Don Covay

The Soldier Boys (Washington D.C)

Personnel :

Don Covay (Lead)

John Hammond

Joe Richardson

Discography :

1962 - I'm Your Soldier Boy / You Picked Me (Scepter 1230)

Biography :

Born Donald James Randolph, March 24, 1936, Orangeburg, South Carolina , The youngster Don Covay moved north to Washington D.C. shortly after his Baptist Minister father passed away in the mid-forties. His family kept close to their religious roots, and soon formed a Gospel group called The Cherry Keys that performed locally. While still in High School, he was invited to join The Rainbows, a hot DC doo-wop group that had recorded for Bobby Robinson. After cutting a few sides on Pilgrim that went nowhere, the group broke-up.

Don Covay (Bottom right) with the Rainbows

While still a member of the group, Covay found work as a chauffeur to LITTLE RICHARD, and through this association, Atlantic Records delivered Don’s debut single (`Bip Bop Bip’) in summer ’57, under the pseudonym of Pretty Boy.  At some point, he put together a group called the Satisfiers (personnel unknown) and recorded at least four masters: "You Broke My Heart," "Hold My Hand," "Shake That Thing," and "The Telephone Is Ringing." These were all lumped into the bootleg "Rainbows" LP that came out on "Pilgrim" in the 80s. In 1962, with John Hammond and Joe Richardson, he cut "I'm Your Soldier Boy" b/w "You Picked Me"  becoming one of Florence Greenberg's Soldier Boys on Scepter. A one-off single for Epic would follow, without much luck.

    
                                                                            Don Covay

He then signed to Cameo, scoring another minor chart hit with "The Popeye Waddle," a novelty record inspired by New Orleans' "popeye" dance craze.  Of course, Don Covay went on to have a string of Soul hits in the 60s and 70s, with his group, the Goodtimers.  In 1969, Covay would start up another project, The Jefferson Lemon Blues Band. Along with John Hammond and Joe Richardson (whom Covay had worked with in The Soldier Boys), he created a very cool concept album called The House Of Blue Lights.
http://redkelly.blogspot.fr/2015/02/don-covay-goodtimers-its-in-wind.html





Songs:



I'm Your Soldier Boy / You Picked Me

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