The Chimes (3) (Los Angeles)
aka The Champs (1)
ref: The Wonders (4) aka The Wanderers (3)

Personnel :

Horace "Pookie" Wooten (Tenor)

David Cobb (Second Tenor)

Charles Jackson (Tenor)

Booker Jones (Baritone)

Talbert Walton (Bass)




Discography :

The Chimes (3)
Singles :
1955 - Zindy Lou / Tears On My Pillow (Specialty 555)
1956 - Chop Chop / Pretty Little Girl (Specialty 574)
Unreleased :
1956 - The Chimes Ring Out (Specialty)

Tony Allen & The Chimes (3)
1956 - Especially / Check Yourself, Baby (Specialty 570)

Tony Allen & The Champs  (1)
1955 - Nite Owl / I (Specialty 560)

The Wonders (4)
1958 - Be My Love Be My Love / Tell Me    (Forward 601)

Tony Allen & The Wonders (4)
1958 - Be My Love, Be My Love / Tell Me  (Tampa 157)
1959 - Loving You / Lookin' For My Baby (Jamie 1119)

Bobby Starr (Tony Allen & The Wonders (4))
1959 - Sweet Man / Please Give Me A Chance (Radio 120)

Tony Allen & The Wanderers (3)
1961 - Everybody's Somebody's Fool / If Love Was Money (Kent 356)

Biography :

In August 1955, The Chimes from South Central, Los Angeles, under band leader Horace "Pookie" Whooten signed a contract with Specialty Records. The group consists of Horace "Pookie" Wooten (Tenor), David Cobb (Second Tenor), Charles Jackson (Tenor), Booker Jones (Baritone) and Talbert Walton (Bass) . In September, they released "Zindy Lou" and "Tears on My Pillow" their first single, the A-side with influences of African rhythm and a hypnotic singing in Los Angeles and Philadelphia, the local charts reached, but without nationwide reactions.

  
                                                                                                                                                    Tony Allen

Robert Alexander "Bumps" Blackwell songwriter and arranger at Specialty Records make session With Tony Allen, held at Master recorders in Hollywood on 12 August 1955 with The Chimes singing behind him even though they were billed on the Record as The Champs.  The Chimes backed everybody on Specialty.  They were properly named on Allen's sequel Single Especially. The back of Especially was improvised in the studio based on an idea by Charles Jackson "Check Yourself, Baby". The collaboration as a session musician with Allen was abruptly terminated by its breach with Specialty. Then the band released again in April 1956 under their own name "Pretty Little Girl" and "Chop Chop".

  
David Cobb & Horace "Pookie" Wooten                                                                                     

The record career of the Chimes was already finished in 1956, but the connection to Tony Allen was maintained: So supported him  Horace "Pookie" Wooten, Charles Jackson & David Cobb as "The Wonders" and "The Wanderers" repeatedly in various publications. Horace "Pookie" Wooten, Charles Jackson & David Cobb would go on to form The Lions in 1960, and later reformed as The Resonics.

Songs :

The Chimes (3)

     
Zindy Lou                      Tears On My Pillow                        Chop Chop

  
  Pretty Little Girl                   The Chimes Ring Out


Tony Allen & The Chimes (3)

  
       Especially                      Check Yourself, Baby


Tony Allen & The Champs (1)

  
Nite Owl                                             I       


The Wonders (4)

  
Be My Love Be My Love                   Tell Me                   


Tony Allen & The Wonders (4)

  
       Loving You                      Lookin' For My Baby

Bobby Starr (Tony Allen & The Wonders (4))

  
      Sweet Man                     Please Give Me A Chance

Tony Allen & The Wanderers (3)


Everybody's Somebody's Fool / If Love Was Money



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