The Four Temptations

The Four Temptations  (Flushing, new York)
ref : The Temptations (3)


Personnel :

Artie Ripp

Mario "Skippy" Scarpa

Stu Silverman

Joe Tedesca


Discography :

Singles :
1958 - Cathy / Rock and Roll Baby (ABC 9920)
Unreleased:
1958 - Dreams Money Can't Buy
1958 - The Boy Who Cried Love

Biography :

Artie Ripp began his career as a singer, initially informally harmonizing rock and roll songs with friends from high school. In 1957, Ripp formed an official singing group with neighborhood friends; the group was signed by ABC-Paramount Records as backup singers for ABC solo artists. The singers sang backup for Paul Anka on his 1957 hit "Diana" and broke up shortly thereafter.

Ripp rejoined with some of his informal singing partners (Mario "Skippy" Scarpa, Stu Silverman, and Joe Tedesco) to form "The Four Temptations". The quartet wrote its own songs and was signed by ABC-Paramount Records, which released the group's first single in 1958. The A-side, "Cathy" (named after Scarpa's newly born niece), was written by Scarpa and Ripp; the B-side was "Rock & Roll Baby", written by Scarpa, Ripp, and Silverman. When the group rejected opportunities offered by the record company to record others' songs, the record company withheld further recording opportunities, and the group disbanded.

In 1958, Artie Ripp targeted George Goldner to be a potential mentor. Goldner, based in New York City, was a music industry entrepreneur who owned copyrights, produced records, and owned record companies. Goldner was, in the words of American blues singer and songwriter Jerome "Doc" Pomus, a "very hip, New York kind of tough guy." After Ripp spent weeks informally observing Goldner at work, Goldner formally hired Ripp to be a go-fer.

  
Artie Ripp with Phil Spector                                                                                      The Temptations (3)

 Ripp worked with songwriter and producer Richard Barrett within Goldner's organization, where Ripp got a "street education in the record business equal to none".[Ripp learned how Goldner worked a studio, structured a record contract, and got records played on the radio. Functioning as manager instead of performer, Ripp put together the New York vocal group "The Temptations", (formed at least a year before the name was used by the different Motown group). Ripp's Temptations recorded for Goldner's Goldisc Records; its three singles were released in 1960 and 1961. The song "Barbara" charted nationally, reaching number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1960.


Songs :
(updated by Hans-Joachim) 

  
       Cathy                                        Rock and Roll Baby

  
Dreams Money Can't Buy              The Boy Who Cried Love


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