The Minor-Tones (Los Angeles)
aka The Classics (1)
ref : The Viceroys (2) - ref : The Penguins

Personnel :

James/Jimmy Conwell (Lead)

Oliver Williams

Jack

Steve


Discography :

The Minor-Tones
1956 - Burning Desire / Gonna Tell The World (Cholly 7094)

The Classics (1)
1959 - Je Vous Aime / Burning Desire (Ro-Ann 1002)

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

The Viceroys (2)
1961 - Uncle Sam Needs You / I'm So Sorry (It's Ending With You) (Little Star 107/ Smash 1716)
1961 - Dreamy Eyes / Ball N' Chain (Original Sound 15)

The Penguins
1963 - Memories Of El Monte / Be Mine (Original Sound 27)



Biography :

James/Jimmy Conwell had been doo-wopping since 1953, when with Oliver Williams, Jack and Steve, he formed the Minor Tones at Carver Junior High School in L.A. (Jesse Belvin was an early mentor). The group debuted on the Cholly label with the street corner ballad “Burning Desire,” then recut it in 1959 as the Classics for producer H.B. Barnum and Ro-Ann Records.

The Group broke up some time later, but Jimmy Conwell and Oliver Williams along with three friends, Andrew Jack White, Charles Jones and Herbert White formed a new group, The Viceroys. They cut a Coasters-influenced “Uncle Sam Needs You” for Barnum in ‘61. First out on the Little Star logo, it was picked up by Mercury’s Smash imprint for national consumption.

  
    Cleve Duncan                                                                         The Exits with James Conwell                            

The group also waxed “Dreamy Eyes” for local deejay Art Laboe’s Original Sound logo the same year and subbed as the Penguins just long enough to back Cleve Duncan on “Memories Of El Monte” in ’63 for Laboe’s logo. Later, Jimmy Conwell went onto to record throughout the late 1960's as a solo artist and with The Exits, The New Group, The Trips and The Light Drivers.



Songs :
(updated by Hans-Joachim) 

The Minor-Tones

Burning Desire / Gonna Tell The World

The Classics (1)

Je Vous Aime / Burning Desire

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

The Viceroys (2)

I'm So Sorry / Uncle Sam Needs You

  
Dreamy Eyes                                        Ball N' Chain

The Penguins

  
Memories Of El Monte                                  Be Mine            

...

Beverly, Victoria & Debra

The Bow Ribbons (Los Angeles)
ref : The Shadows (4)

 

Personnel :

Victoria Peace

Beverly ?

Debra ?


Discography :

The Bow Ribbons
1959 - Hey Diddle Diddle / Quick Like (Elroy Peace & Bow Ribbons) (Trans-Continental 3001)
1959 - Mr. Spoon / Our Father (Motif ZM-018)

The Shadows (4) (Elroy Peace and Paul White)
1958 - You Make My Heart Sing Ah! / Pretty Window (Dick Garrett & The Shadows ) (Fraternity 795)


Biography :

Vocal group The Bow Ribbons, comprised of three young lasses : Beverly, Victoria & Debra between 6 and 8 years old. The Bow Ribbons were Elroy Peace's little daughter Victoria, age 6, and two nieces, Beverly and Debra age 7 and 8. The Young Trio recorded for Transcontinental Records owned by Brad Atwood the sides "Hey Diddle Diddle" and "Quick Like" where the girls backed  Elroy  with Eddie Cochran on guitar. Some months later, they recorded two new songs "Mr. Spoon" and "Our Father" released by Milton Vedder's label Motif. the four songs recorded by the trio were all composed by Ray Stanley.

  
Elroy Peace                                                                                                                               

Ray Stanley was born Stanley Nussbaum in Dermott, Arkansas in 1924. Songwriter and vocalist Stanley teamed up with Jack Lewis at American Music and were responsible for the Crest label's first four releases. In May 1956, 'Glendora' a Ray Stanley song was covered by Perry Como whose version made the top ten on RCA. Lewis then left American and founded Sherman Music with Billy Sherman. Ray played piano on Eddie Cochran's early sessions in Gold Star Studio in mid 1956 including 'Skinny Jim', 'Half Loved' and 'My Love To Remember'.

In late 1956 Ray made a couple of demos of songs he composed. These demos are now mostly famous as Eddie Cochran sat in on guitar and provided some of his best recorded guitar licks. Songs include: 'Market Place', 'Pushin', 'Love Charms', My Lovin' Baby' and 'Kiss & Make Up'.  In 1958, Elroy Peace and Paul White are The Shadows. One of the most memorable songs of bandleader Ted Lewis  was "Me and My Shadow" with which he frequently closed his act.  Around 1928, he started to use a shadow mimicking his movements during his act.   Several Afro-American played the Shadow.  Elroy Peace and Paul White were two of them in the forties.

Young Elroy Peace and Paul White (The Shadows)

Elroy Peace's first record was probably "Onion Breath Baby" for the Swing Time label in 1953. Followed a duet with Willie Mae Thornton on Peacock. After the Fraternity single as the Shadows, he was heard on West Coast labels such as Keen, Romeo, or Helga. In the early sixties, during a tour in Australia & New-Zealand, Elroy recorded at least two singles which were issued on local labels.




Songs :

The Bow Ribbons

  
Our Father                                                 Mr. Spoon

Elroy Peace & The Bow Ribbons


Quick Like


The Shadows (4)


You Make My Heart Sing Ah!


...

Ramona King

The Fairlanes (3) (San Francisco, CA.)
aka Cleo & Ramona King

Personnel :

Ramona King

Cleo King

Lawrence Thibeaux

Elzie Walker

Discography :

The Fairlanes (3)
1961 - Playboy / Writing This Letter  (Continental 26)

Cleo & Ramona King
1961 - Dream On / Soulmate (Arvee 5041)

Biography :

Although she recorded for several other outlets, San Francisco-based Ramona King is best known for the singles she released on Lee Hazlewood's Eden label in 1962-63 and on Warner Bros in 1964-65. "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" , the first of her four Warners 45s, had all the makings of a hit record, but unfortunately went on sale the same month as the version by the better known Betty Everett, which made the Top 10.  Before leaving for a solo career in 1962, Ramona King was a member of The Fairlanes of San Francisco, Ca. They recorded the Hit song "Writing This Letter" b/w "Playboy" both written by Ramona.  The group consisted of, Ramona King, brother's Cleo King, Lawrence Thibeaux and Elzie Walker. Ramona & Cleo recorded "Dream On" b/w "Soulmate" released  by Arvee Records.

Songs :

The Fairlanes (3)

  
        Playboy                                        Writing This Letter

Cleo & Ramona King

  
Dream On                                        Soulmate

...

The Boyd Twins (Hammond, Indiana)

 Personnel :

Jane knoerzer

Joan  knoerzer

Discography :

1960 - You're Shedding Crocodile Tears / Without You, Baby (Lark 500)

Biography :

The Boyd Twins were Jayne and Joan knoerzer from Hammond, Indiana. They started singing and dancing lessons at the age of three and were charter members of Gamma Phi Beta's chapter at Indiana University in 1957. Their singing career started back in high school in Hammond, Indiana, where they won several amateur singing contests, were guests on WLS radio, and made a recording at the age of 17. Modeling was a sideline with the twins. At Indiana University, they majored in Music and Drama and were members of the Belles of Indiana, a singing group of 60 girls. Following a USO tour to the Caribbean with the Belles, Jayne and Joan spent the summer of 1957 as the Toni Twins.

The following summer they played in an Indianapolis summer theatre, and the fall found them in Chicago seeking a career in the entertainment field. Their first professional radio program was in January 1959 on "The Music Wagon," a CBS presentation. Auditioning later for the Wrigley company advertisers ,they were selected as the Doublemint Twins to do all radio and TV commercials for Doublemint gum. They also do a network radio show six times a week called, "Double Your Pleasure." In 1960, The girls with Remo Biondi, who made the rhythm acc. cut "You're Shedding Crocodile Tears" b/w "Without You, Baby" released on the tiny label Lark.


Songs :

?


...

 The Lavenders (2) (Camden, PA.)


Personnel :

Cal Tilley (Lead)

Brent Edwards

Leon Huff

Kelvin Nesmith

Buster Williams (Bass)

Discography :

The Lavenders (2)
1961 - Slide / Angel (CR 1003)   
1961 - That Lucky Old Sun / Cool It Down (CR 1005)

Brent Edwards
1962 - Time After Time / Satin Doll (Karen 57)
1963 - Pride / Over The Weekend (Karen 60)  

Biography :

After one single with his Overbrook High School group, Dale & The Cashmeres on the tiny label Matt Records, Lead singer Brent Edwards joined another group fronted by future legendary Leon Huff. Leon Huff, born April 8, 1942 and raised here on Ferry Avenue, was exposed to music through his mother, who played piano and organ in Camden for the 19th Street Baptist Church choir. Huff participated in several Camden "doo-wop" groups, including the Dynaflows, which auditioned for Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour. Leon Huff was the piano player.

The Dynaflows with Leon Huff (piano)

With some personnel changes the group evolved into The Lavenders.  In 1962 songwriter/record producer John Madara visited a club in West Philadelphia. There was the Lavenders and the piano player was Leon Huff. ohn Madara was so impressed with Leon that he invited him to play on some of his and partner, Dave White's, productions. John and Dave's offices were in the Shubert Building in Philadelphia. The Shubert building, like the Brill Building in New York, housed some of the most successful songwriters and artists in the business -- Linda Creed, Thom Bell and an unknown at the time by the name of Kenny Gamble, who worked with record producer Jerry Ross.

   
Leon Huff                                                                 Brent Edwards    

JHuff’s Earliest recordings happened with the Lavenders. The group recorded  "Slide" b/w "Angel" (CR 1003) and was an early Jerry Ross production of a song written by his partner Murray Wetch. “The Slide,” which was typical of the dance fad genre so popular during that era, was a commercial failure, but it is a fine anticipatory example of Huff’s rollicking, staccato-like boogie-woogie piano groove. Huff teamed with Kenny Gamble to become one of the most prolific songwriting teams in Rock ‘n’ Roll history.

Gamble and Huff 

Huff traveled regularly to between Philadelphia and New York City, becoming a well-known figure on the recording studio scene in Manhattan, and becoming acquainted with a host of major league songwriter/producers, such as Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and Phil Spector. After leaving the Lavenders in 1962,  Brent Edwards recorded "Time After Time" b/w "Satin Doll" for Karen Records, a label formed in Philadelphia in April 1962 by Ed Barsky who ran a local distribution firm. In 1963, he is still with Madara & White for his second single on the label with  "Pride" b/w "Over The Weekend".


Songs :
(updated by Hans-Joachim) 

The Lavenders (2)

  
Angel                                                  Slide

  
That Lucky Old Sun                               Cool It Down

 

Brent Edwards

  
     Pride                                       Over The Weekend


…