The Turks, a legendary vocal group led by Gaynel Hodge and featuring Jesse Belvin, Alex Hodge and Tommy "Buster" Williams, recorded two sessions for Keen Records in 1957 and 1958. Jesse Belvin & The Sharptones is actually a duet with Buster Williams. http://www.electricearl.com/dws/belvin.html
The Three Emotions (New York) aka The Emotions (4)
Personnel :
Bill Rodriguez
Discography :
The Emotions (4) 1957 - It's Love / Candlelight (Fury 1010)
The Three Emotions 1959 - The Night We Met / The Girl I Left Behind (Fury 1026)
Biography :
Billy was born and raised in New York City, singing on the street corners of the city. His first group was “The Emotions” which entertained audiences for many years in clubs throughout New York. In addition the group was on the famous television show “Jacko Show” to promote their record “Candlelight“ & “Its Love” which was on the Fury Label.
Fury Records was set up by Bobby Robinson in 1957. The group recorded two other sides for Fury “The Night We Met“ and “The Girl I Left Behind“ released in 1959 as the Three Emotions. Bill also sang with another group called the “The Memories”, a popular group from Springfield, Massachusetts for 12 years.
(L to R) Duke Draper, Leroy Fullylove, Emerson Bilton and Charles Fullylove
The Tads (Phoenix, Arizona) aka The Dots (4)
Personnel :
Leroy Fullylove
Charles Fullylove
Emerson Bilton
Robie Robinson
Discography :
The Tads
Singles : 1956 - Your Reason / The Pink Panther (Liberty Bell 9010/Dot 15518) 1957 - She's my Dream / Wolf Call (Rev 3513) Unreleased : 1957 - Glowing Moon (Porter) 1957 - Hey Little Girl (Porter) 1957 - Mixed Up Mama (Porter) 1960 - Bumble Bee (Demo) (Atlantic)
The Dots (4) 1957 - Ring Chimes / Wolf Call (Rev 3512)
Biography :
The most prolific Phoenix black vocal group The Tads, Who had already recorded for the liberty Bell label (The Supreme Your Reason and Hazlewood's Pink Panther, later leased to Dot.) produced by air-conditioning salesman and musical entrepreneur Frank Porter in 1957.
They are four songs on a small tape that Porter remembers recording in the laundry room of his house on Stella Lane.In October 1957, Rev released Ring Chimes and Wolf Call as by the Dots for some unknown reason.
Then in January 1958, Rev released Wolf Call Backed with She is my dream. Anchored by leader and songwriter Leroy Fullylove with brother Charles, Emerson Bilton and Robie Robinson who was replaced by Madero White (brother of Carl White of The Sharps and The Rivingtons).
The quartet would feature an ever-changing cast of members, including Duke Draper, through the end of 1961 when they disbanded. The group recorded Three songs for Porter Records, but all were unreleased.
The Tads almost made it big, though, when Loy Clingman sent Fullylove’s demo of his composition “Bumble Bee” to Atlantic in 1960 via Duane Eddy’s manager Al Wilde. Unfortunately, instead of signing The Tads, Atlantic lifted the arrangement, note for note, for LaVern Baker’s very successful recording.
She also claimed half of the writer’s credit on the first pressings, although that mistake was later corrected to give Fullylove his proper due…and royalties. http://www.bobcorritore.com/flyinhigh.html Thanks to Markowee
1963 - Chuck Tunnah, David Dunn, Pat Baldwin, & Larry Dunlap
The Reflections (4) (Indianapolis, IN) aka The Illusions (3)
Personnel :
Dave Dunn (Lead)
Pat Baldwin
Larry Dunlap
Chuck Tunnah (Bass)
Discography :
The Reflections (4) Single : 1963 - Tic Toc / In The Still Of The Night (Tigre 602) Unreleased : 1963 - Don't Worry Baby
Rick Fortune bb The Reflections (4) 1963 - Running Wild / Sand In My Hair (Ran-Dee 108)
Mona Thomas bb The Reflections (4) 1964 - There He Goes / Just In Between (USA 776)
The Illusions (3) 1964 - In The Beginning / Maybe (I May Be Wrong) (Laurie LR 3245)
Biography :
Larry Dunlap met Chuck Tunnah near the beginning of his Junior year at Shortridge, Indianapolis. Chuck, Hastings Smith, and Pat Baldwin, freshmen at SHS, formed a vocal group with Larry called the Aristocats. Chuck Tunnah and Hastings Smith were already accomplished vocalists and they went on to sing together in the Acappella Choir and Madrigal Singers and the North Methodist Church Choir. After Their school years, Chuck, Pat, and Larry, joined by David Dunn from Broad Ripple continued singing. As the Reflections, They recorded "In The Still Of The Night" & "Tic Toc" released on Tigre Records owned by Jan Hutchins. Hutchins was one of three producers of "Stay" by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs and before that, he had been a popular DJ in Florida.
"In The Still Of The Night" were a version much different from the way it was originally recorded by the Five Satins. Chuck would start it off with a bass run of "De dun-de-dun, dun-de-dun-dun, and etc." and then Dave would sing the lead against the rhythm as Pat and Larry would join into the mix. The record started to break, oddly enough not in Indianapolis but back east and then in the south. Then it started to really take off on the big 50,000 watter, KLS in Chicago, so Jan Hutchins sent the Reflections up to do a sock hop in support of the local DJ's there. By then it was number 5 on their charts with a bullet!
1965 - Mac Brown, Chuck Tunnah, Larry Dunlap, David Dunn, & Les Silvey
Despite the fact that they were heading up the charts in several major markets and were rising into the top 5 on the hit parade with a bullet in Chicago, they were a "turntable" hit, they weren't selling any records. The distributor rep said the reason was that no records had been pressed because somebody the master recording had been lost and Jan Hutchins hadn't made a backup!. By the time it was pressed, the Reflections who recorded (Just Like) Romeo and Juliet) had hit with their song. They sang backup on Mona Thomas and Rick Fortune’s singles and changed to the Illusions and recorded "In The Beginning " and "Maybe (I May Be Wrong)" released on Laurie Records in 1964. They become Stark Naked & The Car Thieves during the San Francisco-era ones. http://www.stark-naked.com/gallery.htm
Tommy Hobbs, George Scott, Robert Chalmers, Walter Jones and Robert Manley
The El Pollos (Cleveland, OH.)
Personnel :
Robert Chalmers (Lead)
Tommy Hobbs (First Tenor)
Walter Jones (Second Tenor)
George Scott (Baritone)
Robert Manley (Bass)
Discography :
1958 - High School Dance / These Four Letters (Studio 999) 1958 - School Girl / Why Treat Me This Way (Neptune 1001)
Biography :
R&B vocal combo el Pollos formed in Cleveland in 1956 -- according to Marv Goldberg's profile in the June 1997 issue of Discoveries, the group was originally known as the Capitols, and comprised lead Robert Chalmers, first tenor Douglas Kindle, second tenor Melvin Keenan and bass Robert Manley. The Capitols got their start performing on local street corners, soon graduating to house parties and amateur showcases -- a year into the group's existence, both Kindle and Keenan exited, prompting the additions of first tenor Tommy Hobbs and second tenor Walter Jones, as well as a fifth member, baritone George Scott. Guitarist Philip "Frenchy" Dorroh signed on a few months later, and when Jones resigned soon after, Dorroh added second tenor to his duties. Upon learning of a rival Capitols outfit, the group renamed itself el Pollos -- in 1958, they signed to Studio Records, with Chalmers assuming lead vocal on their Dorroh-penned debut single "High School Dance."
The record went nowhere, and later that same year el Pollos signed to Neptune, traveling to New York City to cut their sophomore effort "School Girl."Again el Pollos were unable to generate radio interest, and in 1959 a frustrated Manley joined the U.S. Army, prompting the group's eventual dissolution -- in 1962, Manley, Chalmers and Dorroh reunited long enough to drive to Detroit in the hopes of landing an audition with Motown, but label execs declared el Pollos too similar to the Four Tops and sent them on their way, extinguishing their musical aspirations once and for all.
1962 - Autograph Book / Much As i Do (Plateau 101)
Biography :
Charles Koppelman and Don Rubin along with Bob Meyer wrote and recorded, "Autograph Book" as The Four Pages for Plateau. A true New York sounding, up-tempo doo-wop number, complete with a cool sax break, this was the sole release by the group and the label, it garnered no chart action but it rocks! A click on the label to the left for a larger scan foretells the future, their first use of the soon to be famous Char-Don moniker.
It also demonstrated that besides still writing and singing, their eyes had already been opened to the business side of the music business. In Al Nevins and Don Krishner, two of the decades most successful and profitable entrepreneurs, they had met their ideal role models. They were signed as writers to ALDON Music Inc. possibly the most famous and certainly the most evocative publishing name in music, their fellow writing partners included Goffin-King, Sedaka-Greenfield, Mann-Weil and many others. Before, Rubin and fellow college friend Art Berkowitz had formed a vocal group The Ivy Three. http://www.spectropop.com/KoppelmanRubin/index.htm
Singles : 1958 - Mutual Admiration Society / A New Love (Columbia DB4064) 1958 - Lollipop / Young Dove's Calling (Columbia DB4099) 1958 - Book Of Love /Yea, Yea (Columbia DB4133) 1958 - There's Never Been A Night / Lightnin' Never Strikes Twice (Columbia DB4190) 1958 - My Grandfather's Clock / Which Witch Doctor (Columbia DB4210) 1959 - The Love Game / Abdul The Bulbul Amer Cha Cha (Columbia DB4250) 1959 - Tell Him No / Time Flies (Columbia DB4291) 1959 - Waterloo / Mary (Columbia DB4331) 1959 - True Love, True Love / Tennessee (Columbia DB4374) 1960 - Candy / Never Marry A Fishmonger (Columbia DB4417) 1960 - You're Free To Go /(You've Got To) Move Two Mountains (Columbia DB4513) 1961 - When Mexico Gave Up The Rumba / Toy Balloon (Columbia DB4636) 1961 - The Mountain's High / Don't Gamble With Love (Columbia DB4708) 1962 - Coney Island Washboard / Them Twistin' Bones (Columbia DB4788) 1962 - Manana Pasado Manana / March Of The Broken Hearts (Columbia DB4861) 1962 - I've Been Everywhere / Just The Snap Of Your Fingers (Decca F11537) 1962 - The Little Cracked Bell Of San Raquel / La De Da (Decca F11601) 1964 - Walk Around / Here's Another Day (Fontana TF495)
Eps: 1958 - The Mudlarks (with accompaniment by Ken Jones) (Columbia SEG7854) There's Never Been A Night / Lollipop / Lightnin' Never Strikes Twice / Book Of Love
Biography :
The Mudlarks were an unusual musical phenomenon in several ways. Unusually, the group were composed, at least for most of its lifetime, by real siblings- the children of the Mudd family from Luton in Bedforshire. Jeff, Fred and Mary are all alleged to have had jobs at the large Vauxhall motor plant which dominated the town.
However, they spent their spare time singing together whenever the opportunity arose. They enjoyed singing the kind of pop tunes that were to become popular during the second half of the 1950s- not quite rock and roll, and not conventional ballads either.
Their's was an up-beat novelty style and it attracted the attention of David Jacobs who had only recently established himself as a top disc jockey at the BBC. After an appearance on the the seminal "6-5 Special" TV show, a recording contract with Columbia quickly followed.
The Mudlarks' first release didn't sell well, but their second, the novelty "Lollipop" (a cover of a record by Americans, Ronald and Ruby), went almost to the top despite having another cover version from U.S. four-piece girl group, "The Chordettes" close behind.
They chose another US number for their next release. Despite this being a doowop number, from the deeper voiced US group "The Monotones", they successfully transformed it into another novelty and again managed the top ten.
Sadly, this was to be their last major hit on record although the group remained popular until well into the 1960s. Despite the fact that record buyers seem to have gradually lost their taste for the pop novelties that the Mudlarks were so good at producing, the group remain one of those that surely pioneered the emergence of a new UK grown sound. http://www.45-rpm.org.uk/dirm/mudlarks.htm
1959 - Come Softly To Me / Walkin' Through Dreamland (Gone 5056) 1959 - Summer's Love / All Is Forgiven (Gone 5060)
Biography :
When Arlene Smith, the Chantels' original lead singer, decided to leave to pursue a solo career and Harris had left the group. The Chantels didn't replace either singer and continued as a trio.
Richard Barrett, Valentines' lead singer, took over as their lead singer on a pair of singles, a cover of the Fleetwoods' "Come Softly To Me" and "Summer's Love" (a remake of the first Valentines record), which peaked at # 93 in Billboard (Gone 5060, 1959). http://www.thechantels.com/discography.htm
1959 - Two Hearts Make One Love / Lost In Dreams (Gaity 169)
Biography :
The Wisdoms, which included St. Paul Central High School students Jerry Reed, Horace Rivers, Ray Brown, and Gene Moore, earned a quick following throughout the city of Minneapolis for their quick-footed dance moves and tender harmonies. In the summer of 1959, a year after forming, the Wisdoms recorded "Two Hearts Make One Love" and "Lost In Dreams"(Based on "Every Day Of The Week" by the Students) backed by the Glenrays. They were unhappy with the results and returned to Gaity to re-recorded the same songs this time with the Flames. They are a dozen or more unreleased tunes that cannot be retrieved; presumably they are lost forever.
Jerry Reed, Ray "Bucky" Brown, Horace Rivers and Gene "Butchy" Moore
The A-side is as sweet as can be, a romantic doo-wop ditty about a protagonist's undying love for his dear. The B-side hints at something a little more aggressive and rock-oriented, with members of the white garage rock band the Flames stepping in to add a marching-drum shuffle beat and a tiny sprinkling of surf-oriented guitar work. It was also in 1959 that the Wisdoms and the Flames would be invited to appear on KSTP's Hi Five program, which was modeled after Dick Clark's American Bandstand. Although they'd never experienced any discrimination at their live shows, despite playing parties in several different neighborhoods, it was at one of these televised events that the Wisdoms first experienced how impenetrable Minnesota's racial barrier was in the 1950s.
(The Wisdoms whith the Flames)
"We were good dancers and girls wanted to dance with us,” Gene Moore told Jim Oldsberg's Lost and Found. “Predictably, a white girl would ask one of the Wisdoms to dance. The station, however, didn't condone interracial dancing.” “Because of our popularity, we were confident that Rob Hubbard, the owner of KSTP, wouldn't deny us the opportunity for singing programs altogether,” added Horace Rivers. “Our group had a brazen unwillingness, however, to compromise on who it was we could dance with, but our confidence was tempered with a healthy dose of reality.... Unlike Elvis Presley, who could only be shown on TV moving from the waist up, the Wisdoms could only be shown dancing on television from the waist down.
The Clusters 1958 - Darling Can't You Tell / Pardon My Heart (Tee Gee 102/End 115) 1959 - Long Legged Maggie / Forecast Of Our Love (Epic 99330)
Gus Coletti & The Clusters Single : 1957 - Hold My hand / Without Your Love ( Tin Pan Alley 206) 1957 - Sample Kiss / My Darling Wait For Me ( Tin Pan Alley 207) Unreleased: 1957 - Sample Kiss (version 2) (Tin Pan Alley)
Gus Colletti (bb The Clusters)(uncredited) 1958 - At The Rock And Roll Party (no group) / Life Is Sad And Dreary (Tin Pan Alley 214)
Biography :
The original Clusters were formed in 1957. The group consisted of Charlie Scardina (Lead), Tommy Mordente (first tenor), Donnie Milo (second tenor), Henry (Rico) Ferro (baritone) and Joe Gugliotta (Bass). All members were between 15 & 17 yrs. old out of Brooklyn, New York.
In April of 1958 The Clusters recorded "Darling Can't You Tell" and "Pardon My Heart" The record was released on the Tee Gee record label and became a New York hit. The record reached # 10 on the Regional Billboard charts and #23 on the WMCA music charts.
The group appeared on the Alan Freed big beat TV show and Ted Steeles show at the Paramount theater with Frankie Avalon, Bobby Darin, The Big Bopper, Clyde McPhatter and others.
The Clusters reformed again in the 90's with new members and cut a CD called The Clusters 2000. In January of 2003,The Clusters decided to reform with original Clusters bass, Joe Gugliotta. The "New" Clusters are, Paulie Gee (lead), Joe Gugliotta (Original 1958 Bass), Jerry Pilgrim (first tenor lead), Tony Portalatin (second tenor lead), and Joe Miranda (baritone lead) The Clusters perform the hits of the 50's to the 80's. http://www.theclusters.org/index.html
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