The Enchantments (2) (Manhattan, New York)

Personnel :

Eugene Sanchez (Lead & Tenor)

Victor Velez (First Tenor & Lead)

Johnny Velez (Second Tenor)

Angelo Maurino (Falsetto & Baritone)

Joffrey Green (Bass)

Discography :

Single :
1963 - I Love My Baby / Pains In My Heart (Ritz 17003)
Unreleased :
1963 - Listen Lover (Ritz)
1963 - Thanks Magic Moon (Ritz)
1963 - Each Other's Love (Ritz)

Biography :

In an institute in Manhattan, teenager Gene Sanchez formed the vocal group The Five Spades in 1957, which was dedicated to sing only by the institution and the streets in a totally amateur way. Then he created The Corvairs that got to act in some dances, but that did not have enough life or success to leave anything recorded.

Even so, Sanchez had gained some fame among the teenagers in the area because there were few who knew how to play the piano and compose besides singing, so he was captured by the Velez brothers, students of a neighboring institute, to lead his new vocal group: The Enchantments. They sang a lot in dances and parties but without luck at the time of recording until Tony Cicinelli was signed as a representative.

This put them in contact with the producer Fred Castellano who, after receiving the denials from the big companies decided to record them himself and sell the tapes to the multinational London. These they published in their subsidiary Ritz the late "I Love My Baby" (1963), which led to some good performances but nothing more. It was not time for it, the times were changing and the group dissolved.

Songs :

   
Listen Lover                         Pains In My Heart

   
Thanks Magic Moon              Each Other's Love


I Love My Baby

 ...

top : Johnny Hopson & Earl Wade Bottom - Bottom : Teddy Williams & Marty Brown

The Opals (1)  (Harlem, New-York)
aka The Crystals (1)

Personnel :

Earl Wade (Lead)

Marty Brown (Tenor)

Johnny Hopson (Tenor)

Teddy Williams (Bass)

Discography :

The Crystals (1)
1954 - Come To Me Darling / Squeeze Me Baby (Luna 100/ 101/5001)

The Opals (1)
1954 - Come To Me Darling / Squeeze Me Baby (Luna 100/ 101/5001)
1954 - My Heart's Desire / Oh But She Did (Apollo 462) 

Biography :

In June of 1954 Luna Records issues #10-101, its very first recording by a group called The Crystals. The songs are "Come To Me Darling" and "Squeeze Me Baby". Soon after its release they find another group called The Crystals exists and they record for the DeLuxe label.

Six weeks after its initial release the record is re-issued as Luna 5001 by The Opals and the label is now identified as a subsidiary of Apollo Records. In October of that year The Opals record again, this time for the parent label Apollo and #462 is released - "Ooh But She Did" and "My Hearts Desire". That seems to be the entire history of The Opals on record. Later, Wade joined The Cadillacs. Earlier, Williams had been with The Vocaleers.
http://www.vocalgroupharmony.com/ROWNEW2/ComeToMe.htm


Songs :

   
Come To Me Darling / Squeeze Me Baby                  My Heart's Desire / Oh But She Did

 ...

 (Top) Gloria Alleyne, Frances Kelly and Sherry Gary (Bottom L-R) Della Simpson

The Delltones (1) (Long Island, N.Y.)
aka The Dell Tones   

 

Personnel :

Della Simpson (Lead)

Sherry Gary

Gloria Alleyne

France Kelley (Bass)



Discography :

The Dell Tones

Singles :
1953 - Yours Alone  / My Heart's On Fire (Brunswick 84015)
Unreleased :
1953 - Why Make A Fool Out Of Me (Brunswick)
1953 - After All I've Been To You  (Brunswick)

The Delltones (1)
1954 - Little Short Daddy / I'm Not In Love With You (Rainbow 244) 

1955 - Don't Be Long / Baby Say You Love Me (Baton 212) 

1956 - My Special Love / Believe It (Baton 223)

The Kings And Queens (Orioles & Delltones)
1957 - Voices Of Love  / I'm So Lonely (Everlast 5003)

Biography :

Della Simpson was born in the South and raised in Jamaica, New York. Growing up listening to the radio she heard all the big bands with Billie Holliday being her idol. It was while at work that she and another girl decided to put together a group. After recruiting two more girls they named the group The Enchanters. A piano player, Chris Townes began working writing and arranging songs for them.

The Enchanters 
(Clockwise from top left) Frances Kelly, Pearl Brice, Della Simpson and Rachel Gist

The Enchanters were among the first female groups to sing R&B in the early 50s. One day Simpson called and asked Jerry Blaine, owner of Jubilee Recordsto come see one of their shows. He did and signed them to Jubilee. The Enchanters first release for Jubilee was "Today Is Your Birthday." The group first began touring locally and later on the Chitlin Circuit.

The Delltones with Their Accompanists

After their two Jubilee recordings and a December 1952 tour, things began to fall apart. Rachel Gist and Pearl Brice left the other Enchanters to stay home with their families and attend to their marriages. Simpson and Kelley wished to continue with their singing. They then raided another local group called the Dorsey sisters, Gloria Alleyne  replacing Rachel Gist and Sherry Gary joined to replace Pearl Brice. In addition, a new name, The Delltones (After Della) was chosen.

  
 (Top) Della Simpson (Bottom L-R) Gloria Alleyne, Sherry Gary and Frances Kelly

Under the new name in 1953 they recorded "My Hearts On Fire" on the Brunswick label. The next single "I'm Not In Love With You"/"Little Short Daddy" was for Rainbow Records in 1954. The Delltones were now performing all over the United States and Canada. They continued to tour and even appeared on The Arthur Godfrey Show. However the group began to encounter problems when they were told they couldn't sing their usual material because they sounded to White.

The Delltones now moved to Baton Records where they recorded two singles. At this time Gloria Alleyne and Sherry Gary left the group. The last  Delltone group included Bunny Foy, Algie Willie, Renee Stewart and Della Simpson. In June 1957, the Orioles & The Delltones combined to record "Voices Of Love" and "I'm So Lonely," for Danny Robinson's Everlast label, as the Kings And Queens.

Released around June 1957, the personnel consisted of: Sonny Til, Diz Russell, Jerry Holeman, Tex Cornelius, Billy Adams, Della Simpson (who leads both sides), Bunny Foy, Renée Stewart, and Algie Willie (who doesn't appear in the only photo taken of them).

The Kings and Queens
Della Griffin, Renee Stewart, Bunny Foy, Billy Adams, Sonny Till, Aaron Cornelius, Jerry Holeman and Albert Russell

This group appeared a couple of times at some New York clubs. The Delltones eventually disbanded due to marriages and family. Gloria Alleyne became Gloria Lynn, working as a soloist for years in the jazz world. Della Simpson went out working with her own organ and sax combo.  She later married Paul Griffin The Orioles piano player.
http://history-of-rock.150m.com/delltones.htm
http://www.uncamarvy.com/Enchanters/enchanters.html

Songs :

The Dell Tones

  
Yours Alone                           My Heart's On Fire


The Delltones (1)

  
 Little Short Daddy / I'm Not In Love With You          Don't Be Long / Baby Say You Love Me

  
My Special Love                           Believe It



The Kings And Queens


Voices Of Love  / I'm So Lonely


...

The Skyliners (1) (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

Personnel :

Jimmy Beaumont (Lead)

Janet Vogel (First Tenor)

Wally Lester (Second Tenor)

Joe Versharen (Baritone)

Jack Taylor (Bass)



Discography :

The Skyliners (1)

Singles:
1958 - Since I Don't Have You / One Night One Night (Calico 103/104)
1959 - This I Swear / Tomorrow (Calico 106)
1959 - It Happened Today / Lonely Way (Calico 109)
1960 - How Much / Lorraine From Spain (Calico 114)
1960 - Pennies From Heaven / l"ll Be Seeing You (Calico 117)
1960 - Believe Me / Happy Time (Calico 120)
1961 - The Door Is Still Open / I'll Close My Eyes (Colpix 188)
1961 - The End Of A Story / Baion Rhythms (Colpix 607)
1961 - Close Your Eyes / Our Love Will Last (Colpix 613)
1962 - Everyone But You / Three Coins In The Fountain (Cameo 215)
1962 - Comes Love / Tell Me (Viscount 104)
1963 - I'd Die / Since I Fell For You (Atco 45-62-70)
1963 - This I Swear / It happened today (Original sound 37)

Unreleased :
N/A - Stardust (Calico)
N/A - Footsteps (Calico)
N/A - Blossoms To The Snow (Calico)

Lps :
1959 - The Skyliners (Calico LP3000)
Pennies From Heaven / When I Fall In Love / Tired Of Me / Zing Went The String Of My Heart / Since I Don't Have You / l"ll Be Seeing You / This I Swear / Tomorrow / One Night One Night / If I Loved You / I Can Dream Can't I / Warm



The Skyliners (1) without Jimmy Beaumont
1965 - The Loser / Everything Is Fine (Jubilee 5506)
1966 - Who do you love / Get yourself a baby (Jubilee 5512)
1965 - I Run To You / Don't Hurt Me Baby (Jubilee 5520)

Biography :

 In 1958 , Jimmy, Wally Lester and Jack Taylor-who had been singing with Joe Rock's group, The Crescents - combined with Joe Versharen and Janet Vogel from The El Rios, another vocal group from Pittsburgh's South Hills.  Joe Rock, then named them for jazz orchestra leader Charlie Barnett's theme song "Skyliner".

The Skyliners could have no better advocate than Joe Rock, an ambitious youth not much older than themselves, who was an industry insider with contacts gained from working as a promotion man for a local record distributor.

Janet Vogel & Jimmy Beaumont

The song that would inspire their success was inspired when a secretary at a radio station that Joe was promoting, said that she didn't want to date him anymore.  While driving a few nights later,  Joe conceived the words to the song and later Jimmy Beaumont provided the melody.  Today, "Since I Don't Have You" is regarded as the quintessential fifties ballad  from standard pop.

 The recording itself was a radical departure from teenage Rock and Roll.  True to the groups vision of combining two different musical styles, The Skyliners' blue eyed soul delivery is balanced by the lush string filled arrangement by Pittsburgher Lenny Martin. 

The same concept of introducing full orchestra arrangement to Rock and Roll would later prove successful for the Drifters("There Goes My Baby"), The Duprees ("My Own True Love") and Phil Spector's "wall of sound" productions.

Legend has it that Janet ad libbed the song's memorable ending in high C (after repeating thirteen "you's") as a joke during rehersals.  The group liked it so much they made it a permanent part of their arrangement.  More than a dozen labels rejected the song before it was released by a local Pittsburgh label, Calico Records.

Credit for "breaking" "Since I Don't Have You" goes to deejay "Art Pallan of Pittsburgh's leading pop station KDKA, but the other Pittsburgh stations were not far behind.  Dick Clark was an early believer in the group and featured them on American Bandstand on Friday, February 13, 1959.  By March of 1959, "Since I Don't Have You" had spread from Pittsburgh to the national pop charts.

The soulful delivery was appreciated even more by R&B radio resulting in greater success in the rhythm and blues Cashbox Magazine.  It was the first single by a Caucasian group to hit #1 on the Cashbox R&B charts.

Alan Freed invited The Skyliners to New York to appear on his 1959 Easter stage show with Jackie Wilson, Fats Domino, and Bobby Darin.  They also made 8 appearances at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem.  Dick Clark took them on the road with his "Caravan of Stars" tour and featured them on Bandstand and his Saturday night television show numerous times.

In 1960, Calico released its first album, "The Skyliners", containing twelve songs, including both sides of the group's first two self-penned singles, 'Since I Don't Have You", B/W "One Night, One Night", and "This I Swear, B/W "Tomorrow" as well as another original, "Tired of Me". 

The rest of the album was comprised of standards including "Zing Went The Strings of My Heart", "If I Loved You", and two songs led by Janet, "When I Fall In Love" and "I Can Dream Can't I".  Two other standards from the album, "Pennies From Heaven"(inspired by The Clovers version) B/W "I'll be Seeing You" would be chosen for the group's fifth single.  It was the Rock and Roll LP to break into the Top 50 Album chart.

In the interim, "Lonely Way" B/W "It Happened Today" and "How Much" B/W "Lorraine From Spain" were released.  Their sixth and final Calico single was "Believe Me" B/W "Happy Time".  The remaining three Calico masters, "Stardust", "Footsteps", and "Blossoms To The Snow" were released years later on a compilation album.

  

Joe Rock remembered that the group was so well prepared for their recording sessions that there wasn't much variation to their studio performances.  The five outtakes preserved in their "40th Anniversary Edition CD" from their Calico sessions provide fans with a unique insight into the creative process.

In 1961, The Skyliners moved to the larger Colpix label, the recording division of Columbia Pictures, and continued their practice of recording standard established songs like, "Close Your Eyes", "The Door Is Still Open" (Both written by "The King Of The Stool", Chuck Willis). These two songs were backed with original material written by Joe Rock and Jimmy Beaumont for Janet.

The Skyliners recorded "Comes Love"(written by Pittsburgh singer/songwriter Johnny Jack a close friend of the group) for the local Viscount Label.  It was backed by "Tell Me", a song that Jimmy liked so much he also released it as a solo artist on Bang Records. 

Both sides received a lot of airplay in the Pittsburgh area and "Comes Love" became a collector's favorite.  "Tell Me", which Rock/Beaumont also wrote, was Jimmy's mother's favorite Skyliner record.

By 1963 the group had signed with Atco Records which released their version of the standard "Since I Fell For You".  Although Lenny Welch was to have the national hit with his version that year, the flip side of The Skyliners record, "I'd Die", was re-discovered in the mid-70's by 13-Q Radio deejay, Don Bombard (Now known as Bob Shannon on WCBS √êFM in New York) and has become one of their most requested releases.

By the early sixties, the group was growing tired of the road and decided to take a hiatus from the business.  Jummy Beaumont continued to record and perform as a single act.  Joe Rock continued to write songs, notably with Otis Redding("Dreams To Remember") and managed other artists including, the Jaggerz("The Rapper").

In 1965, Jack Taylor, with Joe Rock's permission, fronted a Skyliner group which recorded "The Loser" on Jubilee Records.  This soulful ballad, written by Taylor and Rock, became a much played slow dance at Pittsburgh area record hops and charted Top 40 nationally both Pop and R&B.

http://www.vocalgroup.org/inductees/the_skyliners.html
http://www.theskyliners.com/history.phtml




Movies :


Since I Dont Have You


Pennies From Heaven

Songs :

     
Since I Don't Have You          One Night One Night               This I Swear

     
Tomorrow                           It Happened Today                 Lonely Way

     
How Much                      Lorraine From Spain              Pennies From Heaven

     
l"ll Be Seeing You                   Believe Me                     Happy Time

     
The Door Is Still Open              I'll Close My Eyes                The End Of A Story


Baion Rhythms

CD :

The Gladiolas  (Lancaster, C.S)

Personnel :

Maurice Williams (Lead)

Earl Gainey (Tenor)

William Massey (Tenor/Baritone)

Willie Jones (Baritone)

Norman Wade (Bass)


Discography :

1957 - Little Darlin' / Sheetheart Please Don't Go (Excello 2101)
1957 - Run Run Little Joe / Comin' Home To You (Excello 2110)
1957 - Hey Little Girl / I WantA Know (Excello 2120)
1958 - Say You' ll Be Mine / Shoop Shoop (Excello 2136)
  

Biography :

Maurice Williams (born 26 April 1938, Lancaster, South Carolina) had his first experience with music in the church, where his mother and sister both performed. By the time he was six, Williams was performing regularly there. With his childhood friend Earl Gainey, Williams formed the gospel group 'The Junior Harmonizers', but as rock and roll and doo-wop became their primary interest, the Junior Harmonizers changed their name to 'The Royal Charms'.

In addition to Williams and Gainey, The Royal Charms were made up of Willie Jones (baritone), William Massey (tenor, baritone, trumpet), and Norman Wade (bass). In the winter of 1956, while still in high school, Williams and his band traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to record for the Excello record label. At the time they were going by the name 'The Royal Charms,' but the founder of Excello Records, Ernie Young, convinced them to change their name to 'The Gladiolas.' At the time, there were at least two other bands using the same name.

The song "Little Darlin'" was a #11 hit on the R&B chart in 1957, but did not break the Billboard Hot 100's Top 40. However, when the song was covered by the Canadian group The Diamonds, it moved up to #2.

Williams finished high school and while on the road with the band (after their station wagon broke down in Bluefield, West Virginia), the band came across a small car known as "The Zodiac" and the band changed their name. Shortly thereafter, Henry Gatson replaced Earl Gainey.

http://www.mauricewilliams-stay.com/littledarlin.htm
http://www.mauricewilliams.com/indexNEW.cfm
http://www.vocalgroup.org/inductees/maurice_williams_zodiacs.
html http://www.tsimon.com/zodiac.htm

Songs :

   
Little Darlin'                            Say You' ll Be Mine


Shoop Shoop


...