The Native Boys (Watts, Calif.)

Personnel :

Freddie Romain (Lead)

Vince Weaver (First Tenor)

Charles Mathis

Harry Rosemond

Edward "Sack" Saunders (Bass)

Discography :

Singles :
1954 - Native Girl / It Won't Take Long (Modern 939)

1955 - Strange Love / Cherrlyn (Combo 113)
1956 - Tears / When I Met You (Combo 115)

1956 - Laughing Love / Valley Of Lovers (Combo 119) 

1956 - Oh Let Me Dream / I've Got A Feeling (Combo 120)

Unreleased :
1956 - Devil Kissed An Angel (Combo)
1956 - My Darling (Combo)

Biography :

This Watts group began as The Mellotears, but when they made their first single for Modern Records, owner Jules Bihari changed their name to The Native Boys. Freddie Romain and Vince Weaver were the primariy leads, backed up by George Le Brune, bass singer Edward "Sack" Saunders and Charles Mathis. Harry Rosemond was a member on the Modern sides, but he left before they signed with Jake Porter's Combo label. 

   
Edward "Sack" Saunders                                                                                    Vince Weaver          

Danny Kristian (real name Arthur Murray) may have been with the group at the very end of their Combo period. Kristian and Romain went to Lee Rupe's Ebb Records in early 1957 with new, much older background singers and recorded that label's first single as The Ebbtones, a name that did not exist outside the record.

   
                                                                                                                           Freddie Romain

Vince and Freddie later joined the Flares and sang on the group's 1961 Felsted hit, "Foot Stomping-Part 1." In 1963 guitarist Buddy Harper and disk jockey Chuck Mann recorded Freddie Romain for their tiny Spindletop label.The Native Boys' "Strange Love" was a minor hit around the country after getting heavy airplay from Alan Freed on WINS in New York in the early winter of 1956, and among doo-wop fans and collectors it remains the song they're known for. But The Native Boys were a relatively polished group that made several great recordings.

http://www.uncamarvy.com/NativeBoys/nativeboys.html
http://www.electricearl.com/dws/nativeboys.html

Songs :

     
Strange Love                     Oh Let Me Dream                     When I Met You

     
      Cherrlyn                              Laughing Love                          Valley Of Lovers

     
          Tears                                Native Girl                              I've Got A Feeling

       
Devil Kissed An Angel                 It Won't Take Long                           My Darling          

...      

Cornell Gunter & The Ermines (Los Angeles)
aka The Flairs (1)



Personnel :

Cornell Gunter（Lead）

Kenneth Byley (First Tenor)

Thomas Miller (Baritone)

George Hollis（Bass）




Discography :

Singles :
1955 - True Love / Peek, Peek-A-Boo (Loma 701)
1956 - You Broke My Heart / I'm So Used To You Now (Loma 703)
1956 - Keep Me Alive / Muchacha, Muchacha (Loma 704)
1956 - I'm Sad / One Thing For Me (Loma 705)

Unreleased :
1958 - He Judges (Ebb) unreleased
1958 - I'll Make A Bet (Ebb) (unreleased)

Biography :

The Flairs were an American doo-wop group based in Los Angeles. They went through several lineup changes during their existence. Their notable members included Richard Berry (writer of 'Louie Louie') and Cornell Gunter, who would go on to being a member of The Coasters.

In 1955, some members left the flairs,  Pete Fox joining the Cadets and Obediah Jessie recording solo (as Young Jessie). Cornell Gunter formed a new group, The Ermines, with new members George Hollis, Thomas Miller, and his cousin, Kenneth Byley. After a brief stint with Loma Records , they signed up with manager Buck Ram, and moved to ABC-Paramount Records, taking the name The Flairs.

  
Shirley Gunter                                                             The Ermines

After recording for ABC a short time, they moved to Modern, then to Aladdin Records. Old Ermine's tracks continued to be released by Loma. Also, during this time, they frequently backed up Gunter's sister, Shirley.
http://www.uncamarvy.com/Flairs/flairs.html
http://www.vocalgroupharmony.com/3ROWNEW/TrueLove.htm

Songs :

     
True Love                        Peek, Peek-A-Boo                  You Broke My Heart

      
I'm So Used To You Now              Keep Me Alive                  One Thing For Me

       
I'll Make a Bet                        Muchacha, Muchacha                   I'm Sad

He Judges

Cds :

The Joytones  (New York)
aka The Hi-Lites (10) aka The Joy-Tones

Personnel :

Lucille "Vicki" Burgess (Lead)

Estelle Harper

Margaret Moore

Discography :

The Joytones
1956 - You Just Won't Treat Me Right / All My Love Belongs To You (Rama 191)

1956 - Gee What A Boy / Is This Really The End (Rama 202) 

1956 - My Foolish Heart / Jimbo Jango (Rama 215)

The Joy-Tones
1965 - This Love (That I'm Giving You) / I Wanna Party Some More (Coed 600)

The Hi-Lites (10)
1958 - Please Believe I Love You / Sweet And Lovely (Reno 1030)



Biography :

In 1955, after some singles with the Charmers, Vikki Burgess joins with Myrna Hamilton and Renee Stewart and form a group called The Solirettes and are signed to top New York independent label Old Town Records. All of the efforts by the group remain unreleased and The Solirettes become a dim memory of the time. Burgess now forms another group with Margaret Moore and Estelle Harper and call themselves The Joytones. They are soon signed to record for George Goldner's Rama Records, and in March of 1956 "All My Love Belongs To You" (originally by The Hearts on Baton) and "You Just Won't Treat Me Right" on Rama #191 is released.

The Charmers

During that summer Barbara Brown replaces Estelle Harper, and The Joytones second record for Rama is released. The songs "Gee What A Boy" and "Is This Really The End?" are released on Rama#202. The record is pushed nationally by Rama hoping for "Boy" to click with the teenage listening public, but that does not happen.  There is another personnel change within the group when Lynn Middleton replaces Barbara Brown before the group's third release for Rama.

In spring of 1957 Rama #215 features "My Foolish Heart" and "Jimbo Jango" which turns out to be the last record by The Joytones. Like the others it does not garner great airplay or sales.By 1958 Vikki Burgess, Lynn Middleton, and Margaret Moore determine that maybe a name change is in order and so The Joytones now become The Hi-Lites and have one record release for the small indie label Reno Records in 1958.

The songs are "Sweet And Lovely" and "Please Believe  I Love You" on #1030. In short order The Hi-Lites were also part of the great memory bank of the 1950s.The Joytones would reappear on record in 1965 in the middle of Motown and the British Invasion with "This Love" and "I Wanna Party Some More" recorded for Coed Records and released on #600.

 A few years later a group called Love Potion comprised of (surprise !) Vikki Burgess, Margaret Moore, and Lynn Middleton, release "This Love", the same take as by The Joytones in 1965. The song is released on TCB #1601 in 1968. One year later the same song is released as by Love Potion on Kapp #979.

Songs :

The Joytones

     
You Just Won't Treat Me Right        All My Love Belongs To You          Gee What A Boy          

       
Is This Really The End                   My Foolish Heart                          Jimbo Jango       

The Joy-Tones

  
I Wanna Party Some More      This Love (That I'm Giving You)


The Hi-Lites (10)

    
Please Believe I Love You                 Sweet And Lovely     

 ...

(L to R) Clarence Thomas, Drew "Skippy" Thompson, Shelton Laster, George Val Poitier and Major Branch

The Dreamtones (1) (Springfield, Massachusetts)
aka The Centuries (2)
ref The Mint Juleps

Personnel :

Major Branch (Lead)

George Val Poitier (Bass)

Shelton Laster (Baritone)

Clarence Thomas (Second Tenor)

Drew "Skippy" Thompson (First Tenor)

Milton White (Piano)

Discography :

The Dreamtones (1)
1958 - Stand Behind Me / Love In The Afternoon (Klik 8505)
1959 - Praying For A Miracle / Jelly Bean (Express 501)
1959 - A Lover's Answer / Mean Man (Astra 551)

The Mitlo Sisters bb The Dreamtones (1)
1958 - Lonely Sea / Let Me Tell You (Klik 8405)

The Centuries (2)
1963 - Crying For You / Oh Darling (The Jaytones) (Times Square 5)
1963 - Betty / Ride Away (The Revlons) (Times Square 15)

-----------------------------

The Mint Juleps
Singles :
1956 - Bells Of Love / Vip-A-Dip (Herald 481)
Unreleased :
1956 - Ginny Doll
1959 - Queen Of Love


Biography :

The Dreamtones Hailed from Springfield, Massachusetts culling members from the Mint Juleps as well as several Gospel Groups . They Featured the Lead of Major Branch with George Val Poitier (Actor Sidney's cousin), Shelton Laster, Clarence Thomas, Skippy Thompson and Milton White on Piano. Before joining the Dreamtones, George Val Poitier & Clarence Thomas had been with The Mint Juleps on Herald. The other members were Alvin Clark on lead, William Terrell and Emra Clemmons . The mint Juleps recorded "Bells Of Love" and "Vip-A-Dip" released on Herald 481 and did two unreleased songs "Ginny Doll" and "Queen Of Love". There were so many different groups vying for airplay in 1956, and if your first single didn’t sell, your other tunes may well be scrapped.

The individual members of the Dreamtones met at a local club and began to harmonize. Milton's mother had a rooming house where many of the touring R&B groups of the day would stay while passing through Springfield. In 1957, the group went to New Haven and signed and recorded with Marty Kugell's Klik label. The Dreamtones backed up the Mitlo Sisters on their Klik recording of "Oh Lonely Sea" before Klik released their first single with "Stand Behind Me" and "Love In The Afternoon".

The group also had releases on Express in 1959: "Praying For A Miracle" b/w "Jelly Bean". NY's Express label, which was a sister label of Fargo Records. The Final Dreamtones release was "A Lover's Answer" b/w  "Mean Man" for Astra in 1959 though they can also be heard providing jungle hoots behind Joe Therrien on his very rare Sentinel release, "Siam". In the early 1960s, previously unreleased Klik master were sold to Slim Rose; Slim released them on his Times Square label and renamed the group the Centuries.


Songs

The Dreamtones (1)

     
Stand Behind Me                Love In The Afternoon             Praying For A Miracle

      
Jelly Bean                            A Lover's Answer                 Mean Man

The Mitlo Sisters bb The Dreamtones (1)


Let Me Tell You / Lonely Sea

The Centuries (2)

  
Crying For You                                               Betty     

The Mint Juleps

  
Bells Of Love                                           Vip-A-Dip

 ...

The Charmettes (5) (Brooklyn, New York)

Personnel :

Clara Byrd

Mittie Ponder

Betty Simmons

Discography :
Singles :
1963 - Please Don't Kiss Me Again / What Is A Tear (Kapp 547)
1963 - Oozi-Oozi-Ooh / He's A Wise Guy  (Kapp 570)
1965 - (Preacher Man) Stop The Wedding / Sugar Boy (World Artists 1053)
Unreleased :
1963 - That Boy Is My Boy  (Kapp)

Biography :

The Charmettes, Brooklyn act, consisted of Clara Byrd, Mittie Ponder, and Betty Simmons were handled by writer/producer Kenny Young. In 1963 they recorded "Please Don't Kiss Me Again" For Kapp Records.

 "Please Don't Kiss Me Again" reached #100 for a week in late 1963, but none of their follow-up records for Kapp and United Artists charted. This was the first hit song for Kenny Young, who also managed the band for a while. Kenny is best known for writing the songs "Under The Boardwalk", "Come Back & Shake Me", "Don't Go Into The Rain"...

Songs :

     
Please Don't Kiss Me Again         What Is A Tear               He's A Wise Guy

     
Oozi-Oozi-Ooh             (Preacher Man) Stop The Wedding              Sugar Boy

..