1963 - The Battle Of Love / Please Let Me love You (Bond 1479)
Biography :
Quartet from San Bernardino, the Wings, men all stationed at March Air Force base, won the strategy Air Command talent contest for the West Coast and finished second in the World semi-finals in Mexico City.
The Wings : Albert Ingram, James Garrett, William Simpson, Joseph Lee and Issac Woods...
The Quartet won a contract from Liberty Records in Hollywood and with some personnel change, cut two sides "The Battle Of Love" b/w "Please Let Me love You" .
Albert Ingram, Robert Washington, Joseph Lee, Issac Woods, Mary Jo Loins (Fan Club) and Johnny Blanton (Manager)
in 1963, both titles are released on Bond Records under the name of The Ripples.
1960 - Nothing Can Go Wrong / Richie, Come On Down (Roulette 4245)
Biography :
Jimmy Ognibene and Charlie Mazza sang with the Domineers and asked Jimmy Sacco, John Camera and Frankie Lombraia who sang with The Majestics to join the group. They left The Majestics and joined the group back in 1958.
Original Domineers with Jimmy Ognibene and Charlie Mazza
The Domineers sang several times at St Michaels and other clubs in Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island. The group is from Ozone Park, Queens they would sing with the other groups in the area, The Capris, the Admirations and the Quotations. They cut one single "Nothing Can Go Wrong" b/w "Richie, Come On Down" in 1959 on the Roulette label. Thanks to Jim Sacco
The Tempo Toppers & The Deuces Of Rhythm 1953 - Ain’t That Good News / Fool At The Wheel (Peacock 1616)
The Tempo Toppers Featuring “Little Richard” 1954 - Rice, Red Beans and Turnip Greens / Always (Peacock 1628)
Biography :
In late 1952 Little Richard had finished up his association with RCA Records when he met the Tempo Toppers in Nashville. The group needed a lead singer, and he was available, so an agreement was made for Richard to become the front man for what would now be a vocal quartet. After an early gig at the Dew Drop Inn in New Orleans, they arrived in Houston for an engagement at the Club Matinee, where they met Don Robey, owner of Duke Records / Peacock Records.
Little Richard Don Robey
Apparently Robey liked what he heard and saw, because the group signed a recording contract with him shortly thereafter. On February 23, 1953, the Tempo Toppers recorded four songs at the ACA Studio in Houston with Deuces of Rhythm. They sounded like many of the gospel influenced black vocal groups of the day, and were strongly influenced by the Dominoes and their lead singer at that time, Clyde McPhatter.
Their first single, "Fool at the Wheel", was a regional hit in the south, and the group was very popular in Texas, but could not break out at all nationally. Richard quit the group abruptly in the summer of 1953 and went back home to Macon, Georgia.
Robey eventually issued a second single, "Rice, Red Beans and Turnip Greens", by the group from that February, 1953 recording session (released in March of 1954), but this was long after Richard had left the group. In between that time Richard returned to record a solo session (October 5, 1953) for Robey, backed by the Johnny Otis Orchestra. Those songs were not released until after Little Richard had become a huge star in 1956.
Singles : 1959 - Launie, My Love / Which One Will It Be? (Willette 114/Coral 62119/62177)
Unreleased : 1959 - I Go Lookin' For Jeanie (Coral) 1959 - Jolyn (Coral)
Biography :
The story began in 1958 at Turtle Creek High School. There were at least four different vocal harmony groups in school, whose members would sing at assemblies or on the street corner. Two groups joined forces - three fellows came from one group, two fellows from the other group.
The Val-aires
From one group came Burkette, first tenor Hugh Geyer and bass vocal Don Miller. The other group consisted of second tenor Chuck Blasko and another vocalist, Neil Foster.After rehearsing and getting their vocal harmonies to meld properly, they named themselves the Val-Aires and impressed a local producer, Elmer Willett, who later became their manager.
The Vogues
Willett produced the Val-Aires' first release, "Which One Will It Be / Laurie My Love" (Willett 114), and it sold enough copies in Allegheny County that in Coral Records picked it up for national distribution (Coral 62177). 'Which One Will It Be' was just a regional hit, but The Val-Aires then picked up a supporter when the top rock and roll DJ in Pittsburgh, Porky Chedwick, added the group to the rock and roll shows and record hops that his station promoted.
The Vogues
After high school, a couple of the guys got drafted and went into the service, then came out of the service and we got back together again. they did shows with the Drifters, the Platters, the Dells, groups like that when they came into town. Before the Val-Aires could have another hit, Hugh Geyer and Don Miller joined the Army, while the other band members went to college or found jobs in the factories surrounding Turtle Creek. A few years later, the five friends decided to record again. Bill Burkette, Don Miller, Hugh Geyer and Chuck Blasko became the Vogues.
Singles : 1959 - Tip Toe / Window Of Love (Buzz 104)
Unreleased : 1959 - Kiss Of Goodbye 1959 - Through The Wind and The Rain 1959 - The Avenue Of Tears 1959 - Toni
Biography :
Vocal trio from Coraopolis formed in 1958 as the Three dots with Don Chance, Sammy Long & Jim Short . They cut on single in New York for Buzz records. The Group has appeared on the Dick Clark show twice, and is gaining in popularity among the teen-age set in a wide area. The group performed a lot of record hops throughout the Pittsburgh area.
Don Chance They Work with The Cobras, a local instrumental trio made up of John Taylor, Dale Diaz & Steve Turkovich who will back the group. The Three Dots also cut two new records in New York the end of Juanary, they are : "Kiss Of Goodbye" with a flip side "Through The Wind and The Rain" and "The Avenue Of Tears" with "Toni". Unfortunately the records were never released.
The Jaynells 1963 -I'll Stay Home / Down Home (Inst.) (Cameo 286/Diamond 153) 1984 - Out Of A Million Girls / At The End Of A Sunset (Angela 101) 1984 - Portrait of Love / Hollywood Actor (Angela 102)
The Gleems 1963 - Sandra Baby / You Are The One (Parkway 893)
Biography :
When the four instrumentalists in the Jays merged their talents with the four vocalists in the Cornells in 1961, they logically called themselves the Jaynells. For the singers - Vic Spina, Cornell McDaniels, Phil Nigro and Pierre Massey - being a self-contained band meant a better shot at success. They Got that chance on October 28, 1963 when "I'll Stay At Home (New Year's Eve)", written bu George Davis and John Taylor of the Creators, and "Sandra Baby" were recorded under the supervision of Ben Archilla.
Phil Nigro, Pierre Massey, Cornell McDaniels and Vic Spina
Ben Archilla was an independent producer, he did not work for Cameo Parkway. If he really asked them "do you want to see the record released" he could've put it out independently. He shopped the master around until someone showed interest, and the Kolsky brothers bought it and issued it on Diamond records. Cameo records came in once the record started to take off, and bought the master from Joe Kolsky, along with the Jaynells contract. This immediately took the Diamond 45 off the market and by this point Cameo realized they were too late in getting their version of the disc out for the Christmas/New Years season, and decided to scrap re-releasing it. The group recorded a second 45 for Cameo, which was issued on their Parkway label, but when the 45 was released, their name was changed to the Gleems (which the band did not know about and was not happy about). In fact, the original tape box for the follow up single has the name the Jaynells on it, crossed out, with The Gleems written on top of it. Four songs from 1963' session were released in 1984 on the Angela label.
The personnel who billed themselves as the Mon-Claires had previous stints as vocalizers. Carl "Butch" Wetmore was singing second tenor in a Penn Hills area quartet named the Montclairs. Also included in foursome were Bob Raci, first tenor/falsetto, Don Herberle, baritone and Charles Neff, Bass. Fred Mantsch, the tenor lead, was part of a long forgotten assemblage of teenage songsters. Annette Lodivico warbled with her two sisters at family functions.
All these vocalists were students at Penn Hills High School. Mantsch joined the Montclairs, and in a short time, Annette Lodvico, his girlfriend, followed, bringing the group to six. Don Herberle opted to leave the group and was replaced by Dominic Conte. The restructured group was renamed the Mon-Claires. The Mon-Claires performed a lot of record hops throughout the Pittsburgh area and they had been spotted by the operator of Joey records awned by Joseph R. Tomaino and Joseph LoPresti .
Annette Lodvico, Carl "Butch" Wetmore, Bob Raci, Fred Mantsch, Dominic Conte & Charles Neff .
On September 11, 1961, the Mon-Claires were inked to a five year recording and management contract. Like the Mon-Claires, the Joey label was also getting started. Tomaino and LoPresti launched their Joey label with an original tune cleffed by the Mon-Claires "Please Come Back" with "Baby Sue" penned by Tomano on Joey 6101 . The Group had been performing everywhere but becoming quite discouraged and broke up.
Top : William"Bill"Davis & Daniel "Sonny'"Norton - Middle : Harold Major - Bottom : Gerald Hamilton
The Crows (Harlem, New York) aka The Jewels (1) aka The Four Notes (1)
Personnel :
Daniel "Sonny'"Norton（Lead）
Mark Jackson（Tenor）
Harold Major（Tenor）
William"Bill"Davis（Baritone）
Gerald Hamilton（Bass）
Discography
Fat Man Humphries (bb The Four Notes) 1952 - I Can't Get Started With You / Lulubell Blues (Jubilee 5085)
Viola Watkins (bb The Crows) 1952 - Paint A Sky For Me / Really Real (no group) (Jubilee 5095)
The Crows
Singles : 1953 - Seven Lonely Days / No Help Wanted（Rama 3) 1953 - Gee / I Love You So（Rama 5） 1954 - Perfidia / Piano Player Plays A Tune（Gee 1) 1954 - Heartbreaker / Call A Doctor* (The Jewels (1)) （Rama 10） 1954 - Baby / Untrue（Rama 29） 1955 - Mambo Shevitz / Mambo No.5（Tico 1082） 1954 - Miss You / I Really, Really Love You（Rama 30） 1955 - Baby Doll / Sweet Sue（Rama 50） Unreleased: N/A - Don't Come Back (Rama) N/A - What's The Matter With You, Woman (Rama)
The Jewels (1) 1954 - Call A Doctor* / Heartbreaker (The Crows)（Rama 10）
Lorraine Ellis (bb The Crows) 1954 - Perfidia / [Piano Player Play A Tune - Lorraine Ellis] 1955 - Mambo Shevitz / [Mambo No. 5 - Melino & His Orchestra]（Tico 1082)
*West Coast pressings had "Call A Doctor" credited to the "Jewels"
Biography :
When The Crows started out in 1951, practicing sidewalk harmonies, the original members were Daniel "Sonny" Norton (lead), William "Bill" Davis (baritone), Harold Major (tenor), Jerry Wittick (tenor), and Gerald Hamilton (bass). In 1952, Wittick left the group and was replaced by Mark Jackson (tenor and guitarist).
Frank "Fat Man" Humphries Viola Watkins
They were discovered at Apollo Theater's Wednesday night talent show by talent agent Cliff Martinez and brought to independent producer George Goldner who had just set up the tiny new Rama Records label. The Crows were the first group signed and the first to record. Their first songs they recorded were as backup Fat Man Humphries as The Four Notes and singer Viola Watkins.
The song "Gee" was the third song recorded during their first recording session, on February 10, 1953. It was put together in a few minutes by group member William Davis, with Watkins also being credited as cowriter. The song was first released as the B-side of a ballad, "I Love You So".
However, radio stations began turning it over and playing "Gee," first in Philadelphia and later in New York and Los Angeles. By January 1954 it had sold 100,000 copies, and by April it entered the national R&B and pop charts, rising to #2 R&B and #14 pop.The song was a huge hit a year after it was recorded.
In June 1953, The Crows were back in the studio recording "Heartbreaker" and "Call A Doctor." Issued in July 1953, the disc was released on the West Coast, for unknown reasons, with "Call A Doctor" being credited to the Jewels and "Heartbreaker" to the Crows. http://www.uncamarvy.com/Crows/crows.html
Songs :
Fat Man Humphries (bb The 4 notes)
Lulubell Blue I Can't Get Started With You
The Crows
Seven Lonely Days / No Help Wanted I Love You So Gee
Perfidia / Piano Player Plays A Tune Call A Doctor / Heartbreaker Baby / Untrue
Mambo Shevitz Miss You / I Really, Really Love You Baby Doll / Sweet Sue
Paul Verdi, Jackie Jacobs, Alex Balbadora, Dominick Andraccho
The Venairs (Philadelphia) aka Ernie & The Halos (2) aka The Four Evers (2)
Personnel :
Jackie Jacobs (Lead)
Paul Verdi (Tenor)
Alex Barbadoro (Second Tenor)
Dominick Andraccho (Baritone)
Discography :
The Venairs 1962 - Summertime / Poor Boy (AMS demo) (Unreleased)
The Four Evers (2) 1963 - Everybody South Street / One More Time (Jamie 1247)
Ernie & The Halo's (2) 1963 - Angel Marie / Darlin!!! Don't Make Me Cry (Guyden 2085)
Biography :
This group initially formed in 1960. After a great deal of practice and patience and a demo late spring 1962 as the Venairs , the Four-Evers auditioned for the manager of deejay Jerry Blavat, who thought they were great. Fate unfortunately didn't see it that way and they had to wait until March 1963 before a recording of theirs was produced and released on Philadelphia's Jamie label. “Everybody South Street” b/w “One More Time” arranged by Bob Finizio (The Fabulous Four) came out on February 16, 1963.
Bob Finizio
Prior to the release, there was no South Street dance in existence and when the disc began to take off, a dance was invented. The Four Evers did get on television dance shows in Baltimore, where the record took off. They go down there and first appear on [Buddy] Dean’s TV show and then on Bob Kaye’s with the Flamingos.” The Buddy Dean Show was immortalized as the tv dance show satirized in numerous John Waters productions like Hairspray, The Shag and Cry Baby. The Four Evers were signed as singers not dancers, but the nature of their single required them to try their feet at dancing.
Ernie Spano
About six monist elapsed when Bob Finizio contacted the restless quartet for some work. a few days later, they popped up in a studio all set to support neighborhood homeboy, Ernie Spano a member of the Four Dates who also tripped with the Fabulous Four. The Four Evers also backed Ernie Spano in the Bell-Sound –recorded release, “Angel Marie (The Girl from Across the Sea” b/w “Darling!! Don’t Let Me Cry” (Guyden 2085) which was released on March 27, 1963, soon after their own release. All of the doo-wop groups were soon overtaken by the arrival of the Beatles and the British muscial invasion that would come within the year.
Songs :
The Venairs
Poor Boy Summertime
The Four Evers (2)
Everybody South Street One More Time
Ernie & The Halo's (2)
The Girl From Across The Sea Darlin!!! Don't Make Me Cry
Gloria Jean Williamson, Martha Reeves, Rosalind Ashford, Annette Beard
The Del-Phis (1) (Detroit) aka The Del Fi's aka The Vells (2) aka The Fayettes aka Martha & The Vandellas
Personnel :
Gloria Jean Williamson (Lead)
Martha Reeves (Second Lead)
Rosalind Ashford (Background)
Annette Beard (Background)
Discography :
J J Barnes & The Dell Fi's 1960 - Won't You Let Me Know / My Love Came Tumbling Down (Kable 437)
Leon Peterson & The Dell Fi's 1960 - Silver & Gold / Together Just We Two (Kable 438)
Mike Hanks & The The Del Fi's 1960 - When True Love Comes To Be / The Hawk (Inst.) (Mah's 000.3)
Mike Hanks & The Del-Phis 1961 - I Think About You / I Think About You Part 2 (Mah's 000.4)
The Del-Phis (1) Singles : 1961 - I'll Let You Know / It Takes Two (Checkmate 1005) Unreleased : 1961 - My Heart Tells Me so (Checkmate)
The Vells (2) 1961 - There He Is (At My Door) / You'll Never Cherish A Love So True (Mel-O-Dy 108)
Biography :
After graduating high school, Martha Reeves began singing professionally in 1959 when she joined the Fascinations. The following year, she joined the Del-Fis - Gloria Williamson (lead), Rosalyn Ashford, Annette Beard - from which the Vandellas later emerged, performing at local talent shows and backing Mike Hanks on his record, Leon Peterson and J.J. Barnes's 1962 on “Won't You Let Me Know.”
J J Barnes
Billy Davis snatched them for his Checkmate label for one release as the Del-Phis: "I'll Let You Know" written by Joe Hunter and Martha Reeves and "It Takes Two,". Checkmate folded and Davis moved to Chicago to work for Chess Records. The girls found day jobs but still did backup sessions
From the top : Gloria Jean Williamson, Martha Reeves, Rosalind Ashford, Annette Beard Marvin Gaye
A chance for the Del Fi's came later in 1962 when William "Mickey" Stevenson needed background singers for a Marvin Gaye session; the Andantes were moonlighting in Chicago, so Martha called the Del Fi's down to 2648 West Grand Blvd. to do the job. The song "Stubborn Kinda Fella" became Gaye's first smash and introduced the Vandellas' chirpy sound to the world.
1962: Top left to right - Martha Reeves, Annette Beard, Mary Wells & Dick Clark.
/image%2F0655033%2F20241207%2Fob_c217a1_belmonts-site-2.jpeg)
