The Aquatones

The Aquatones (Queens, New-York)

Personnel :

Dave Goddard

Lynne Nixon

Larry Vannata

Gene McCarthy

Discography :

Singles :
1958 - You / She's the one for me (Fargo 1001)
1958 - Say you'll be mine / So fine (Fargo 1002)
1958 - Our first kiss / The drive-in (Fargo 1003)
1959 - My one desire / my Treasure (Fargo 1005)
1959 - My darling / For you, for you (Fargo 1111)
1959 - Every time / There's a long long trail (Fargo 1015)
1960 - Crazy for you / Wanted (A solid gold cadillac) (Fargo 1016)
1962 - My treasure / Say you'll be mine (Fargo 1022)

Lps :
1959 - The Aquatones Sing (Fargo LP 3001)
You / She's the One for Me / My Darling / So Fine / Say You'll Be Mine / Everytime / My Treasure / My One Desire / Light Up the Sky / Wanted (A Solid Gold Cadillac) / Our First Kiss / For You, For You

Biography :

The Aquatones were formed as "The Rhythm Kings" in September 1956. The original members were Dave Goddard, Larry Vannata, and Gene McCarthy. They got together to record a song written by Dave for their junior class play at Valley Stream Central High School on Long Island.

All of them played instruments as well as sang – Gene on clarinet and tenor sax, Larry on alto and tenor sax, Dave on piano. They added a drummer – their friend Bob Boden – to perform their music live. They were never a dance band – all of their songs were original, and they hoped to be "discovered" and become recording stars.

They played some of their home recordings for a classmate's father, a record distributor, and he suggested that they needed a high voice in the group. Shortly thereafter, Larry met Lynne Nixon at a dance, found out that she sang, and asked Gene and Dave to give her an audition. They agreed and were happy to hear Lynne's beautiful voice. At first, she sang only backgrounds, until Larry wrote the song "You" for her to sing.

After changing their name to the Aquatones – so the guys could wear a "cool" shirt from the 1950s (aqua with a black velvet "V" down the front) as a uniform – the group continued their efforts to land a recording contract. In November 1957 they appeared in a talent show in the neighboring town of Malverne, NY. At that show, they were heard by Lou Fargo, a local realtor who wanted to get into the music business – and Fargo asked them the question they'd been waiting to hear:

"How'd you like to make a record?"

Fargo was interested in working with a vocal group, so Bob, the non-singing drummer, left. The group's very first release, in January of 1958, was the ballad "You", with the rocker "She's The One For Me" on the flip side. Helped by airplay on American Bandstand, "You" soon hit the Top 40 charts all over the country.

It reached #7 in New York, #1 in Boston, and #21 on the Billboard national pop charts. After "You", the Aquatones released 6 more singles, but none of them made the charts. Their last single, "Crazy For You" b/w "Wanted (A Solid Gold Cadillac)" was released in July 1961.

After that, the Aquatones went their separate ways. Lynne stayed on Long Island, Larry moved to New Hampshire, Gene moved to the midwest and then to Atlanta, and Dave moved to California, Ohio, and finally Kentucky. Most important, Lynne stopped singing. Though the group members remained friends and stayed in touch, it was difficult to get together to perform – and without Lynne, they were missing the "sound" for which they were known.

http://thebigbeat.50megs.com/TheAquatones.htm
http://www.aquatones.us
http://www.destinationdoowop.com/aquatones.htm
http://www.colorradio.com/Aquatones.htm
http://www.doowopy.de/old/02page/A/eAquatones.html

Songs :

     
You                             She's the one for me                   Say you'll be mine

     
So fine                         Our first kiss                                The Drive-in

     
My one desire                       My treasure                         Every time

     
There's a long long trail            Crazy for you         Wanted (A solid gold cadillac)

     
My darling                          For you, for you                     Light Up the Sky

 

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