The Tammys aka Ritchie & The Runarounds (3)

The Tammys (Franklin, PA)
aka Ritchie & The Runarounds (3)

Personnel :

Cathy Owens

Gretchen Owens

Linda Jones



Discography :

The Tammys
1963 - Take Back Your Ring / Part Of Growing Up (UA 632)
1963 - Egyptian Shumba / What's So Sweet About Sweet Sixteen (UA 678)
1965 - Hold Back The Light Of Dawn / Gypsy (Veep 1210)
1965 - Blue Sixteen / His Actions Speak Louder Than Words (Veep 1220)

Ritchie & The Runarounds (3)
1963 - Lost In The Crowd / Don'tcha Backtrack (Ascot 2136)



Biography :

The Tammys were an American girl group made up of sisters Gretchen and Cathy Owens and their friend Linda Jones. They are best known for their song "Egyptian Shumba" with its faux Middle-Eastern instrumentals and sweet girlish vocals backed up by wild shrieks.

In high school Cathy and Gretchen participated in a group called The Impressions. Billed as The Charnelles, Cathy, Gretchen and Linda first publicly performed on March 31, 1962 at a school talent show. Early on, they were thrown out of a local restaurant for singing along to the jukebox. "We'll be on that jukebox someday", they vowed.

The Tammys with Lou Christie

The girls first met Lou Christie in 1961 at a concert where he was performing in the band "Lugee and The Lions". He took them for a ride in his Cadillac. He sang while they did back-up harmony. He told them "If I ever get discovered, I'll call you", and they said the same to him.  A year later Lou hit it big with his single "The Gypsy Cried" and he brought the girls in to sing backup for him.  He also signed them to a contract with United Artists. Despite local airplay, "Take Back Your Ring", "Gypsy" and "Egyptian Shumba" all failed to chart nationally throughout 1963-1964.

  
                        Kripp Johnson                                                                                                          The Tammys

In 1963 Ritchie & the Runarounds cut "Lost In The Crowd" / "Don'tcha Backtrack" on Ascot 2136. Ritchie & the Runarounds consisted of Kripp Johnson, Lou Christie, and the girl group the Tammys. Johnson, formerly in the Del Vikings, takes the lead on both sides, which were written by Christie and Christie's songwriting partner Twyla Herbert.



By 1965, Lou Christie was using another tough sounding girl group to back him, Jessica James and the Outlaws, which consisted of Bernadette Carroll, Denise Ferri and Peggy Santiglia. Meanwhile, The Tammys continued to play local shows and sing background tracks until later in the decade; but with three no-hit singles to their credit, their waxings became impossibly rare and the group became a footnote in music history.
http://egyptianshumba.com/



Songs :

     
Take Back Your Ring            Part Of Growing Up               Egyptian Shumba

     
Hold Back The Light Of Dawn           Gypsy                      Blue Sixteen


 His Actions Speak Louder Than Words

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