Top L-R Harold Avery, Jerry Gross John D'Amico - Bottom John Gonzalez & Brent Edwards

Dale & The Cashmeres (3) (Philadelphia, PA)


Personnel :

Brent Edwards (Lead)

John Gonzalez (Bass / Baritone)

Jerry Gross (Second Tenor)

Harold Avery (First Tenor)

John D'Amico (Baritone)


Discography :

Dale & The Cashmeres (3)
1959 - Last Night / Pete The Mongoose (Matt 161)

Brent Edwards
1962 - Time After Time / Satin Doll (Karen 57)
1963 - Pride / Over The Weekend (Karen 60)              


Biography :

Interracial Vocal group from Overbrook High School In Philadelphia, formed by Harold Avery, called The Cashmeres-- The members were Harold Avery, Jerry Gross, John D'Amico, Johnny Gonzoles and Brent Edwards (Lead). In the late 50s as Dale & The Cashmeres, they recorded "Last Night" b/w "Pete The Mongoose" for the tiny label Matt Records, a Philadelphia label that will not release a lot of records but has in his studio Johnny Madera.

  
Brent Edwards                                                                             Johnny Madara

Johnny Madara, singer-songwriter and record producer (who teamed up with David White and Arthur Singer to write the 1957 hit song "At the Hop") cut two singles for Matt Records and arranged both songs for Dale & The Cashmeres. Johnny Madara later co-wrote other hits including "1-2-3" for Len Barry, and "You Don't Own Me" for Lesley Gore. Later Jerry Gross joined Mark Stevens to form The Gems, the Brooktones, and then The Dovells . Lead singer Brent Edwards joined another group fronted by future legendary Leon Huff. Huff participated in several Camden "doo-wop" groups, including the Dynaflows, which auditioned for Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour.

The Dynaflows with Leon Huff (piano)

Leon Huff was the piano player. With some personnel changes the group evolved into The Lavenders. The group recorded  "Slide" b/w "Angel" (CR 1003) and was an early Jerry Ross production of a song written by his partner Murray Wetch. “The Slide,” which was typical of the dance fad genre so popular during that era, was a commercial failure.  After leaving the Lavenders in 1962,  Brent Edwards recorded "Time After Time" b/w "Satin Doll" for Karen Records, a label formed in Philadelphia in April 1962 by Ed Barsky who ran a local distribution firm. In 1963, he is still with Madara & White for his second single on the label with  "Pride" b/w "Over The Weekend".


Song :

Dale & The Cashmeres (3)


Last Night


Brent Edwards

  
     Pride                                       Over The Weekend

…

The Falcons (3) (Columbus, Ohio )
 aka The Lyrics (4) aka The Vallejos

Personnel:

Pete Caldwell

Bart Chatman

Kynne Winston

Barry Austin

Paul Jackson


Discography:

The Lyrics (4)
1957 - Come On Home / Stop (Why Don't You Stop) (Vee Jay 285)

The Falcons (3)
1957 - My Only Love / Now That It's Over (Falcon 1006/Abner 1006/Quality 1721)


Biography :

One of the best doo-wop groups from Columbus, The Vallejos were composed of East High School students with the exception of Kynne Winston from Central.The other members were Paul Jackson, Ben "Pete" Caldwell, Barry Austin, Bart Chatman, and Dwayne Haddock. He was recruited to replace an earlier member who left due to personal differences. They were in direct competition with such other local groups as the Five Hearts and The Symbols.

 
The Vallejos

 When Dick Clark's Cavalcade of Stars appeared at Vet's Memorial in 1956, they landed a spot on the bill along with Fats Domino, Little Richard, Frankie Avalon, The Flamingos, The Moonglows, The Turbans, The Clovers, etc.  Soon, they were signed to recording contract with Chess/Checker. However, after seven months of waiting around, they jumped at the chance to record with Vee-Jay.

For their first release, "Come On Home" b/w "Stop," they were called The Lyrics.  But for their second, "My Only Love" b/w "Now That It's Over," their name was changed to The Falcons in order to kick off the Falcon label. The Falcons made their Chicago debut at the Regal Theater with Al Benson's show during Christmas week, 1957. Their song, "My Only Love," later resurfaced in the movie Rocky II.          
http://www.kynne.com/kynnewTheStory2.htm
http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~campber/alsmith2.html



Songs :

The Lyrics (4)

   
Stop (Why Don't You Stop)             Come On Home

The Falcons (3)

   
My Only Love                                Now That It's Over

...

The Buddies (8) (Brooklyn, New York)
aka The Four Winds (3) aka  The Tokens (2)

Personnel :

Hank Medress

JaySiegel

Mitch Margo

Phil margo

Stephen Friedland

Discography :

The Buddies (8)
1964 - On The Go / Only My Friend (Swing 102)

The Four Winds (3)
1963 - Dear Judy / Come Softly To Me (Crystal Ball 102)
1963 - Goodbye Maureen / Arlene (Crystal Ball 105)
1964 - Remember Last Summer / Strange Feelings (Swing 100)
1968 - Let it ride / One Face in the Crowd (B.T. Puppy 555)

Biography :

Originally known as The Linc-Tones when they formed in 1955 at Lincoln High School. Original members Hank Medress, Neil Sedaka, Eddie Rabkin and Cynthia Zolitin didn’t have much impact in their early days recording for Melba. They later disbanded, but Medress re-formed the group in 1960 as The Tokens. Brothers Phil and Mitch Margo and Jay Siegel were the new members, and the group recorded for Warwick in 1960, then had their one glorious hit in 1962, The Lion Sleeps Tonight (based on a Zulu song called Wimoweh). The Tokens formed their own label in 1964 called BT Puppy, but they couldn’t keep the hits coming. In addition to making their own records, The Tokens also recorded under other names, including The Four Winds and The Buddies.

Songs :

The Four Winds (3)

   
      Dear Judy                              Remember Last Summer

   
    Arlene                                             Come Softly To Me

The Buddies (8)

   
Only My Friend                                On The Go

...

Billy & Rickey  (Jersey City, New Jersey)
aka Billy & Ricky

Personnel :

James Ricketts

Billy Williams

 

Discography :

Billy & Rickey
1959 - Mama Papa Please / Baby Doll (Sue 711)

Billy & Ricky
1959 - How You Sound / Buttercup (Sue 716) 

Discography :

R&B duo Billy & Ricky teamed singers James Ricketts and Billy Williams, who first began collaborating in 1953 as co-founders of the Jersey City vocal quartet the Roamers. After releasing a pair of little-heard singles on Savoy -- 1954's "Deep Freeze" and the following year's "Chop, Chop, Ching-A-Ling" -- the Roamers' recording career essentially ground to a halt, although their Savoy deal kept them under wraps until 1958.

The group dissolved in 1959, and Ricketts and Williams began performing as Billy & Ricky, soon signing to Juggy Murray's Sue label to release the singles "Mama Papa Please" and "How You Sound" to little notice. In 1962 the duo reunited with fellow Roamers alum Sam Walton as the Astronauts, generating nothing beyond an unreleased demo before splitting two-years later.
http://www.uncamarvy.com/Roamers/roamers.html

Songs :
(updated by Hans-Joachim)  

        
     Baby Doll                         Mama Papa Please                   How You Sound

...

Dante & His Friends (3) (Los Angeles, Ca.)
aka The Rivingtons

Personnel :

Donald "Dante" Drowty (Lead)

Carl White

Al Frazier

Sonny Harris

Turner "Rocky" Wilson Jr

Discography :

Dante & His Friends (3)
1961 - Are You Just My Friend / Something Happens (Imperial 5798)
1962 - Miss America / Now I've Got You (Imperial 5827)

Dante
1962 - Magic Ring / Am I The One (Imperial 5867)

Biography :

Dante & The Evergreens disbanded in 1964 after Frank Rosenthal contracted an illness that lasted about six months and seriously curtailed the group’s touring. Frank returned to college on an athletic scholarship and even became a professional athlete for a time. Bill Young fooled around in music and movies for a while, but eventually left the business. Tony Moon ended up in Nashville as a respected arranger, writer and producer. Donald "Dante" Drowty , however, stuck to it. He recorded four sides for Imperial as Dante And His Friends, using The Rivingtons as the background group.

  
                                                                               Dante

Don worked extensively with Herb Alpert, who wrote and sang background as one of Dante’s Friends. One of the sides they did, Little Miss America, was covered by The Beach Boys. He went on to work as a writer/producer for Bert (aka Bert Russell) Berns’ Mellin Music Publishers (Twist And Shout, A Little Bit Of Soap, Cry Baby, etc.) working with The Isleys, The McCoys, and many others. He recorded some things for A&M Records, including a strong version of Speedoo.

Songs:

Dante & His Friends (3)

  
Are You Just My Friend                       Something Happens

  
Miss America                                  Now I've Got You

Dante

  
Magic Ring                                  Am I The One

…