Leroy Williams & James "Petey" Martin

The Butanes (Newark, N.J.)

Personnel :

James "Petey" Martin (First Tenor / Piano)

Leroy Williams (Tenor)

Howard Curry (bass)

Nelson Lamb (High Tenor)

Bobby Jones (Baritone)

Discography :


1961 - Don't Forget I Love You / That's My Desire (Enrica 1007)

Biography :

When the Parakeets broke up in the late 1950s, James "Petey" Martin (first tenor and piano) and Leroy Williams (tenor) decided to go ahead and formed The Butanes with Howard Curry (bass), Nelson Lamb (high tenor), and Bobby Jones (baritone). The group had a single record on the Enrica label : "Don't Forget I Love You," backed with the old standard, "That's My Desire". "Don't Forget I Love You" appeared on the charts in July, 1961 and scored a total of nine weeks of strong national sales. The Butanes only climbed to # 96 during the traditionally slow-selling summer months when the teens were snapping up "Pretty Little Angel Eyes" by Curtis Lee and "Michael" "by The Highwaymen. Sometimes the secret to a good hit is found in the small print at the bottom of the label.

  
                                                                                          James "Petey" Martin &   Leroy Williams

Teddy McRae and his orchestra backing the Butanes, and Enrica was his label. Teddy McRae, an arranger, composer and sax player, started in music with his own band in 1928. He wrote songs and recorded with many orchestras and vocalists in the 30s and 40s including artie Shaw, Chick Webb, Ella Fitzgerald, Lionel Hampton, Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong. McRae had no problem bringing his talent to R&B and Rock without missing a beat. In May 1955 he made his vocal debut as "Mr Bear" on "Daybreak Rock" with Jack Dupree on King. Now a "singer", McRae cut some tracks for Groove, including the novelty "Radar". In 1959 he started Enrica/Rae-Cox with old friend Eddie Wilcox.

Songs :

  
     That's My Desire                             Don't Forget I Love You


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