In My Dreams" / "The Day You Left Me" For The Event Label. During The Same Time The Guys Recorded some Demo Cuts Which Stayed Unreleased.  In  1958, "Girl In My Dreams" did climb into the top ten in the Bangor/Brewer Aera…  Another Record Deal With The Paris Label In 1959 Failed. Eventually they split up.

Statics opening the show and dance at Bangor's city hall auditorium March 1956

As with most groups/bands, the Statics had quite a few personnel changes. Others who sang with the group along the way include Jake Lawrence, Dave Morrison, Donny Prunty, Dick Wyman and Jim Richardson. (When Rock'n Roll Rocked Maine by Will Anderson)

Songs :

   
       My Love                                        White Cliffs Of Dover

...