The Satellites (5)  (Pease AFB, NH)

Personnel :

Tommy Childers

Nick Brazell

Sandy McPherson

Albert "Duff" Duffy

Discography :

The Satellites (5)
1959 - Linda Jean / Rockateen (Cupid 5004 / ABC 10038)

Nick Brazell & The Satellites (5)  / Sandy McPherson & The Satellites (5)
1960 -  Betty Joe / Blue Denim Angel (Sparr 328)

Biography :

Vocal Group oriented Rock and Roll, the Satellites were Nick Brazell aged 16, Sandy McPherson aged 17 and Albert "Duff" Duffy aged 18. Brazell (Born in California, but raised in Texas and Oklahoma and McPherson (Who'd moved from California to New Mexico to New Hampshire) were Air Force brats whose fathers were stationed at Pease AFB in New Hampshire. Nick Brazell,  Sandy McPherson and a guy named Rick Arnold went to the General and asked if they could have a building to start a teen club. He said Yes, and they hired a local dee-jay, Art Wood for the opening sock hop. Art was going to the restroom and heard the three boys singing along with a record. He said, 'Have you guys ever thought of singing professionally?'

Wood put them with a local singer, Tommy Childers, whom he later canned. They recorded Rockateen at a local studio, and it first appeared on Sam Lembo's Cupid Records in Marblehead, Massachusetts. ABC Records Acquired The Satellites' Cupid Masters and send the guys on the road with a group called the Launchers. "Linda Jean" was a song Nick Brazzel had written about his girlfriend at the time, Linde Lou Winberly. It was originally titled Linda Lou, but Ray Sharpe's "Linda Lu" began showing up, So Brazell changed the title (renaming the song after both his girlfriend and her mother). They played sock hops, television. Deejay Art Wood was their manager. First, he canned Rick Arnold, replacing him with a local boy, Tommy Childers, and then he canned Childers , replacing him with another local boy, Albert "Duff" Duffy.

  
Tommy Childers                                                                                                                  

The Satellites had a brief lifespan: basically, the summer of 1959. Brazell's Father was moved to Saudi Arabia, and Nick's mother took him back to Texas. Art Wood brought him up to Boston for some shows during the summer, but there was another argument and Brazell left. The others stayed together another year or so. Wood had a comanager who owned a clothing store, so the group was usually promoting their's comanager's clothes and their own records. At the end of 1959 the guys recorded another single with a very nice Doo Wop "Blue Denim Angel".

Songs :

The Satellites (5)

  
Rockateen                                          Linda Jean

Sandy McPherson & The Satellites (5)

Blue Denim Angel

Nick Brazell  & The Satellites (5)

Betty Joe


...

The Four Ekkos in Honolulu, Cassotta, Grock, Scarlata & Mazzeo

The Four Ekkos (Rochester, NY)

Personnel :

Carl Scarlata

Pat Cassotta

Leo Grock

Joe Mazzeo

Discography :

Jerry Engler & The Four Ekkos
1957 - Sputnik (Satellite Girl) / Unfaithful One (Brunswick 55037)

Bernie Campbell & The Four Ekkos
1957 - Baby, You Belong To Me / Will I Ever Find My Baby? (Fine 26571-2)

The Four Ekkos
1958 - Toodaloo Kangaroo / My Love I Give (RIP 12558)
1959 - Hand In Hand / Think Twice (Label 2022)

Biography :

Vocal group from Rochester, composed by Carl Scarlata, Pat Cassotta, Leo Grock and Joe Mazzeo. The Four Ekkos first hit a recording studio when they backed Rochester Rockabilly vocalist Jerry Engler on his 1957 Space Age-themed “Sputnik (Satellite Girl)”, receiving a label credit along the way – ‘Jerry Engler & The Four Ekkos’.

    
Jerry Engler                                                                         

This was cut at Rochester’s Fine Recordings and picked up and issued by Brunswick Records. On the same label (Fine) one month later, the group backed young Bernie Campbell (age 14) on  "Baby, You Belong To Me" b/w "Will I Ever Find My Baby?".

In 1958 , the group were under contract with Rip records arrived in Hollywood for a month’s stay. The group under the personal management of Dick Pucio, 23 year old head of Rip, will make several appearances plugging it’s recording of ”Toodaloo Kangaroo”. In 1959 the Four Ekkos cut "Hand in Hand" b/w "Think Twice" released on Buffalo’s Label Records.


Songs :
(updated by Hans-Joachim)   

Jerry Engler & The Four Ekkos

  
Sputnik (Satellite Girl)                       Unfaithful One
 

Bernie Campbell & The Four Ekkos

  
Baby, You Belong To Me                       Will I Ever Find My Baby? 

 

The Four Ekkos

  
Toodaloo Kangaroo                                 My Love I Give     

  
Hand In Hand                                          Think Twice   


…

Thanks to Marv Goldberg

The Hit-Makers (Harlem, New York)

Personnel :

?

Discography :

1959 - I Can't Take It Anymore / Too Cool (Angle Tone 1104)

Biography :

Unfortunately, no information on this group from Harlem, New York, except that they had a very good single record on Angletone (1104) : "Too Cool" b/w "I Can't Take It Anymore" in 1959. Tommy Robinson's Atlas Records, originally based on 125th St. in New York's Harlem, was one of the first culturally significant record labels founded and operated by a Black owner. From 1951 until the early 1970s, the company specialized in R&B, evolving from urban blues and jazz in the beginning to doo wop music in the late 1950s -- their first release in December of 1951 was "Rock H-Bomb Rock" by H-Bomb Ferguson.

In 1953, he started recording vocal groups, which heralded his entry into the doo wop field with the Caverliers Quartet. Other harmony groups and a cappella outfits that came aboard included the Revels, the Travelers, the Fi-Tones (the reorganized Caverliers), the Parakeets, the Gypsies (who had more of a jump sound), the Five Dukes, and the Lincolns.   None of Atlas's releases ever charted nationally -- the company was essentially a one-man operation, and lacked the promotional clout and money to push songs that high nationwide -- but their artists were fixtures on local and regional charts. As for the diversity of material here, it runs the gamut from raunchy, heavily R&B-flavored numbers like the Caverliers' "Dynaflow" (a great unheralded car song with a real cool sax solo) and the Gypsies' jumping "Young Girl to Calypso," to smooth near-pop like "Lenora" by the Travelers. This collection also includes a pair of unreleased numbers by the Travelers and the Fi-Tones.

Songs :


I Can't Take It Anymore / Too Cool
(updated by Hans-Joachim) 

...

 Themes Pappas (Manager) & Buddy Gibson with the Vanguards behind.

Buddy Gibson & The Vanguards (3) (Ventura, Ca.)
aka The Jesters (2)

Personnel :

Leroy (Buddy) Gibson (Lead Singer & Pianist)

Don Johnson (Vocal)

Dave Johnson (Guitar & Vocal)

Ron  Perry (Pianist & vo­cal)

Corky Wilke (Sax­ophone & vo­cal)

Yvonne Gallegos (Vocal)

Joyce Gallegos (Vocal)

Discography :

Buddy Gibson & The Jesters (2)
1958 - To Be Or Not To Be / Meet The Beat (inst) (Spry 118)

Buddy Gibson & The Vanguards (3)
1959 - Just A Game / The Session (Swingin’615)

Biography :

Vocal group from Ventura, California, The Jesters aka The Vanguards were composed by Buddy Gibson, singer and Piano player and a group of young people from Ventura Colllege, Oxnard High School, Ven­tura High School and Oxnard Air Force Base. They were Ron Perry : Pianist and vo­calist. In the Air Force. He is 19 and come from Washington.D.C., Don Johnson, Vocalist, The oldest member of the group at 22. Also in the Air Force, from Columbus., Dave Johnson, Plays the elec­tric guitar and sings. He is a 17 year old senior at Ventura High, Corky Wilke, 16, Plays sax­ophone and sings. He is a Junior at Ventura High, Drummer Mike Flaherty, a former VC student,  a psy­chiatric technician trainee at Camarillo State Hospital.

  
When he was five Buddy made appearances with his sister Betty as a dancing team before numerous lodges and service clubs.

Two Oxnard girls, Yvonne, 19, and Joyce, 17, Gallegos joined the band on their second single as a vocal duet. Yvonne attends VC. Joyce is a senior at Oxnard High. In 1959, Buddy with the Vanguards (aka the Jesters) made two records (Four songs) records of tunes written by Gibson, One "To Be Or Not To Be" made the Top 20. His other recording songs are "Just A Game", "The Session" and "Meet The Beat" an instrumental with the band in which Buddy plays the piano.

Songs :

Buddy Gibson & The Jesters (2)


To Be Or Not To Be

Buddy Gibson & The Vanguards (3)


Just A Game


...

Eulis Mason & The Martells (San Jose, California)

Personnel :

Eulis Mason (Lead)

Joseph Robinson

Andrews

Phillips

Discography :

Eulis Mason / The Martells
1959 - Carol Lee (Eulis Mason)/ Rockin' Santa Claus (The Martells) (Bella 45-B-20)

Eulis Mason & The Martells
1959 - Va Va Voom / Forgotten Spring (Bella 45-B-21-60)

The Martells
2961 - Va Va Voom / Forgotten Spring (Cessna 45-CE-477)

Biography :

The Martells, sometimes spelled The Martels, were a black Bay Area vocal group built around their lead singer Eulis Mason. The other members were Joseph Robinson, plus Andrews and Phillips (their first names are unknown). These Martells not to be confused with a white Martels vocal group from Nashville on the Nasco label. Eulis and his Martells had two releases on Gradie O'Neal and John Pusateri's Cessna and Bella labels.Their first Bella single came in December 1959, and they were right on time for the Christmas season with the groovy up-tempo doo wop number Rockin’ Santa Claus, written by Mason and Robinson and accompanied by The Bella Tones Orchestra.

  
                                                                                                                                 Eulis Mason

Their second Bella single came a year later in December of 1960. That both tracks on Bella 21 were reissued on Cessna 477 in 1961 . Eulis became the lead of Charles Moffitt’s Velours in the mid-1980’s when they became a mainstay at the United in Group Harmony shows.  After Moffitt was murdered in 1986, Eulis continued to keep the Velours going, recording some magnificent songs like “C’est La Vie,” I Wish You Love,” “I Apologize” for labels like Starlight, Clifton and Classic Artists.

Songs :

Eulis Mason bb The Martells

Carol Lee

The Martells

Rockin' Santa Claus

Eulis Mason & The Martells

  
Forgotten Spring                              Va Va Voom

...