Buzz & Al (New York)

Personnel :

Ray Buzzeo

A. De Felice


Discography :

1958 - When You're Gone / A Little Bit Of Lovin (Josie 848)
1959 - Will You, Huh? / Caring For You (Jimskip 909)
1960 - Jeannie Marie / Tomorrows That May Never  (ABC-Paramount 107)
1961 - Secretly / Wierdo (MGM 13018)
1962 - The Five Senses / For Stealing Her From Me (Columbia 42532)
1962 - Here Come The Tears / Litle White Sneakers (Columbia 42355)

(Columbia 42355)

 

Biography :

Raymond J. Buzzeo is an American session musician and songwriter from New York. He has written for Jeannie C. Riley, Waylon Jennings, Les Paul & Mary Ford, Johnny Paycheck, Ferlin Husky and many other.

His career began in 1958 when he premiered a vocal duet with A. De Felice. Under the name of Buzz & Al they recorded a few singles between 1958 and 1962 under various label: Jimskip, ABC, Josie, MGM & Columbia. After his separation with Al, Raymond J. Buzzeo recorded some singles as Buzz Ray, but with little success he focuses on writing.

Songs :
(updated by Hans-Joachim) 

  
Jeannie Marie                          Wierdo

  
Tomorrows That May Never            ill You, Huh? / Caring For You

...

The Gaytunes  (Brooklyn, New york)
aka The Gay Tunes





Personnel :

Earl "Chubby" Kirton (Lead)

Waymon "Butterman" Carey

Harry Pinchback (Baritone)

Fred Davis

Harry Hutchinson (Guitar)






Discography :

The Gay Tunes
Singles :
1953 - Why-y-y Leave Me This Wa-ay-ay / Thrill Of Romance (Timely 1002)
1958 - Got You On My Mind / Don't Go (Dome 502)
Unreleased :
1953 - I'll Always Love You  (Acappella) (Timely)
1953 - I Want You To Love Me Too  (Acappella) (Timely)

The Gaytunes
Singles :
1957 - I Love You / You Left Me (Joyce 101)
1958 - Plea In The Moonlight / Pen Pal (Joyce 106)
Unreleased :
1957 - Heaven Sent You (Joyce)
1957 - Tell Me You Love Me (Joyce)
1957 - Sad Am I (Joyce)
1957 - Pen Pal (Different) (Joyce)

Biography :

 The Gay Tunes were organized in 1949 when the fad of vocal group for vocal groups had reached a peak. It seemed that in 1952 the Gay tunes were fading, but this was not so, for most of the boys in the group were being called for military duty. With their duty to their country lover, the Gaytunes were reunited with greater aspect than ever. the group was composed by Earl "Chubby" Kirton, Waymon "Butterman" Carey, Harry Pinchback, Fred Davis, and Harry Hutchinson on guitar.  The Group started out singing on Street corners adjacent to P.S. 41 and P.S. 83 then move on to Alexander Hamilton and Boys High in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

   

Herman "Hy" "Siegal announcing the start of a new label called Timely Records. Siegal was one of the original founders of Apollo in 1943. The Gay Tunes first encountered Siegal after an apollo thither amateur show in the summer of 1953. They auditioned for Timely with a few songs, still miraculously preserved on an apollo audition tape they recently located in a Chicago warehouse. The Gay Tunes only Timely Single "Why-y-y Leave Me This Wa-ay-ay" b/w "Thrill Of Romance" was probably cut on August 22, 1953 and released a month later.

     
             Al Browne                                                                              The Gaytunes on Joyce

The group had been completely revamped from their Timely days. The photo is the Gay Tunes in their Joyce days, maybe Freddy in the photo is Fred Davis, but the only other member who carried over to Joyce is Earl Kirton. Kirton's warm, expressive lead voice comes through strong on the Gaytunes 1957 ballad "I Love You" (Written for his daunter) released on Brooklyn-based Joyce Records. They worked closely with pianist-arranger Al Browne, and appeared at shows and dj hops in Boston, Baltimore and West Virginia and cut a second single for Joyce. The Gaytunes' last single was "Got You On My Mind" d/w "Don't Go" for Julie Rifkind's Dome label in 1958. It would seem that the group with many more changes recorded under the name of the Verdicts in 1961.

Songs :
(updated by Hans-Joachim) 

The Gay Tunes

  
Why-y-y Leave Me This Wa-ay-ay                 Thrill Of Romance            

  
Got You On My Mind                            Don't Go         

I Want You To Love Me Too / I'll Always Love You

 

The Gaytunes

     
       I Love You                              You Left Me                        Plea In The Moonlight

     
    Pen Pal                         Heaven Sent You                        Tell Me You Love Me


I Love You

...

The Re-Vels (Philadelphia)
aka The Re-Vels Quartette aka The Revels

Personnel :

John Kelly (Lead)

Henry Colclough (Tenor)

John grant

Bill Jackson

Jon Jones (Bass)

Discography :

The Re-Vels Quartette
1954 - My Lost Love  / Love My Baby (Atlas 1035)

The Re-Vels
1956 - Later, Later Baby / You Lied To Me (Sound 129)
1956 - Cha Cha Toni / Dream My Darling, Dream (Sound 135)
1956 - So In Love / It Happened To Me (Teen 122)
1958 - False Alarm / When You Come Back To Me (Chess 1708)

The Revels
1959 - Dead man Stroll / Talking To My Heart (Norgolde 103)
1959 - Midnight Stroll  / Talking To My Heart (Norgolde 103)
1959 - Foo Man Choo / Tweedlee Dee (Norgolde 104)
1959 - Money Is All I Need / Injun Joe (Norgolde 106)
1960 - The Greatness Of Love / Gates Of Heaven (Norgolde 218)
1960 - Please / Two Little Monkeys (Andie 5077)
1961 - Oh How I Love You / I Met My Lost Love (Palette 5074)
1964 - Down Town / Dollar Sign (Kapp 621)

Biography :

In 1954, West Philadelphia High School students John Kelly (lead vocalist), John Grant, John Jones, Henry Colclugh and Bill Jackson formed the vocal group, originally performing under the moniker the Re-Vels Quartette. Their live appearances made the combo a well-attended attraction in Northern Philadelphia, which enticed Atlas Records in 1955 and Sound Records in the following year to record singles with the group.[1] Credited to the shortened name the Re-Vels, the singles released in the two years included "So in Love", "You Lied to Me", and "Cha-Cha Toni", the latter of which was a big regional hit in Philadelphia and some other eastern cities but never charted nationally.

 In 1958, the Re-Vels signed with Chess Records and released "False Alarm", perhaps their most accomplished record thus far. However, success still alluded the group, prompting Chess Records, which was still in the midst of a prosperous string of releases from Chuck Berry and the Moonglows, to cut the Re-Vels from their roster.A small record label established by Harold Nussbaum (also known as Hal Norton) and William Goldstein called Norgolde Records signed the group, now without a hyphen in their moniker. Jackson's self-penned novelty song "Dead Man's Stroll", paired with "Talking to My Heart", was selected to be recorded and distributed for the Halloween market in 1959.

Author Richard Aquilla described the single as a teen favorite with "a spooky sound, replete with midnight tolls and wailing ghosts".Released in September 1959, "Dead Man's Stroll" began being played across the United States leading to an appearance on Dick Clark's American Bandstand at the end of the month. Clark, however, objected to the song's title, forcing the Revels to alter it to "Midnight Stroll" to avoid losing the much-needed television exposure. The song peaked at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early November and remained on the charts until December 1959.

The Revels followed-up "Midnight Stroll" with "Foo Man Choo" in 1960, which also attempted to inflict more chills on its listeners. However, the release could not reach the height of popularity as its predecessor and failed to chart. The group released other singles in the 1960s before disbanding in 1962. Jackson, having composed the majority of the Revels' original material, continued in the music industry as a songwriter. He joined Cameo-Parkway Records in 1963 and had a hand in penning the Tymes' hit song "So Much in Love". In addition, Jackson co-wrote "Here She Comes", "The Magic of Our Summer Love", and "You Little Trustmaker", and produced the group's recordings in 1963 and 1964.
https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Stroll/product-reviews/B002EPKFO0
http://www.waybackattack.com/revels.html

Songs :
(updated by Hans-Joachim)  

The Re-Vels Quartette

  
My Lost Love                                Love My Baby

The Re-Vels

     
Later, Later Baby                    You Lied To Me                        Cha Cha Toni

     
Dream My Darling, Dream                 So In Love                        It Happened To Me     

  
     False Alarm                  When You Come Back To Me


The Revels

     
Dead man Stroll                  Talking To My Heart                   Midnight Stroll

     
Talking To My Heart                 Foo Man Choo                     Money Is All I Need

     
     Tweedley Dee                              Please                           Two Little Monkeys

     
Oh How I Love You            I Met My Lost Love                        Injun Joe      

     
Gates Of Heaven                    Dollar Sign                         The Greatness Of Love


Downtown

 
…

Sheila Ferguson
 

The Kittens (3) (Germantown, Philadelphia)


Personnel :

Barbara

Sheila Ferguson

Jeanie Scott

Yvonne Brown



Discography :

The Kittens (3)
1963 - Count Every Star / I’m Worried    (Chestnut 203)
1963 - I Need Your Love Tonight / Johnny’s Place (Don-El 205)
1964 - Walter / Light Bulb (Don-El 122)
1964 - Give Me A Shove / Hot Water (Don-El 123)

Johnny Alton bb The Kittens (3)
1963 - Please Love Me / Glad That You’re Mine (Chestnut 204)



Biography :

The Kittens included Barbara [last name not remembered], Sheila Ferguson, Jeanie Scott, Yvonne Brown and a fifth member. Sheila Ferguson would go on to sing with the Three Degrees and then star as a soloist. Jeanie Scott was the older sister of future Three Degrees’ Helen Scott. They were all in high school, Germantown High, except Barbara. The Kittens’ first release was “Count Every Star” backed with the Wally Osborne composition “I’m Worried,” released on March 1963 on the Don-El subsidiary label, Chestnut.

 
                                                                                                             The Three Degrees (Sheila Ferguson on top)

Don El was owned by real estate man Donald White. It was on the same block as V- Tone/Len records in Philly. He had three labels that I know of, Don El, Chestnut and Alpha. Chestnut was primarily used for country music which Don liked as well as r&b.  Don-El released three other singles by the Kittens. The girls never did any clubs because they were too young. They went on tour a couple times. The Kittens broke up in 1964 when Richard Barrett auditioned and signed Sheila Ferguson to record solo [Landa label] for him. She would then join the Three Degrees.



Songs :
(updated by Hans-Joachim) 

The Kittens (3)

  
      Count Every Star                     I Need Your Love Tonight

  
Johnny’s Place                           Give Me A Shove

  
Walter / Lite Bulb                                  Hot Water      


I'm Worried

Johnny Alton bb The Kittens (3)

Glad That You’re Mine / Please Love Me

...

  
The Del Pris (Pittsburg, PA.)

Personnel :

Billy Cyrus (Lead)

Wilson Rue (First Tenor)

Jack Derbish (Second Tenor)

Harold ”Cowboy” Shields (Baritone)

Dan Carr (Bass)


Discography :

Single :
1961 - The Time / Womp (Varbee 2003 / Restored 1001)

Unreleased :
1961 - I Don’t Want To Cry (Varbee)
1961 - It Must Have Been Love (Varbee)



Biography :

At the beginning of the 60s in Pittsburg, Jack Derbish and Dan Carr was part of a vocal group named the Del Pris, But after a few months, the group disbanded. Not discouraged, Jack and Dan form a new group named The Legends. The group then consists of three black and two white members. In 1961, Billy Cyrus (Lead), Wilson Rue (First Tenor), Jack Derbish (Second Tenor), Harold ”Cowboy” Shields (Baritone) and Dan Carr(Bass) contacted O’Dell Bailey, owner of Varbee and Millage Records Records in Pittsburgh. Bailey send the group to the Glen Campbell’s united recording service where recorded four sides :  The Baby Washington’s 1959 hit "The Time", The Chuck Jackson side "I Don’t Want To Cry", "Womp" and "It Must Have Been Love".  Because the name "The Legends" was already being used "The Time" b/w "Womp" was released In November of 1961 under the first group name of Jack Derbish  & Dan Carr, The Del Pris. The disc have a big local acceptance and the group have appearances with DJ’s personalities as Bill Powell, Walter Raleigh or Porky Chedwick, also appear on the TV show “Teen Time” and for a brief time were the back up singer for Little Maxine Simmons. In the summer of 1962 the group want release a second record and looking for a new label, but without luck, Harold ”Cowboy” Shields leave the group and Billy Cyrus join the army and The Del Pris finally broke up.

Songs :

  
The Time                                                Womp        


...