• Little Herbert & The Arabians (5) (St. Louis, MO)

     

    Personnel :

    Herbert Reeves

    Stacy Johnson

    Vernon Guy

    Horse O'Toole

     

    Discography :

    1961 - Bouncing Ball / Condition Your Heart (Teek 4824)


     

    Biography :

    Lead vocalist of The Sharpees Herbert Reeves had started his recording career four years earlier as Little Herbert (Reeves) & The Arabians on the Teek label, a tiny independent  from St. Louis.

     Songs :

       
    Condition Your Heart               Bouncing Ball


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  • Steve Alaimo & The Redcoats (Rochester,NY)



    Personnel :


    Steve Alaimo

    Jimmy Alaimo

    Brand Shapiro

    Jim "Chris" Christy



    Discography :


    The Redcoats

    1957 - Perkin / Hi Ho (Kite 2003)
    1957 - Jelly / The Girl Can't Help It (Lifetime 6112/3)

    Steve Alaimo & The RedCoats
    1959 - She's my baby / Should i call (Marlin 6067)
    1960 - Blue Fire / My heart never said goodbye (Dickson 6444-6445/Imperial 5699)

    Steve Alaimo (bb The RedCoats)
    1959 - Home by eleven / I Wanna Kiss You (Dade 1800)
    1959 - Love Letters / You can fall in love (Dade 1805)
    1959 - I want you to love me / Blue Skies (Marlin 6064)
    1959 - The Weekends Over / Girls! Girls! Girls! (Marlin 6065)


    Biography :

    Alaimo was born in Omaha, Nebraska on December 6, 1939, and moved to Rochester, New York at the age of five. He entered the music business during his time as a pre-med student attending the University of Miami. He entered music by joining his cousin's instrumental rock band The Redcoats, becoming the guitarist, and eventually, the singer.

       

    The Redcoats consisted of Jim Alaimo on rhythm guitar, Brad Shapiro on bass, and Jim "Chris" Christy on drums. After playing a Sock hop held by local Disc jockey Bob Green and label owner Henry Stone, the band earned a record deal with Stone's "Marlin Records". In 1959, "I Want You To Love Me" became a regional hit for the band.

       

    Green became Alaimo's manager, ultimately giving up the role to Stone. That same year, Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars came to Miami needing a band to back up artists, so the Redcoats became that band.

    http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Steve%20Alaimo.html
    http://www.pbase.com/donboyd/image/97640844



    Songs :


       
    My heart never said goodbye     I want you to love me

    CDs :


     

     


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  • The Drapers (2)  (New York)
    aka The Duvals (2)

     

    Personnel :

    Ike Mason

    Charlie

    James

    Arnold


    Discography :

    The Duvals (2)
    1956 - Ooh Wee Baby / You Came To Me (Rainbow 335)
    1956 - Guide Me / Happiness (Gee 1003)

    The Drapers (2)
    1960 - Best Love / One more time (Vest 831)


    Biography :

    Ben E. King was made a soloist (releasing "Show Me The Way"/"Brace Yourself" on Atlantic's Atco subsidiary in April 1960) and Lover Patterson remained his manager.  On many of his early sides, Ben E. King was backed up by another of Lover Patterson's groups, the Duvals (also known as the Drapers [an attempt to find a name that sounded like "Drifters"]). (Lover Patterson, aside from being the Drifters' road manager, remained the Duvals' manager. Since there was no longer a Crowns group, he initially re-named the Duvals "The Crowns." [The Duvals on Kelit, LaSalle and Boss are different groups.] In 1960, he changed their name again, this time from the Crowns to the Drapers, a name that was supposed to sound a bit like the "Drifters." As the Drapers, they recorded "Best Love"/"One More Time" for Vest. Note that the Drapers on Gee ["(I Know) Your Love Has Gone Away"/"You Got To Look Up"] from 1963 was a different group, containing Dock Green, Tommy Evans, Johnny Moore, and "Carnation" Charlie Hughes - all former members of the Drifters! Presumably Lover Patterson was their manager.)
    http://www.uncamarvy.com/5Crowns/5crowns.html


    Songs :

    The Duvals (2)

           
    Ooh Wee Baby                      You Came To Me                    Guide Me


    The Drapers (2)


    One more time

     

    ...


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  •  The Crewnecks

    The Crewnecks (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania)
     

    Personnel :

    Boyd (Porky) Hoats

    Bruce Miles

    Jerome Pauley

    Bob Martin

    Larry Chase (Choper)



    Discography :

    Singles :
    1959 - Crewnecks And Khakis / I'll Never Forget You (Rhapsody 71959/60/5159)
    1960 - When I First Fall In Love / Rockin' Zombie (Rhapsody 71961/62)

    Unreleased :
    1960 - Miracles (Rhapsody)

    Live
    1960 - Oh Baby Doll
    1960 - Sometimes

     


    Biography :

    The Crewnecks were a popular music singing group from 1957 to 1961 composed of five students from Wilkes College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania: Boyd (Porky) Hoats, Bruce Miles, Jerome Pauley, Bob Martin, and Larry Chase (Choper).  The Crewnecks released two records under the Rhapsody and Apex (Canada) labels.

    The first, I'll Never Forget You, was a major hit in eastern Pennsylvania and a number of other areas. The second, Rockin' Zombie, is still popular as a Halloween novelty song. The group left college in 1959 to go on a promotional tour with their records appearing on national television on the Alan Freed and Rate the Record shows as well as numerous other local TV shows throughout the East.

     The Crewnecks

    They also appeared on several of Dick Clark's touring shows with such stars as Al Martino, Frankie Avalon, Fabian, Bobby Darin, and others. Their main focus, however, was on their very polished night club act which they performed throughout the Eastern United States and Canada, including in the Catskill Mountains and La Faisan Bleu in Montreal. The group disbanded in 1961 due to military service commitments.



    Songs :

      
    I'll Never Forget You                   When I First Fall In Love

      
    Crewnecks And Khakis                       Rockin' Zombie

         
    Sometimes                  Oh Baby Doll                          Miracles

     

     

    ...


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  • The Devotions (2) aka Marty & The Symbols (1)

    Marty & The Symbols (1)  (Astoria, Queens, New York) 
    aka  The Devotions (2) 

     

    Personnel :

    Ray Sanchez

    Bob Weibrod

    Bob Havorka

    Joe Pardo

    Frank Pardo

     

    Discography :

    The Devotions (2)

    Singles :
    1961 - Rip Van Winkle / For Sentimental Reasons (Delta 1001/Roulette 4406/4541)
    1964 - Sunday Kind Of Love  / Tears From A Broken Heart (Roulette 4556)
    1964 - Zindy Lou / Snow White (Roulette 4580)
    1972 - How Do You Speak To An Angel / Teardrops Follow Me (Kape 701)

    Unreleased :
    1964 - Practice What You Preach
    1965 - Looking For My Baby

    Acapella :
    Seceret Love
    Soft And Sweet
    Sunday Kind Of Love
    Rip Van Winkle
    Little Girl Of Mine
    Stormy Weather
    Who Can She Be
    Teardrops From A Broken Heart
    Sincerely
    Three Wishes

    Marty & The Symbols (1) / Mr Bassman & The Symbols (1)
    1963 - You're The One / Rip Van Winkle (Graphic arts 1000)

     

    Biography :

    The Devotions were formed in 1960, in Astoria (a borough of Queens, New York City), originally as a sextet. Soon they were pared down to a quintet, consisting of Ray Sanchez (bass vocalist), Bob Hovorka, Bob Weinbrod and the brothers Frank and Joe Pardo. After six months of practicing virtually seven days a week, they met record promoter Joe Petralia, who lived down the street from Frank and Joe. Petralia introduced them to Bernie Zimming, owner of the small Delta label in NYC.

    The Devotions (2) aka Marty & The Symbols (1)

    Top : Bob Weibrod , Joe Pardo - Bottom : Bob Havorka, Ray Sanchez & Frank Pardo

    The Devotions auditioned with doo-wop classics like "Sunday Kind Of Love", "Life Is But A Dream" and "For Sentimental Reasons". Zimming liked the group, but he wanted something more gimmicky that would sell to teens. Ray Sanchez then wrote a novelty song in keeping with the kind that was popular around 1960. The result was "Rip Van Winkle", based on the classic tale of a man who slept for twenty years.

    The Devotions (2) aka Marty & The Symbols (1)

    Zimming liked the song so much that he took the group into the studio on the very day he first heard it. For the B-side the Devotions recorded "For Sentimental Reasons". The group would give out copies on the street and leave signs in record shops that they would be giving away autographed copies. Despite these efforts, "Rip Van Winkle" (Delta 1001) slipped into obscurity almost immediately. In 1962, Times Square, a New York oldies store that specialized in vocal group records, began promoting "Rip Van Winkle" on a local radio show hosted by the store's owner, Slim Rose. Roulette Records heard of its popularity among Times Square's customers, bought the Delta masters, and reissued the record on Roulette 4406.

         The Devotions (2) aka Marty & The Symbols (1)
     

    It still didn't chart, but gave the group a chance to appear on Slim Rose's rock and roll show in September 1962 at Palisades Park (New Jersey), one of the first oldies shows and years ahead of Richard Nader's late '60s successes. In late 1963, Roulette released an "oldies but goodies" compilation called "Golden Goodies". Why a flop like "Rip Van Winkle" was included among all those Top 20 hits is a mystery. A disc jockey in Pittsburgh, Porky Chadwick, started plugging "Rip Van Winkle" and the request phone lines started lighting up.

         The Devotions (2) aka Marty & The Symbols (1)   

    Porky Chadwick                                                              The Devotions

    This prompted the folks at Roulette to reissue the record once again in January 1964, this time on Roulette 4541. Within a week of its release, "Rip Van Winkle" had sold 15,000 copies in Pittsburgh alone. Three years after its initial release, the song finally became a hit, peaking at # 36 in Billboard, in the midst of Beatlemania.

    The Devotions (2) aka Marty & The Symbols (1)

    Top : Joe Pardo, Ray Sanchez - Bottom : Frank Pardo, Andy Sanchez & Bob Havorka

    It turned out that two of the original Devotions were in the armed forces, so a new group was formed with Louis DeCarlo replacing Ray Sanchez on lead and Larry Frank as a replacement for Bob Weisbrod. The group went on the road, had two further releases on Roulette, but received no radio attention and Roulette soon lost interest, after which the group disbanded. The Devotions reformed in the 1970s with Andy Sanchez (Ray's brother) on lead, and ironically they performed more in that decade than when they had their only hit.
    American singing groups: a history from 1940s to today‬ by Jay Warner

     

    Songs :

     The Devotions (2)

             
    Rip Van Winkle               For Sentimental Reasons          Sunday Kind Of Love


            
    Tears From A Broken Heart                      Zindy Lou                                  Snow White


            
    How Do You Speak To An Angel         Soft And Sweet                   Teardrops Follow Me

       
    Looking For My Baby        Practice What You Preach



    Marty & The Symbols (1) / Mr Bassman & The Symbols (1)

       
    You're The One                     Rip Van Winkle

     

    ....

     


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