The Tams (1) aka The Hippies aka The Stereos (1)

The Stereos (1) (Philadelhia)
aka  The Tams (1) aka The Hippies



Personnel :

Carole "Devine" Varletta (Lead)

Howard "Bogey" Boggess (Baritone)

Nancy Orts (Alto)

Jack Felker (Tenor)




Discography :

The Stereos (1)
1959 - Memory Lane / Teenage Kids (Mink 27)

The Tams (1)
1959 - Memory Lane / Teenage Kids (Mink 27)
1960 - Sorry / Valley Of Love (Swan 1960)
1961 - Vacation Time / If Love Were Like Rivers (Heritage 101)
1962 - Memory Lane* / Teenage Kids (Parkway 863)

The Hippies
1963 - Memory Lane* / A Lonely Piano** (Parkway 863)

*Alternate Version
** Reggie Harrisson

Biography :

This group came from The Roxborough high Schoolin Philadelhia in 1957. They were Carole "Devine" Varletta, Howard Boggess, Nancy Orts and Jack Felker. Together they dreamt up the name Impalas; it wasn't long before they entered the requisite talent show at Roxborough High. Amazingly they won. Howard Boggess changed the name to The Stereos and Disk Jockey Bud Bress decided to manage the group.

The Impalas - Howard "Bogey" Boggess, Nancy Orts, Jack Felker & Carole "Devine" Varletta

In 1959, The Stereos came in the Allegro Studio for Mink Records with "Memory Lane" and "Teenage Kids". Mink launched the two-sider in mid-1959. But there was in fact a Stereos group from Ohio, so the label repressed the same versions under the aegis of the Tams. Not long thereafter, Bogey and Brees arranged an audition with Bernie Bennick's Swan complex…  Both cuts, "Sorry" , a weeper composed by Bogey, was coupled with Bress' "Valley of Love", were assembled.

  
                                                                                                          Carole "Devine" Varletta

In 1961, Bogey and the group, perhaps augmented by another singer, issue a nifty platter for Heritage Records "Vacation Time" b/w "If Love Were Like Rivers" was fobbed off to a juke warm public. Bernie Lowe owner of Cameo,  released "Memory Lane" b/w "Teenage Kids" on his Parkway subsidiary, bust must have been alerted during the first month or so that Joe South's Tams out of Virginia objected the name "Tams".

The Tams/Hippies, with new Members

ABC's Tams had already issued a clutch of recordings on Arlen and General American soon to score a major triumph in "What Kind Of Fool" during the Fall of 1963. Lowe changed the name to Hippies, and switched out the flip to "A Lonely Piano".

Songs :

     
Memory Lane                         Teenage Kids                            Sorry

      
Valley Of Love                  If Love Were Like Rivers            Vacation Time

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