The Delrays(Reading, Pa) aka The Delights (1) aka The Teen-Kings
Personnel :
Walter "Buster" Lockman (Lead)
James Keith (Tenor)
Norman Keith (Tenor)
Jimmy Tindall (Baritone)
Bernie Washington (Bass)
Discography :
The Teen-Kings 1958 - That's A Teenage Love / Tell Me I You Know (Bee 1115)
The Delrays 1958 - Our Love is True / One Kiss, A Smile And A Dream (Cord 1101)
The Delights (1) 1961 - My one Desire / Please Take My Love (Nite 201 / Nite 1034)
Biography :
James and Norman Keith were performers from their pre-school day when they would entertain they neighbors with their singing and Ukulele playing . By the time they were attending Fitzsimmons Junior High School, they had a quintet assembled consisting of LaVester Littles, Ron Brown, Walter "Buster" Lockman, and themselves. They were called the Victors, and played opening night at the Blue Horizon Club on North broad Street in 1956. For The next two years they played regularly at other clubs, benefits, and neighborhood gatherings, mostly in North Philly. In 1958, Bernie Washington took over the Bass singer, and Jimmy Tindall replaced Littles as Baritone. With "Buster" Lockman on Falsetto lead, they quickly learned that they could get their biggest crowd reaction bodying Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers covers.
The Name change to Teen Kings, reflected their desire to develop their sound close to Lymon's group. Their shows also got the attention of Ben Johnson Jr (who had managed the Re-Vels since 1954), who signed them to a management contract, and a recording session at Virtue Studios, in the 1600 block of North Broad Street. They recorded four songs at Virtue, likely completed at a single session. In addition to "That a Teenage Love" and "Tell Me If You Know", Johnson released another single on his Cord label, credited to the Delrays. "Our Love Is True" (Wich is virtually the same melody as "That's A Teenage Love") and "One Kiss, A Smile And A Dream", both list Johnson as the writer.
The Teen Kings, the Keith Brothers (Facing each other) and Buster Lockman (at the microphone)
All four sides suffered from a very muddily sound with the lead buried in a poorly placed sigle mike. Lockman was only 13 years old when he made this recordings. The same Lineup made one more records as the Delights ("My one Desire" / "Please Take My Love"), released in 1961. Around the same time, the group auditioned for Richard Barrett in New York but the deal did not materialize. Lockman continued his career as a solo artist through the sixties, releasing one record on the Wand Label in 1967 as Walter Wilson. Norman keith also continued in the music business as a side man, touring with Martha & The Vandellas.
Jim Jacono & The J's 1958 - Take My Money / Jay Walkin (Kay-Y 66783)
Jimmy J & The J's 1961 - Please be My Girlfriend / I've Lost (Salco 647)
Biography :
The J's began as "Jimmy and the J's" in 1958. The original band included Vito Jacono (vocals and guitar), Jim Jacono (vocals), Sylvanus (Slip) Franklin (piano and vocals), Herb Campbell (vocals), and Frank Jacono (drums). Lou Razzae later joined the band playing sax. In 1959, the J's made their first recording––an instrumental called, "Jay Walkin'" which became the J's theme song. The flip side was, "Take My Money." Herb Campbell and Lou Razzae left the band in 1960 and were replaced by Bunky Robinson on vocals and Lou DiMattio playing sax and other reed instrument.
The next six years were a time of great growth for the J's. The band went on the road, touring up and down the East Coast of the United States and sharing the stage with such famous musicians as Dave Brubeck, the big band of Les and Larry Elgart, Wilson Pickett, Louis Armstrong, the Dukes of Dixeland, and many others! It is interesting to note that the J's were always an integrated band! When the band formed in 1958––during the height of the Civil Rights conflicts in the US–– Slip Franklin was its first African-American member. Soon thereafter, Bunky Robinson joined the J's. Slip and Bunky knew Vito Jacono of the J's, because Vito often subbed with the Five Lords––the all black band Slip and Bunky worked with. http://www.phillyrandb.com/5.html
1957 - Right Now / Somewhere (Peacock 1677) 1960 - Mysterious / Picture Of My Baby (Peacock 1695)
Biography :
This group came together in 1956 as Earl King and the Kingsmen. In 1957 they signed with the Peacock label. Peacock Records was an American record label, started in 1949 by Don Robey in Houston, Texas, United States. "Hound Dog" by Big Mama Thornton was a hit for Peacock in 1953.
Other significant rhythm and blues artists on Peacock were Marie Adams, James Booker, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Little Richard, Memphis Slim, and former gospel singer Jackie Verdell. The label also dabbled with jazz, releasing albums by vocalist Betty Carter and saxophonist Sonny Criss. In 1952, Robey gained control of the Duke Records label of Memphis, Tennessee. Duke/Peacock Records was formed.
A Month after signing, The Kingsmen Went to Chicago to record. Robey was there and decided to rename the group the Uniques! Following their second recording for Peacock in 1960, with no hits to their credit, the group split up. In 1963, Taylor joined one of the Ink Spots groups and stayed with them for the next twenty-five Years. Mitch Rosalsky (Encyclopedia of Rhythm & Blues and Doo-Wop Vocal Groups)
In early 1960, two teenagers began harmonizing to the tunes of the Everly Brothers, Don & Juan and Robert & Johnny singing mostly for their own enjoyment in the Trumbull High School bathrooms and hallways. They were George Kovachi and Wesley Twelves, two teens who met in their first year of high school. Chris Costeines also occasionally joined in. Soon after, Paul Timpanelli joined the group as baritone and later Stanley Goldman as 2nd tenor and sometimes lead.
Later in 1960 we chose a name for the group and officially became "The Sophisticats" performing locally at record hops, dances and more bathrooms. For a short while, The Sophisticats worked with guitarist Fred Stern and a drummer whose name can no longer be remembered. We practiced and performed through much of 1960 with the same members. Late in 1961, Wes's girlfriend, Shirley Clark, decided that Wes should spend less time rehearsing and more time with her. Roland Bousquet, a Bridgeport native stepped up to replace Wes and Jim Petrino also from Bridgeport joined to replace Stan. Carl Demore also joined to handle the 1st tenor duties ... suddenly we had a whole new sound!
In early 1962 we renamed the group "The Salutations." This lasted a few months until Vito and the Salutations released their hit "Unchained Melody." We then decided to just shorten the name to "The Utations." No need to go into the iterations of the name "Utations" our peers managed to come up with and call us! The next changes came late in 1962 as Carl graduated and went to college and Roland moved to Maine. In 1963, we recruited Tony Sciarappa who had recently moved from our Bridgeport, CT Parrott Avenue neighborhood to Trumbull. Jerry Bourdeau from Trumbull also joined in 1963. This allowed "the Utations" to continue to rehearse and play out occasionally for the next year or two. Meanwhile, Jim Petrino married Shirley Clark and began raising a family. By the end of 1964, George Kovachi had joined the Marine Corps, Tony enlisted in the Air Force, Carl was still at UCONN, Paul was off to college and Jerry enlisted in the Army.
1956 - You baby you / I was dreaming（Gee 1001） 1956 - Little girl of mine / You're driving me bad（Gee 1011）
1956 - Can't we be sweetheart / Neki honkey（Gee 1016）
1956 - String around my heart / Happy memories（Gee 1025）
1956 - Why do you do me like you do / I like your style of making love（Gee 1031） 1957 - See you next year / Ten pair of shoes（Gee 1038） 1958 - Hey babe / What did I do that was wrong（Gee 1041） 1958 - She's so fine / Trudy（Roulette 4094） 1957 - Since we fell in love (Roulette LP 25021) 1957 - Honey Bun (Unreleased) 1958 - Lover boy / Beginners at love（Gee 1048）
1959 - Cuzin Casanova / Mish mash baby（Roulette 4161） 1959 - After the dance (Roulette LP 25059) 1959 - Cool it, fool (Unreleased) 1960 - She's gone / Shadows on the very last row（Roulette 4302） 1961 - Heart & soul / How do you feel（Gee 1064）
1961 - For sentimental reason / Deed I do（Gee 1067） 1961 - Earth angel / Blues in the night（Gee 1074） 1961 - Again / Do you（Gee 1077） 1961 - Lover come back to me / There she goes（Gee 1079） 1961 - How deep is the ocean / Some kind of blue（Gee 1080） 1963 - Sweet and lovely (Unreleased) 1963 - Blue skies (Unreleased) 1963 - Slippin' and Slidin' (Unreleased) 1964 - She's forgotten you / Right from the git go（Ware 501） 1976 - Since I fell fot you / Heavenly fathert（Robbin Hood 132） 1976 - Please say you want me / So you and I can climb（Robbin Hood 133） 1991 - My angel lover / You lost the game of love（Classic Artist /Car 121）
LPs :
1961 - Heart And Soul Heart And Soul/How Do You Feel/100 Pounds Of Clay/Please Say You Want Me/Can't We Be Sweethearts/Time Is Running Out On Our Love//Little Girl Of Mine/Heavenly Father/Glory Of Love/You And I Can Climb/You Baby You/String Around My Heart (Gee SGLP-705)
1962 - For Sentimental Reasons For Sentimental Reasons/Blues In The Night/Red Sails In The Sunset/She's Gone/Vacation In The Mountains/My Babe//Earth Angel/Deed I Do/Shadows On The Very Last Row/What Did I Do That Was Wrong/Hey Babe/Leave My Woman Alone (Gee SGLP-707)
Biography :
In 1955, at Jamaica High School in Queens, New York, two singing groups - The Clefs and The Silvertones - merged to form The Cleftones. The lead singer was Herbie Cox and other group members were Berman Patterson, Warren Corbin (bass), Charlie James and William "Buzzy" McClain. Vocal battles were regularly fought with other local groups, including Gene Pearson's Rivileers and James Sheppard's Hearts (later The Heartbeats).
The Cleftones, all aged between 16 and 18, practiced in the back room of a beauty parlour owned by Buzzy's parents on 107th Avenue and Merrick Road. Their early influences were The Swallows, The Diamonds, The Cardinals, The Moonglows and The Penguins. However, as the group developed, they began to favour the more up-tempo songs and began to write in that vein.
(Charles James, William McClane, Warren Corbin, Marlene, Berman Patterson and Herbert Cox)
In late 1955, encouraged by their school-friend manager Dave Ralnick, the boys auditioned for Apollo, Baton and Old Town, but were turned down by them all. The next stop was Rama Records at 220, West 42nd Street, in an office over the PAL (Police Athletic League). Label owner George Goldner auditioned them and immediately signed them to his newly-formed Gee label (named after The Crows mega-hit which had been the making of Rama's fortunes in 1954).
"You Baby You"/"I Was Dreaming" (Gee 1000) was released in December 1955 (just a month later, Elvis was appearing on The Dorsey Brothers' TV Show and RCA were putting all their resources behind "Heartbreak Hotel"). "You Baby You" followed its label-mate "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?" into the Billboard Pop charts and reached #78, selling an estimated 150,000 copies.
The next release was Herbie's own competition "Little Girl Of Mine" (Gee 1011) (hands up all Shakers singing "Diddle liddle liddle liddle lit, yeah"). It sold over 750,000 during its heyday, and probably close to a million more since then. The record was released in the UK on Columbia 3801 (45 and 78), with the earlier hit "You Baby You" on the flip. Needless to say, the sales hardly registered a blip on the graph, hence it's supposed value of £400 (mint) in the Record Collector "Rare Record Guide".
Subsequent releases through the remainder of 1956 and 1957 included "Can't We Be Sweethearts?", "String Around My Heart", "Why Do You Do Me Like You Do?", "See You Next Year", "Hey Babe" and "Lover Boy", most of which can be found on the 1990 Rhino CD "Best Of The Cleftones" (B0000032S9), but the sales never matched those of their first two releases.
The group's first big live show in 1956 was at Detroit's Fox Theatre with The Cadillacs, Lavern Baker, Lonnie Donegan, Bobby Lewis, Bob Crewe and The Royal Jokers. The group were visually exciting and were always in demand for live appearances. They set a record by appearing 12 times in one year at Murray The K's Apollo Theatre dance parties. Alan Freed used them on nine holiday special shows (on one such Paramount show in 1957 the group backed up Charlie Gracie singing his hit "Butterfly" while singing from the wings - the group, that is, not Charlie).
In the summer of 1958 the Cleftones recorded their first Roulette record (#4094) "She's So Fine" and "Trudy". Once again it was not a big hit. In 1959 they made another record on Roulette (#4161) called "Cuzzin Casanova" and "Mish Mash Baby" (written by Murray The K's mother!) and then in late 1960 (#4302) "She's Gone" and "Shadows On The Very Last Row." Again no big hit.
In 1958, two members of the group left - Buzzy McClain and Berman Patterson (to join the military). Gene Pearson (lead singer of the Rivileers) came out of the military and joined the group. Pearson suggested that they follow the trend of the girl groups and add a female member, and so his friend Patricia Spann joined the group.
George Treadwell, manager of The Drifters, was appointed to a similar position for The Cleftones. The Drifters, by the early 60's, were in such disarray that Treadwell actually asked The Cleftones if they would become the new Drifters so that he could fire the whole bunch. When they declined, he managed to lure Gene Pearson away to sing second tenor on numerous Drifters charters from 1963 onward.
The Cleftones wound up back on the Gee record label (now part of Roulette). In 1961, they released "Heart And Soul" (Larry Clinton's 1938 hit). It was a big success and The Cleftones were back in the Pop charts, hitting #18 (#10 R&B). "We were very proud of being one of the only groups to have hits in both the 50's and 60's," said Herbie Cox. The non-charting UK release was on Columbia 4678.
They followed it up later in 1961 with another standard, Nat King Cole's " For Sentimental Reasons" (Gee 1067/Columbia 4720). It did okay but not as well as "Heart and Soul". The group then was recorded on the Rama record label with "Vacation In The Mountains" and "Leave My Woman Alone" however the record lists the artist only as Herbie Cox and not the Cleftones. It never really got much airplay.
In 1962, back on Gee, the Cleftones released the following records - (#1074) "Earth Angel" and "Blues In The Night"; (#1077) "Again" and "Do You?"; (#1079) "Lover Come Back To Me" and "There She Goes" (Columbia 4988 - their last UK release); and (#1080) "How Deep Is The Ocean?" and "Some Kinda Blue." The Cleftones released two LPs on Gee - (#705) "Heart And Soul" and (#707) "For Sentimental Reasons." They recorded one additional single in 1963 on the Ware record label (#6001) called "He's Forgotten You" and "Right From The Git Go."
Though never officially breaking up, the group became inactive until 1970, when Berman and Herbie met in a bar and decided to put the group back together again, including Herbie's cousin Tony Gaines. A few oldies revival shows later, and they were once again doing regular performances. At some point in the 70's several old cuts from the "For Sentimental Reasons" L.P. were issued on Robin Hood Records.
Unforgettables with Chubby Checker - L to R : M.Robinson, J. Chase, Chubby Checker, M. Gaddness and C. Robinson
The Chiffons (1) (Los Angeles) aka The Unforgettables (1)
Personnel :
Marie Robinson
Joyce Chase
Marie Gaddness
Carlotta "Cookie" Robinson
Discography :
The Unforgettables (1) 1961 - It Hurts / Was It Alright (Colpix 192)
The Chiffons (1) 1960 - Tonight's The Night / Do You Know (Big Deal 6003/Zircon 1012) 1961 - No More Tomorrows / Never Never (Wildcat 601) 1962 - After Last Night / Doctor Of Hearts (Reprise 20103)
Biography
The Chiffons, three young ladies from Los Angeles adopted their group name two years before the Celebrated Chiffons from the Bronx, NY scored big with "She's So Fine»". The group, Marie Love, Joyce Chapel and Carlotta Robertson, had assembled while still in high school, taking the name Chiffons from a hat brand. Securing a recording session with Big Deal Records from Chatsworth, CA, the trio recorded two tracks,"Tonight's The Night", which was a cover of a present minor hit by the Shirelles and "Do You Know" (Big Deal 6003). The record charted on the KFXM chart in San Bernardino, CA. September 1960. The same month a lease deal was made with Zircon (#1012) label in Canada who wanted a piece of the action. "Tonight's The Night" caught action in Chicago, Philadelphia, Portland, Phoenix and Fort Wayne and had climbed to #76 on Billboard before the year had ended. (In July 1962, a single was released by Ginger & The Chiffons on Groove (0003), but they are a totally different group.
Come September of 1962, we see the release of "Doctor of Hearts" on Frank Sinatra's Reprise label backed with "After Last Night" (#20,103). The session seems to have taken place at the United Recording Studio, 6050 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, CA. Billboard gave both tracks three stars and did not comment on the music. Finally we have The Chiffons on the New York based Wildcat (#601) in October 1962. Less than two months later, "He's So Fine" was released on Laurie Records, becoming a huge hit for the New York group, so no competing Chiffons groups remained. After "Tonight's The Night">, Marie, Joyce and Carlotta recorded as The Unforgettables, having one minor chart item, " It Hurts" "Was It Alright" on Colpix 192 in 1961. With the addition of Singer Oma Head, other recordings under pseudonyms were also released.
Singles: 1960 - The Story Of My Heart / Do The Wiggle (King 5377) 1960 - That's The Way I Feel / Lonely Rain (King 5435)
Unreleased : 1960 - Waited So Long (King) 1960 - I Want Love (King)
Biography :
In the beginning, five McKinley High friends decided to form a vocal group in 1958 in Canton, Ohio: Levert, Williams, Powell, Bobby Massey and Bill Isles. "In those days, the school hallways and the men's room walls were marble," recalls Williams, who first met Levert when he was 6 and Levert was 7.
"Those walls gave off a kind of echo and our harmonies sounded real good. We used to flirt with the girls and sing instead of study. That's where it all started." Then known as the Triumphs, the quintet sang on local radio and also in the church choir where Williams' father was the choir director.
The son of a local Greek grocer heard the guys harmonizing one day as they were passing by the store and later arranged for the group to go to Cincinnati where King Records' Sid Nathan gave the high school juniors contracts and renamed them the Mascots.
They were invited to do a sock hop in Cleveland where they met DJ Eddie O'Jay. He later took the group to Detroit where it signed with Dayco Records. The Dayco single "How Does It Feel," did well locally. It was during this period that the group, referred to now as "O'Jay's boys," was rechristened the O'Jays.
Discography : The Champions 1954 - Annie Met Henry / Keep-A-Rockin' (Scott/Chart 602) 1956 - Come on and Love Me / Big Bad Beulah (Chart 631) 1956 - No Good Woman (Chart) (Unreleased) 1958 - I'm so blue / Cute little Baby (Ace 541)
The Champions & Sonny Thompson 1956 - Pay Me Some Attention / Same Old Story (Chart 620) 1956 - Mexico Bound / It's Love It's Love (Scott 1211/Chart 611)
Biography :
In August of 1955 Chart records pushes their new release of "Annie Met Henry" and "Keep A Rocking" by The Champions on # 602. In early 1956 Sonny Thompson released his first records for Chart Records. First was # 611 which featured The Champions on the songs "It's Love It's Love" and "Mexico Bound".
From the same session came another two part extended tune featuring his tenor sax man David Brooks. The song was "Slow Rock" parts 1 and 2 and was issued on Chart # 612. In May Sonny and his combo with The Champions do a week long engagement at the Zanzibar Lounge in Buffalo, New York.
After those dates Sonny and his combo head back out to the West Coast. In June The Champions record with Sonny and his band on the tunes "Pay Me Some Attention" and "The Same Old Story" on Chart # 620. In November King Records releases an LP called "After Hours" that features some recordings by Sonny Thompson made for King in the last three years.
Sonny Thompson, Lula Reed
That same month Chart releases another two part Thompson tune called "Juke Joint" on # 633, and soon it becomes Thompson's best seller for the Miami based label. Sonny Thompson and his band with The Champions, Lula Reed, and Paul Tate, tour the Eastern states and then head back to California for further one nighters.
Singles: 1955 - Honest Darling / Hey Honey (Columbia 40516) 1955 - The Big Eyes / Darling, Thanks To You (Columbia 40582) 1956 - Lovely One / Geronimo (Coronet 010/Columbia 40643) 1956 - Bim Bam Baby / Let's Write Our Own Love Story (Coronet 054 / Columbia 40699) 1956 - I'm Dreaming Of Wedding Bells / The Ties That Bind (Coronet 028/Columbia 40749) 1957 - Sentimental / I Love You Still (Coronet 128/Columbia 40838) 1957 - Such A Shame / Angel Of Love (With Ray Connif) (Columbia 40933) 1957 - Sidewalk Bop / Kingdom Of Love (Coronet 190/Columbia 40983) 1958 - Dancing With My Shadows / Bon Bon (Columbia 41076) 1958 - Ev'ry Hour, Ev'ry Day Of My Life / You Know I Do (Columbia 41167) 1958 - Tight Spot / Tell Me You Love Me (Columbia 41234) 1959 - Each Time You Kiss Me / The Box (Coronet 297/Columbia 41291) 1959 - Who, Who, Who / Who Know Why (Columbia 41405) 1959 - Wang Wang Blues / Little White Cloud That..(Columbia 41524) 1960 - Good Good Thing / Stay with me (Columbia 41643) 1960 - Sealed With A Kiss / You'Re All There Is (Columbia 41699) 1961 - Boobala / This Word We Live In (ABC 10202) 1962 - Lovely One / M-I-N-E Mine (Peacock 106) 1962 - Everybody Loves Saturday Night / The Toast (Peacock 114)
Unreleased : 1956 - Come on Baby, Let me see your smile (Columbia) 1956 - School bells (Columbia)
Biography :
Despite close to 20 singles released by the giant Columbia and all their promotional capacity, The Four Voices (first tenor Allan Chase, second tenor Sal Mayo, baritone Bill McBride and bass Frank Fosta) barely avoided becoming a bona-fide member of the One-Hit Wonder club by virtue of a modest, middle-of-the-road nationally-charting single a full two years after their debut hit.
Signed by Columbia major-domo Mitch Miller in 1955 after he heard them compete on The Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts show, and mostly with the backing of the Ray Conniff orchestra, their first two singles that year went largely unnoticed - Hey! Honey (Kissin' Is Free)/Honest, Darling (Believe Me) as Columbia 4-40516 and The Big Eyes/Darling, Thanks To You as Columbia 4-40582.
Another orchestra with which they recorded was that of Fred Weismantel who also happened to be the composer of their breakthrough hit, Lovely One, but it was again Conniff backing when it peaked at # 20 Billboard Pop Top 100 in March/April 1956 as Columbia 4-40643 b/w Geronimo. They then experienced five straight failures: Let's Write Our Own Love Story/Bim Bam Baby (Columbia 4-40699) and I'm Dreaming Of Wedding Bells/The Ties That Bind (Columbia 4-40749), both in 1956 and, the following year, I Love You Still/Sentimental (Columbia 4-40838), Such A Shame/Angel Of Love (Columbia 4-40933), and Sidewalk Bop/Kingdom Of Love (Columbia 4-40983).
Then, just when it appeared they may indeed be destined for One-Hit Wonder status, Dancing With My Shadow - the 45-rpm covered here - managed to get to # 50 in April 1958 b/w Bon Bon as Columbia 4-41076. But that was to be it, as none among these singles could get them back on the charts: You Know I Do/Ev'ry Hour, Ev'ry Day Of My Life (Columbia 4-41167), The Box/Each Time You Kiss Me (Columbia 4-41291) and Tell Me You Love Me, Tell Me That You're Mine/Tight Spot (Columbia 4-42234), all in 1958, 1959's Who Knows Why?/Who, Who, Who? (Columbia 4-41405) and The Wang Wang Blues/The Little Cloud That Cried (Columbia 4-41524), and 1960's Good, Good Thing/Stay With Me (Columbia 4-41643) and Sealed With A Kiss/You're All There Is (Columbia 41699).
It's worth noting that their rendition of Sealed With A Kiss introduced the song that would become a # 3 in 1962 for Brian Hyland at ABC-Paramount. They never recorded an album so it would be nice if some distributor was able to put together a proper remastered anthology of their Columbia output, but I'm not holding my breath considering who owns the rights... They Broke up while Alan Chase and Sal Mayo tried a couple of solos with no luck. In 1962 the Four Voices reunited and did a new version of "Lovely One" for Peacock records, but separated again after that one didn't make the grade.
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