• The High Keyes (Brooklyn, New York)




    Personnel :

    Troy Keyes (Lead)

    Jimmy Williams

    Bob Haggard

    Cliff Rice



    Discography :

    1963 - Que Sera Sera / Daddy, Ooh Long Legs (Atco 6268/Atlantic 437)
    1963 - Pistol Packin' Mama / You're My Girl (Atco 6276)
    1964 - One Horse Town / Don't Leave Me Now (Atco 6290)
    1966 - Living A Lie / Let's Take A Chance (Verve 10423)



    Biography :

    Best known among soul aficionados for his cult-classic 1968 single "Love Explosions," singer Troy Keyes was born in Pantego, NC, on March 13, 1940. In 1955 Keyes joined a vocal group dubbed the Starlites, which earned a record deal with the tiny Peak label as a result of winning a local talent contest.

       

    Their single "Missing You" went nowhere, and in 1958 he joined the Velours, which cut several singles for the Cub label and an LP for Onyx, Remember with the Velours, before dissolving. After a brief tenure with the Rays, in 1960 Keyes signed to Atco as a solo act, crediting his 1961 single "The World Without You" to Mitchell Keyes.

    With fellow Atco act Jimmy Williams, he then formed the High Keyes, which threatened the Billboard Top 40 with its 1963 rendition of the Doris Day chestnut "Que Sera Sera." The 4 Seasons appear on all of the Atco's recordings. It is believed that Bob Crewe tried to make them the black 4 Seasons.

       
    French SP                                                 French EP

    Soon after, Keyes was drafted into the U.S. Army, serving several years in Europe. Upon returning stateside, he and Williams revived the High Keyes, notching a future Northern soul classic with their lone Verve single, "Living a Lie." Keyes then resumed his solo career.



    Songs :

       
    Daddy, Ooh Long Legs                        Que Sera Sera


    One Horse Town




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