The Idols (3) (Lodi, California)

Personnel :

Lionel Handel

Mike Harmon

John Hops

Larry Westgate

Discography :

1961 - Tell Me / We Dined By Candlelight (Camelia 100-38/39)
1961 - The Stars Will Remember / Tell Me (Galaxie 77)

Biography :

A Lodi vocal group, “The Idols,” entertainers on radio and television, have joined the ranks of recording artists, with their first disc. The four young men are Lionel Handel, Larry Westgate, Mike Harmon, and John Hops. One song on the record, “Tell Me” was written by Mike Harmon. The other, “We Dined by Candle-light” is a composition of Mrs Helen Allrich, a resident of Lodi. Both songs are ballads of the type in which the group has gained recognition. The two songs were released on The Camelia label from Sacramento.

Lionel Handel, John Hops, Mike Harmon & Larry Westgate

The Idols, an anagram for “Lodi” was formed in 1957 While the singers were stil! attending Lodi High School, and all were playing in the school band. Since that time they have entertained at numerous functions in Lodi, Sacramento, Modesto, Stockton, and San Francisco. Later, after the boys entered college, they continued the singing combo, and branched into radio and video, appearing on the Bil] Rase show and on several occasions they have been guests on the Don Sherwood Show. Some months later, the Idols release their second recording on the Galaxie label.  The latest composition is "The Stars Will Remember" with a repeat of "Tell Me" .

Songs :
(updated by Hans-Joachim) 

      
The Stars Will Remember                                Tell Me                  

Tell Me / We Dined By Candlelight

...

The Echoes (6) (Brooklyn, New York)
aka The Laurels (5)

Personnel :

Tommy Morrissey

Harry Boyle

Tom Duffy

Discography :

The Laurels (5)
1960 - Baby Blue (demo)
1960 - Every Dream I Dream (demo)

The Echoes (6)
Singles:
1961 - Baby Blue / Boomerang (Segway 103)
1961 - Sad Eyes / It's Rainin' (Segway 106)
1961 - Gee Oh Gee / Angel Of My Heart (Segway 1002)
1962 - Bluebirds Over The Mountain / A Chicken Ain't Nothin' But A Bird (Smash 1766)
1963 - A Million Miles From Nowhere / Keep An Eye On Her (Smash 1807)
1963 - If Love Is / Annabelle Lee (Smash 1850)
1965 - I Love Candy / Paper Roses (Ascott 2188)
Unreleased :
1960 - Think It Over
1961 - In A Little Spanish Town
1964 - I Just Can't Help Myself
1969 - A Rose And A Baby Ruth
1983 - Maybe Tonight
1983 - Let's Go To Angelo's
1983 - I Flunked
1983 - It's Party Time
1984 - Little Star
1984 - Hushabye
1984 - Baby Blue Medley

Biography :

The Echoes were a product of the great New York borough of Brooklyn.  Harry Boyle recalls that in 1959 (at the ripe old age of 15) he was singing with a guy named Charlie Morrissey whose older brother Tommy (age 21) was just getting out of the service.  Tommy started signing with some different guys including Bill Perry the lead of Billy and the Glens.  Bill Perry introduced Tommy to Tom Duffy.   Duffy knew two other guys – Sam Capano and Willie Bender.  These five guys started practicing and getting songs together as the Laurels.  Duffy knew Johnny Powers (of Johnny and the Jokers).

The Laurels

 The story goes that two teachers from Brooklyn wrote a song called “Baby Blue.”  Those two were Sam Guilino and Val Lagueux. The two offered the song to Johnny Powers.  Powers didn’t think the song was right for him and he passed it along to Duffy.  In 1959, the Laurels took the song and did a slow, “Earth Angel” type ballad demo version of Baby Blue.  They shopped it around without success.

In 1960, Harry Boyle was asked to join the group as a guitar player.  Capano and Bender left the group and the remaining trio asked Harry Boyle and Tommy Morrissey to start singing.  They renamed themselves the Echoes. Harry Boyle suggested re-recording Baby Blue as a cha-chat.  The group did that, picking up the pace a bit and changing the intro of the song by spelling out the words “Baby Blue.”  It was Duffy, Morrissey and Boyle with Ralph DePalma on drums. They shopped the record at the famous “1650″ building and met up with Jack Gold of Paris Records (of the G-Clefs, Four Esquires, and Newports fame).  Gold liked it and re-recorded it again with a new arrangement that included guitarist Billy Mueller.  That was December 1960.

Baby Blue b/w Boomerange was released in January 1961 on the S.R.G. label (named for Gold’s son Stephen Richard Gold) and Gold leased the rights to Seg-Way (#103 1961).  The song first broke in Cleveland and was a huge hit going all the way to #12 in Billboard and #9 in Cashbox. The Echoes followed up on Seg-Way with Sad Eyes b/w Its Rainin (Seg-Way #106 1961) which did well locally but only reached #88 nationally.  They followed with Gee Oh Gee b/w Angel of My Heart (Seg-Way #1002 1961) which did not chart.  
https://strathdee.wordpress.com/2010/03/12/one-hit-wonders-the-echoes/

Songs :

The Laurels (5)

  
          Baby Blue (demo)                  Every Dream I Dream (demo)

The Echoes (6)

  
Baby Blue                                  Boomerang

  
Sad Eyes                                          It's Rainin'

  
Gee Oh Gee / Angel Of My Heart         Bluebirds Over The Mountain

  
A Chicken Ain't Nothin' But A Bird      A Million Miles From Nowhere  

  
Keep An Eye On Her                               If Love Is           

  
        Annabelle Lee                         I Love Candy / Paper Roses


In A Little Spanish Town

...

The Chanteers (West Palm Beach, Florida)

Personnel :

John "J.P." Robinson (Lead)

Berdell Macon

Levon Kinsey

Joe Fisher

Discography :

1960/61 - Jungle Twist / The Life Of Pepe Lococo (?)
1962 - She's Coming Home / Mr. Zebra (Mercury 71979)
1962 - I Waited / Just A Little Boy (Mercury 72037)

Biography :

Early in 1958 John Robinson began his music career with the R&B group The Chanteers. This Vocal group from Roosevelt Senior high school, West Palm Peach, Florida, including J.P. Robinson, Berdell Macon, Levon Kinsey and Joe Fisher (future south florida disc jockey, who would later bring Robinson to the attention of Henry Stone). The chanteers playing gigs in many club around Miami. It states (in the ad) that the Chanteers were already a 'recording act' back in 1958 though the 1st 45 by the group was titled "Jungle Twist" and so dates from 1960 or 1961.

The group later signed a recording contract for Mercury records and cut two singles in 1962.. Three Years later, in 1965, John Robinson with Victor Kerr cut one single as "Vick & John". John Robinson would later launch a solo career that spawned through the early 1970's recording as J.P. Robinson.

Songs :

         
             She's Coming Home                                Mr. Zebra                        

   
  I Waited                                         Just A Little Boy

...

Miss Mary Grace (right)

The Three Graces ( New York)

Personnel

Mary Grace Bookhart

?

?

Discography :

Singles :
1958 - X Equals Kiss / Jimmy Joe (Golden Crest 515)
1959 - Billy Boy's Time / Lonesome And Sorry (Golden Crest 528)
1960 - Missed / 7 L  (Golden Crest 534)
1960 - Larry Applebaum / My Hero (Golden Crest 546)

Eps :
The Three Graces / The Wailers (Golden Crest 88601 / 88602)
Billy Boys' Tune / 7 L / Tall Cool One / Road Runner

Biography :

The Three Graces from New York City, were composed of Mary Grace Bookhart and two other unidentified young ladies. They recorded four singles for Golden Crest. Golden Crest was a Long Island label owned Clark Galehouse who also owned the Shelley pressing plant, makers of mostly styrene pressings. The Three Graces  had a radio turntable hit with “Billy Boy’s Tune”  which snuck in at No.100 in Cash Box national chart for two weeks in late summer 1959. Subtitled "Billy Boy's Funeral March" is a song with a wild guitar solo in the middle, sung by a group of three girls from different vocal backgrounds - classical, theatre and pop.

When reviewed in the summer of '59, Billboard called it "a sharp reading of a first class piece of material." The reviewer predicted heavy sales which never happened and this exceptional song was soon forgotten. The single was originally issued as "Billy Boy's Funeral March" and the all three gals were brunettes. The single was retitled "Billy Boy's Tune" with the same 3 brunettes and echo was added to the musical mix . Somewhere along it's life, the middle gal was replaced with a blonde and the label was changed!


Songs :

  
Missed                                       X Equals Kiss

  
Lonesome And Sorry                                     7 L          

Larry Applebaum

...

(paste-up picture) Top : Jesse Belvin. Bottom : Bobby Day & Earl Nelson

The Searchers (1) (Watts, Los Angeles)
aka The Hollywood Flames aka ....

Personnel :

Bobby Byrd "Bobby Day" (Lead)

Earl Nelson  (Tenor)

Jesse Belvin

Discography :

1958 - Wow-Wow Baby / Ooo-Wee (Class 223)

Biography :

According to Class & Rendezvous Vocal Groups, The Searchers were another spin-off from the Hollywood Flames. We do not know their full lineup but it appears to have included artists including Bobby Day and Earl Nelson (who always seemed to be in the Class recording studio for one reason or another) and Jesse Belvin. The two sides of their only single, "Wow-Wow Baby” / "Ooo Wee”’ (Class 223), have similar titles and energy. The beginning of "Wow-Wow Baby” is explosive while “Ooo Wee" sounds a lot like "Over And Over" by Bobby Day and the Satellites, issued on Class 229 during the same time period.

Songs :

  
Wow-Wow Baby                                          Ooo-Wee    


...