The Marcels (2) (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)



Personnel :

Cornelius "Nini" Harp (Lead and Guitar)

Ronald "Bingo" Mundy (First Tenor)

Gene Bricker (Second Tenor) & after Walt Maddox (Second Tenor)

Richard Knauss (Baritone) & after  Allen Johnson (Baritone)

Fred Johnson (Bass)



Discography :

The Marcels (2)
1961 - Blue Moon / Goodbye To Love (Colpix 186)
1961 - Summertime / Teeter Totter Love (Colpix 196)
1961 - Blue Moon (LP CP-416)
1961 - Goodbye To Love (LP CP-416)
1961 - Sweet Was The Wine (LP CP-416)
1961 - Peace Of Mind (LP CP-416)
1961 - A Fallen Tear (LP CP-416)
1961 - Over The Rainbow (LP CP-416)
1961 - I'll Be Forever Loving You (LP CP-416)
1961 - Two People In The World (LP CP-416)
1961 - Most Of All (LP CP-416)
1961 - Teeter Totter Love (LP CP-416)
1961 - Sunday Kind Of Love (LP CP-416)
1961 - Crazy Bells (LP CP-416)
1961 - You Are My Sunshine / Find Another Fool (Colpix 606)
1961 - Heartaches / My Love For You (Colpix 606612)
1961 - Don't Cry For Me This Christmas / Merry Twist-mas (Colpix 606617)
1961 - My Melanchy Baby / Really Need Your Love (Colpix 606624)
1962 - Footprints In The Sand / Twistin' Fever (Colpix 606629)
1962 - Flowerpot / Hold Up (Colpix 606640)
1962 - Loved Her The Whole Week Through / Friendly Loans (Colpix 606651)
1962 - All Right, Okay, You Win / Lollipop Baby (Colpix 606665)
1963 - That Old Black Magic / Don't Turn Your Back On Me (Colpix 606683)
1963 - Give Me Back Your Love / I Wanna Be The Leader (Colpix 606687)
1963 - One Last Kiss / Teeter Totter Love (Colpix 606694)
1964 - How Deep Is The Ocean / Lonely Boy (888/101)
1967 - Letter Full Of Tears / Tell Me (Chartbound 009)
1973 - In The Still Of The Night / High On A Hill (Queen Bee 4)
1975 - That Lucky Old Sun / Peace Of Mind (St Clair 1371)
1978 - Blue Moon / Clap Your Hands (When I Clap My Hands) (All Ears 810085)
1986 - Blue Heartaches (Murray Hill 000229))
1986 - Loved Her The Whole Week Through (Murray Hill 000229)
1986 - Friendly Loans (Murray Hill 000229)

Walt Maddox & The Marcels (2)
1982 - A Letter Full Of Tears /How Do You Speak To An Angel (Super 232)
1983 - Blue Moon / Send In The Clowns (Walt Maddox) (Super M 30427)

Biography :

The Marcels were a successful racially integrated doo-wop group known for turning beloved American classical pop songs into rock and roll. The group formed in 1959 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with lead Cornelius Harp, bass Fred Johnson, Gene Bricker, Ron Mundy, and Richard Knauss.

The group was named by Fred Johnson's younger sister Priscilla, after a popular hair style of the day (the Marcell wave). In 1961 many were shocked to hear a new version of the ballad, "Blue Moon" that began with the bass singer saying, "bomp-baba-bomp" and "dip-da-dip." Still, the record sold a million copies and is featured in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

   
The disc climbed all the way to number one in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart. In their U.S. homeland, additional revivals in the same vein as "Blue Moon" - "Heartaches" and "Melancholy Baby" - were less successful, although the former peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually sold over one million copies worldwide. The group had two other singles that hit No. 78 and No. 58 on the same chart.

In August 1961, due to problems encountered in the Deep South while touring because of the group being bi-racial, the white members, Knauss and Bricker left and were replaced by Allen Johnson (brother of Fred) and Walt Maddox. Mundy left soon after, leaving the group a quartet.

   
In 1962, Harp and Allen Johnson left, and were replaced by Richard Harris and William Herndon. There was a brief reunion of the original members in 1973. The group made several recordings in 1975 with Harp back on lead.

   
Original member Gene Bricker died in 1983. Allen Johnson died in 1995.
By the early 1990s the group included Johnson, Maddox, Harris, Jules Hopson, and Richard Merritt.

The group split around 1995. Fred Johnson formed his own group with new members, while the other four members recruited new bass Ted Smith. Maddox won a lawsuit against Sunny James Svetnic, the manager of Johnson's group, for trademark infringement in 1996. Svetnic died in 2002.
Johnson reunited with Harp, Mundy, and Knauss in 1999 for the PBS special Doo Wop 50 with a fifth member.

http://home.att.net/~freebizak/Marcels/marcels.html
http://home.earthlink.net/%7Ev1tiger/marcels.html

Videos :

 
Merry Twist-mas

Songs:

    
Really Need Your Love           My Love For You




CD :




MP3 :