The Illusions (1) (Brooklyn, New York)


Personnel :

Charlie Van Nostrand

Dom Bartolomeo

Sammy DeMarco

Ralph Florio

Joseph Dailey Jr.


Discography :

1960 - The Letter / Henry & Henrietta (Coral 62173)
1974 - The Closer You Are / For Sentimental Reasons "1962" (Kape 1001/100)

Biography :

In 1958, Two vocal groups were competing in a talent contest in a Brooklyn nightspot. At the end of the night the two groups combined and formed the Illusions.   

In 1959, the group signing a recording contract with Coral. Their first & only record, "The Letter" b/w " Henry & Henrietta" was released on Coral 62173 the next year.

The group appeared in many club & show in New York...

Songs :

   
Henry & Henrietta                                  The Letter

...

The Dee-Jay's (2) (Philadelphia, PA)

Personnel :

William Jackson

Joe Bell (Second Tenor)

Bruce Bell (Bass)

Norwood Long

Raymond Robinson

Discography :

The Dee-Jay's (2)
Singles :
1961 - You Took Your Love From Me / Canadian Sunset (Sonata 1100)
Unreleased :
1962 - Where Are You (Sonata)
1962 - Come And Get It (Sonata)

Lee Johnson bb The Dee-Jay's (2)
1962 -My Love / Tell Me (Lash 1126)

Sonny Fulton bb The Dee-Jay's (2)
1962 - A Lovely Relationship / Here She Comes Now (with the Will-Ettes ) (Lash 1127))

Biography :

This group was formed in 1959 by William Jackson who picked Joseph and Bruce Bell, Norwood Long and Raymond Robinson to sing on talent shows with him under the name the Lovenotes, which was changed to the Tunisians and finally The Dee-Jays in 1960! We came along in the time of street corner groups and competed against most of them and won but Uncle Sam and the Military draft in 1963 broke up the group!

Jimmy Bishop who was a disc jockey at WHAT radio was our manager and along with his gospel queen wife Louise Williams-Bishop who exposed us to numerous gospel singing groups, they believed we were headed for great things but like many performers in those days who were not being paid for their work, reality made us seek a more secure future.

  

The Dee-Jay's cut their first single in December 1961 for the local label Sonata. The group cut two other sides "Where Are You" and "Come And Get It" for a second single but it was never released  because Dinah Washington's "Where are you" hit the airwaves and it was felt although the songs were completely different , the same title would be confusing. The Group backed Lee Johnson and Sonny Fulton for Lash records Owned by brothers Al and Howard Ravitsky and a friend, Gil Lipschitz.
Joe Bell

Songs :

   
You Took Your Love From Me                     Canadian Sunset         

...

The Highlighters (4) (Seattle, Wa.)

Personnel :

George Palmerton

Grady McCartt

Dean Wicka

Don Fulton

Tom McMillan



Discography :

Unreleased :
1957 - Hey Senorita (Coral)
1957 - Heaven and Paradise (Coral)
1957 - Don't Do It (Coral)
1957 - You (Coral)
1957 - In The Still Of The Night (Coral)
1957 - Blues Stay Away From Me (Coral)
1957 - I Love You So (Coral)
1957 - Ring A Ling (Coral)
1959 - Devil Or Angel
1959 - BlueWorld (live)




Biography :

In 1954, four schoolboys from Seattle's northend were hanging out with a gang of friends no one had ever met.  These were mostly night friends, who lived on radio dials from stations in towns across America. By the time they entered high school, The Highlighters had been performing and rehearsing most nights for a couple of years.   By their junior year they were so heavily booked they often attended school in their stage outfits.

   
George Palmerton                                                     The Highlighters

They were regulars on a Seattle weekly TV show and were often brought in to perform at Rock and Roll traveling shows that played Seattle's big theatres.  In those days they shared the stage with Paul Anka, The Everly Brothers, Bobby Darin and their like.  Between appearances, they did backup vocals on record dates and backgrounds for radio commercials. In 1957 The Highlighters were picked up and signed by Coral Records.

The group was brought into the studio to record, and put through photo shoots for an album cover. Students of the era might guess what's coming, because at the approach of 1958, Coral Records surprised the industry by announcing bankruptcy and proceeding to go quickly and completely out of the business.  The Highlighters now had a contract with a record company that did not exist.  
http://thehighlighters.net/index.php

Songs & Cds :

http://thehighlighters.net/dp-discography.php




...

The Stereos (1) (Philadelhia)
aka  The Tams (1) aka The Hippies



Personnel :

Carole "Devine" Varletta (Lead)

Howard "Bogey" Boggess (Baritone)

Nancy Orts (Alto)

Jack Felker (Tenor)




Discography :

The Stereos (1)
1959 - Memory Lane / Teenage Kids (Mink 27)

The Tams (1)
1959 - Memory Lane / Teenage Kids (Mink 27)
1960 - Sorry / Valley Of Love (Swan 1960)
1961 - Vacation Time / If Love Were Like Rivers (Heritage 101)
1962 - Memory Lane* / Teenage Kids (Parkway 863)

The Hippies
1963 - Memory Lane* / A Lonely Piano** (Parkway 863)

*Alternate Version
** Reggie Harrisson

Biography :

This group came from The Roxborough high Schoolin Philadelhia in 1957. They were Carole "Devine" Varletta, Howard Boggess, Nancy Orts and Jack Felker. Together they dreamt up the name Impalas; it wasn't long before they entered the requisite talent show at Roxborough High. Amazingly they won. Howard Boggess changed the name to The Stereos and Disk Jockey Bud Bress decided to manage the group.

The Impalas - Howard "Bogey" Boggess, Nancy Orts, Jack Felker & Carole "Devine" Varletta

In 1959, The Stereos came in the Allegro Studio for Mink Records with "Memory Lane" and "Teenage Kids". Mink launched the two-sider in mid-1959. But there was in fact a Stereos group from Ohio, so the label repressed the same versions under the aegis of the Tams. Not long thereafter, Bogey and Brees arranged an audition with Bernie Bennick's Swan complex…  Both cuts, "Sorry" , a weeper composed by Bogey, was coupled with Bress' "Valley of Love", were assembled.

  
                                                                                                          Carole "Devine" Varletta

In 1961, Bogey and the group, perhaps augmented by another singer, issue a nifty platter for Heritage Records "Vacation Time" b/w "If Love Were Like Rivers" was fobbed off to a juke warm public. Bernie Lowe owner of Cameo,  released "Memory Lane" b/w "Teenage Kids" on his Parkway subsidiary, bust must have been alerted during the first month or so that Joe South's Tams out of Virginia objected the name "Tams".

The Tams/Hippies, with new Members

ABC's Tams had already issued a clutch of recordings on Arlen and General American soon to score a major triumph in "What Kind Of Fool" during the Fall of 1963. Lowe changed the name to Hippies, and switched out the flip to "A Lonely Piano".

Songs :

     
Memory Lane                         Teenage Kids                            Sorry

      
Valley Of Love                  If Love Were Like Rivers            Vacation Time

...

The Sinceres (2) (Brooklyn, New York)

Personnel :

Billy Johnsen (Lead)

Georgie (First Tenor)

Buddy Nugent (Bass)

Paddy Monaco (Second Tenor)

Mikey (Baritone)

Discography :

1960 - Darling / Do You Remember (Sigma 1003 / 1004)

Biography :

The Sinceres, on Sigma Records, were from the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn . Several nationalities make up this group from New York : Billy Johnsen is Norwegian and German, Buddy Nugent is Irish, Mikey is polish, Paddy Monaco is Italian and  tenor Georgie is South American. The Sinceres cut "Darling" b/w "Do You Remember" for Sigma Records in 1960.  The lead singer, Billy Johnson, of the Sinceres, was most influenced by Jimmy Gallagher, lead of the Passions.   The Sinceres used to appear  at the St. Thomas of Aquinas Church on Flatbush Ave and Flatlands Ave.  A couple of guys, from the Marine Park section of Brooklyn, were greatly influenced by the Sinceres appearances and they then put together the Caslons  ("Anniversary Of Love").
By Bobby Diskin - Brooklyn, NY.

Songs :

  
Do you remember                                          Darling              

...