Doo Wop - Rhythm & Blues

The Dusters (1) aka The Duster’s aka The Belvaderes

Posted on February 9 2010 by dion1

The Dusters (1) aka The Duster’s aka The Belvaderes
Tommy Tucker

The Dusters (1) (Ohio]
aka The Duster’s aka The Belvaderes

Personnel :

Tommy Tucker (Tenor)

Clarence LeVille (Lead)

James Crosby (Tenor)

Yonnie Peoples

Dave Johnson (Lead)

Discography :

The Belvaderes
1955 - Don't Leave Me Here To Cry / I Love You (Baby) (Hudson 4)

The Duster’s
1955 - Don't Leave Me Here To Cry / I Love You (Baby) (Hudson 4)

The Dusters (1)
Singles :
1956 - Give Me Time / Sallie Mae (Arc 3000)
1958 - Darling Love / Teen Age Jamboree (Glory 287)
Unreleased:
1956 - Castles In Ihe Sky(Ivory Tower) (Arc)

Biography :

Tommy Tucker was not the real name of Robert Higginbotham, who had himself devised this pseudonym. March 5, 1933 Born in Springfield, Ohio, he learned to play the piano by beobachtete- later he took a local hairdresser playing with his son lessons. He refined his technique at performances in Central Ohio with the Orchestra of the saxophonist Bobby Wood in the early 50's and then founded with trumpeter Clarence LaVell a band that received a firm commitment at a club in Dayton. By 1955, the demand for vocal group music was at its zenith. The Bobby Wood Orchestra was forced to adapt to enable them to find good paying gigs and, more importantly, to strengthen survival against stiff competition. The orchestra split apart and became a doo-wop quartet overnight. Tucker and childhood pal James Crosby sang tenor leads with Dave Johnson (tenor) and Clarence Lavell (bass). Yonnie Peoples joined later when the group recorded. For live engagements, the quartet billed themselves as the Cavaliers.

The Dusters (1) aka The Duster’s aka The Belvaderes

Some time during the spring of 1955, having signed a deal with ARC Records, the Cavaliers entered Syd Nathan's King label Cincinnati studios, ready and eager to record three songs: "Give Me Time," "Sallie Mae" and a tune remembered variously as "Castles In The Sky" or "Ivory Tower".For some reason, perhaps because the Cavaliers did not want to get themselves confused with the Cavaliers on Decca or Atlas labels, the group opted to change their name to the Dusters. The Cavaliers/Dusters waited well over a year before the ARC release. Some eight months prior, the group, perhaps out of impatience, opted to try and find a record company willing to get product onto the market fast. Touring brought the group to East St. Louis where they hitched up with The Ike Turner Band. During their sojourn in the city they met up with a guy named Hudson, owner and proprietor of Hudson Records. After the audition, Hudson took the group to the King Studios in Cincinnati where they had cut previously for ARC. The group, now billed as the Belvaderes, with Crosby and Lavell sharing leads and Tucker shifting more to piano accompaniment and writing arrangements, cut two songs, "Don't Leave Me To Cry" and "I Love You (Baby)." In 1958 James Crosby wrote the splendid "Darling Love" recorded by the Dusters and released The Same year by Glory Records.

Songs :


                      Darling Love                      Don't Leave Me Here To Cry


I Love You (Baby)               Give Me Time


Sallie Mae                            Teen Age Jamboree

...

See comments

The Eldaros

Posted on February 7 2010 by dion1

The Eldaros (Syracuse, NY)

Personnel :

Bobby Green

Jimmy Singleton

Levy Hall

Kenny Tucker

James Crawford

Duke Kearse (Guitarist)

Discography :

Unreleased:
1957 - Baby Child

Singles :
1958 - Please Surrender / Rock-a-Bock (Vesta 101/102)

Biography :

The Eldaros from Syracuse comprised of Bobby Green, Jimmy Singleton, Levy Hall, Kenny Tucker, James Crawford and guitarist Duke Kearse. By 1957, this group had made a demo recording ("Baby Child") at Dufford Studio located in downtown Syracuse on South Warren Street, While at Dufford's recording an album that was never released they met song writer Jacquelin Nesbit, who wrote a song called "Rock A Bock", that became the Eldaros first record for the Vesta Record Label in February 1958. Little did they realize but over twenty years later the flip side "Please Surrender" written by Green would become one of the most sought after group records by many of the countries top rhythm and blues collectors. With that release, the Eldaros received much publicity though both the Syracuse Newspapers as well as air play by WNDR's Mr, Rhythm and Bill Worth (later known as Billy Williams) who was now the singing groups manager.

Worth though his many national connections tried to obtained a recording contract for them with Aladdin Records a blues label out of Los Angeles. Aladdin was the home of many stars as Shirley & Lee, Thurston Harris and the Five Keys. After the Aladdin contract arrived Worth needed capital ($) to finalize the deal. Bobby Green said "That Worth was paid by the group and disappeared." The contract was never signed and is still to this day in the property of Green. The Eldaros disbanded in 1958, but Bobby Green and Jimmy Singleton stayed together to record "Each Passing Day", another classic, this time written by the songwriting team of Wilma Lung and Viola Flansburg (who later wrote the hit song- "Teeter Totter Love" for The Marcels in 1963) the sonng was released on both Utica's Mark Records and Albany's Stentor Records in 1960.
http://ronwray.blogspot.fr/2011_12_01_archive.html

Songs :

Baby Chil Please Surrender

Please Surrender / Rock-a-Bock

.....

See comments

The Schoolboys (1)

Posted on February 4 2010 by dion1

The Schoolboys (1) (Manahattan, New-York)  

Personnel :

Leslie Martin（Lead）

James Holland Edwards "James Hammond"（Tenor）

Roger Hayes（Tenor）

James Charlie McKay（Baritone）

Renaldo Gamble（Bass）

Discography :

1956 - Please say you want me / Shirley（Okeh 7076）
1957 - I am old enough / Mary（Okeh 7085） 
1957 - Carol / Pearl（Okeh 7085） 
1958 - The slide / Angel of love（Juanita 103） 
1990 - Ding a ling coo coo mop (1957)（Magic Carpet EP 511)

Biography :

The Schoolboys sound almost uncannily similar to Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, but they predate them by close to a year in terms of recording and success. Formed in Harlem's Cooper Junior High School in 1954 or early 1955, with Harold Atley as leader, James Edwards (first tenor), Roger Hayes (second tenor), James "Charlie" McKay (baritone), and Renaldo Gamble (bass), they performed in school talent shows and became popular locally, only to see Atley exit after a few months.

He was replaced by Leslie Martin, a boy soprano who had an almost operatic intensity to his singing and intonation. They appeared on Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour and won first prize, which brought them the chance to record soon after, under the aegis of disc jockey Tommy Smalls, who had the popular Dr. Jive Show on WWRL in New York -- he gave them the name the Schoolboys and got them their recording.

Their debut single, "Please Say You Want Me," a slow, moon/June-rhymed ballad featuring Martin's astonishingly powerful boy soprano voice, became a hit in the fall of 1955 and led to a series of releases, notable for the pleading nature of their lyrics, especially the ballads, which were usually backed by songs titled with girls' names.

The group was never able to match the success of its debut release, however, and by 1956, the Teenagers Featuring Frankie Lymon, also organized in upper Manhattan, had supplanted them in the minds of the listening public.

The Schoolboys' original lineup disintegrated not too long after their one hit -- Renaldo Gamble joined Pearl McKinnon (herself a Frankie Lymon sound-alike) and the Kodaks. By 1957, the Schoolboys were history, their moment having passed to Lymon and company. It is alleged that some of the work credited to the group was really Martin and members of the Cadillacs, rather than his own group.
Bruce Eder, All Music Guide

Songs :


Please say you want me         I am old enough                Shirley


Mary                                     Carol                             Angel of love

Pearl The Slide Ding A Ling Coo Coo Mop

CD :

...

See comments

The Newports (3) aka The Exzels aka The Essentials (2)

Posted on February 2 2010 by dion1

The Newport (3) (Queens, New York)
aka The Exzels aka The Essentials (2)

Personnel :

Dennis Grey (Lead)

Jimmy Pace

Artie Ross

Ronnie Pomerantz

Stan Novack

Discography:

The Essentials (2)
Unreleased :
1959 - Teenage Sweetheart
1959 - Me And My Gal

The Newports (3)
Singles :
1962 - If I Could Tonight / A Fellow Needs A Girl (Kane 007/ Guyden 2067) 
1964 - Tears / Disillusioned Love (Guyden 2116)
Unreleased :
1961 - Go To Sleep My Little Girl
1963 - Love Me With All Your Heart
1963 - Hands
1963 - Faith
1963 - I'll Never Stop Loving You

The Exzels
Single :
1962 - Canadian Sunset / Hit Talk (other group) (Cross Fire 101)

Biography :

Like so many other groups, The Newports, from Queen New York, were fortunate to have a few record releases. The Original group started back in 1958-59 and was know as the Essentials. From this group Ray Russel would eventually join both Shelly Buchansky and Frankie Fox, both Essentials/Newports for a Short While, and become members of Vito & The Salutations after the groups release "Gloria". Jimmy Pace having the opportunity to leave as well, chose to stay with the Newports and try for that elusive hit record, Along with jimmy is Artie Ross, who grew up in Manhattan.

There he sang in neighborhood with Tony Orlando's 5 Gents, Dennis & the Explorers and Nickie North & the Citations. They added Stan Novack Ronnie Pomerantz and Lead Dennis Grey. The Group recorded some tunes for Dave McRae ,Kane records' owner.

"If I Could Tonight" and "A Fellow Needs A Girl" was released on Kane 007. The songs were re-released on Guyden 2067 but went nowhere. In 1962, Bobby King, a record store owner who had the Cross Fire label release "Canadian Sunset" under the name of The Exzels.

In 1962, there were some more personnel changes with Joe Reinlieb on Lead and Mike Perricone. The Newports and his new singers were brought into the studio to do some recording. "Tears" & "Disillusioned" Love were released in 1964 on Guyden 2116.

Songs :

The Essentials (2)

Teenage Sweetheart

The Newports (3)


If I Could Tonight                A Fellow Needs A Girl Disillusioned Love


Tears                  Love Me With All Your Heart                   Faith


             Hands                       I'll Never Stop Loving You         Go To Sleep My Little Girl

...

See comments