Doo Wop - Rhythm & Blues

The Sunbeams (1)

Posted on March 31 2014 by dion1

Top (L to R) - Coleman, Cubo, Davis Bottom (L to R) - Edwards, Williamson

The Sunbeams (1) (Long Island, New York)

Personnel :

Bobby Lee Hollis (Tenor Lead)

John Cumbo (Baritone Lead)

Bobby Coleman (First Tenor)

James Davis (Second Tenor)

William Edwards (Bass)

Discography :

Singles :
1955 - Tell Me Why / Come Back Baby (Herald 451)
1957 - Please Say You'll Be Mine / You've Got To Rock & Roll (Acme 719)
Unreleased :
1955 - Shouldn't I Have A Right (To Cry Over You) (Herald)
1955 - I Love The Way You Look Tonight (Herald)

Biography :

The launching pad for a young Joe Tex, R&B vocal group the Sunbeams formed in Long Island, New York in 1950. Unlike the vast majority of their contemporaries, the group spent close to two years in rehearsals before even seeking out professional gigs, finally making the rounds of the New York City and Long Island club circuits in 1952 -- circa 1953, the lineup included Tex, who soon exited to mount a solo career.

Joe Tex
In early 1955 the Sunbeams signed to the Herald label, quickly recording four Cumbo originals with Hollis on lead -- the single "Tell Me Why" appeared in the spring, but Herald had its hands full promoting concurrent hits from the Nutmegs, the Turbans and Al Savage ("Paradise Princess"), and the Sunbeams slipped through the cracks. Hollis left the lineup in 1956, and with new lead tenor Henry Williamson, the group waited out the remainder of its Herald deal before signing to Acme in mid-'57, releasing "Please Say You'll Be Mine" to little notice a few months later. The Sunbeams split in 1958, with Coleman going solo and Williamson joining one of the many Ink Spots lineups then on tour.
http://www.uncamarvy.com/Sunbeams/sunbeams.html

Songs :


Tell Me Why                                Come Back Baby


Please Say You'll Be Mine                 You've Got To Rock & Roll

...

See comments

The Four Hits

Posted on March 29 2014 by dion1

(L to R ) Robert Hill, William Thompson, Walter Duke and Glen Phibbs

The Four Hits (Stillwater, Oklahoma)

Personnel :

William L. Thompson (Lead)

Robert F. Hill (Tenor)

Glenn E. Phibbs (Baritone)

Walter B. Duke (Bass)

Discography :

1957 - The Magic Melody / Put On Kisses (ABC-Paramount 9789)

Biography :

The Four Hits, a vocal quartet composed of four former Oklahoma state university students, specializes in modern renditions of popular tunes. The Boys had competed against each other in high-school singing contest in 1956 and form the four Hits.

The Four Hits
(L to R ) Robert Hill, William Thompson, Glen Phibbs, Walter Duke

Members of the band since are William L. Thompson, lead, Robert F. Hill, Tenor, Glenn E. Phibbs baritone, all three from Stillwater and Walter B. Duke Bass of Duncan. Prior to join the army, The group was featured weekly over television station WKY-TV in Oklahoma city, and had made two songs in 1957 for ABC Paramount "The Magic Melody" b/w "Put On Kisses".

The Four Hits
(L to R ) William Thompson, Robert Hill, Glen Phibbs, Walter Duke

They appeared in the "Sonny James Show" and have performed with such well-know personalities as Jerry Lee Lewis, the Four Lads and Sonny James. they join the army in September 1957, and continue to perform for the army until 1959.

Songs :
Updated by Hans-Joachim

Put On Kisses

....

See comments

The Cavaliers (1)

Posted on March 28 2014 by dion1

The Cavaliers (1)

The Cavaliers (1) (Hanover, Pennsylvania)

Personnel :

John Greenwood (First Tenor)

Bill Baker (Second Tenor)

Ray Lockett (Bass)

Joe Bastner (Bass)

Discography :

1955 - Somewhere, Sometime, Someday / Honor Bright (Decca 29556)

Biography

The Cavaliers, winners on an Arthur Godfrey talent Scout show cut one single for Decca the same year : "Somewhere, Sometime, Someday" b/w "Honor Bright".

The group appeared in many festivals and club in all parts of United states and Canada. The Quartet includes first tenor, John Greenwood; second tenor, Bill Baker; first bass, Ray Lockett and second bass, Joe Bastner.

Songs :
Updated by Hans-Joachim

Somewhere, Sometime, Someday / Honor Bright

...

See comments

Lonnie & The Carollons

Posted on March 26 2014 by dion1

Lonnie & The Carollons (Brooklyn, New-York)

Personnel :

Irving Brodsky (Lead)

Richard Jackson (First tenor)

Eric Nathanson (Second Tenor)

Jimmy Laffey (Baritone)

Artie Levi (Bass)

Discography :

Lonnie & The Carollons
1958 - Chapel Of Tears / My Heart (Mohawk 108)
1959 - Trudy / Hold Me Close (Mohawk 111)
1959 - You Say / Backyard Rock (Mohawk 112)
1959 - The Gang All Knows / Ike Hammer (Mohawk 113)

Scott Miller bb The Carollons
1958 - It's Love / I Confess (Mohawk 109)

Ricky Reynolds (Eric Nathanson)
1959 - Let's Leave It That Way / Get The Message (Mohawk 201)

Lonnie (Irving Brodsky)
Singles:
1961 - Need You Lovin'/ Beeline (Mohawk 122)
Unreleased:
1961 - Tender Moments (Mohawk)

Biography :

The Carollons were another of the early racially mixed groups to come out of New York City in the mid-'50s, but unlike the majority of R&B street-corner groups , the Carollons had a versatility that covered pop ("Hold Me Close"), country rock ("It's Love"), doo wop ("My Heart"), and rock and roll ballads ("Chapel of Tears").

The Emeralds

The group formed in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn as the Emeralds with Irving Brodsky, Artie Levy, Jimmy Laffey, Tyler Volks, and Robert Dunson (lead). By the time they became Lonnie and the Carollons the lineup had already changed to Irving Brodsky (lead as "Lonnie," age 16), Richard Jackson (first tenor , age 21), Eric Nathonson (second tenor, age 18), Jimmy Laffey (baritone, age 21 ), and Artie Levi (bass, age 17). Richie was black; the others were white and mostly Jewish.

The new name came from the fact that Eric had stayed at the Carollon Hotel in Florida during summer vacation and Irving just liked the sound of the name Lonnie. Though they loved groups like THE CHANNELS, THE MOONGLOWS, THE DELLS, and THE FLAMINGOS and rehearsed other artists' hits like "That's My Desire," "Sincerely," and "Oh What a Night," the songs they would eventually record were all originals, many of which the group members wrote themselves.

In early 1958 the group wandered through Manhattan's maze of music companies singing for whoever would listen. After a number of turndowns they came upon Mohawk Records at 1674 Broadway, where the proprietor Irv Spice was, in their minds, their last shot before they gave it all up. Spice liked the Carollons, and on March 3, 1958, the group started recording at Dick Charles Studios. A strong rock-ballad called "Chapel of Tears" was soon issued and became a Northeast regional area success.

The Vocal-Airs aka The Blue Sonnets

The group did the promo tour circuit of New York, Connecticut, Boston, and Philadelphia, and appeared on Clay Cole's TV show."Chapel" was to be the B side of "My Heart" (an outstanding rocker that deserved its own A side) but a last-minute change of heart made "Chapel" the promoted song. Their second single, "Hold Me Close," made the Carollons sound like the link between the '50s' FOUR COINS and the '60s' VOGUES. A pop ballad with full harmonies and little similarity to the style of their first record, it generated only scattered activity. The Carollons cut four singles then broke up. Eric Nathanson recorded a solo single under the name of Ricky Reynolds before joining The Vocal-Airs. In 1961, Irving Brosky (Lonnie) cut a last single for Mohawk Records
American Singing Groups: A History from 1940s to Today
Jay Warner

Songs :

Lonnie & The Carollons


Chapel Of Tears                        My Heart                               Trudy


Hold Me Close                           You Say                         Backyard Rock


The Gang All Knows                   Ike Hammer

Lonnie


Beeline                                Need You Lovin'

Scott Miller bb The Carollons

I Confess

Cds :

Book :

...

See comments

The Buccaneers

Posted on March 24 2014 by dion1

The Buccaneers (Philadelphia)

Personnel :

Ernest "Sonny" Smith (Lead)

Richard Gregory (Tenor)

Julius Robinson (Tenor)

Donald Marshall (Bass)

Discography :

1953 - Dear Ruth / Fine Brown Frame (Southern 101/Rainbow211)
1953 - You Did Me Wrong / In The Mission Of St. Augustine (Rama 24)
1953 - The Stars Will Remember / Come Back My Love (Rama 21)

Biography :

The Bucaneers was heard by a couple of would be record producers who were students at Temple University, Jerry Halpern and Ed Krensel. In a few short days in November of 1952 a recording session was set up in a studio located in an aging movie theater in central Philadelphia. The group had practiced a tune written by Halpern called "Dear Ruth". The new recording label headed by Halpern and Krensel was called Southern Records. "Dear Ruth" was issued on Southern #101 with the flip side called "Fine Brown Frame" featured The Buccaneers backed up by Matt Child & The Drifters, and the combination sides certainly made for a unique recording.

Southern Records now located in Philadelphia began as best they could, to support their new record by making the rounds of all the local R & B programmers in Philadelphia, and soon expanded to include New York and Baltimore-Washington. Their efforts resulted in some success as the Buccaneers began to sell in these areas. New York based Rainbow Records liked what they heard and soon took over national distribution for the record and re-released it on Rainbow #211.

(L to R) S.Johnson (Arranger & Pianist),E. Smith, J.Halpern (Manager), J. Robinson, George Goldner (Rama) & R.Gregory. Seated : D. Marshall

Soon after Ed Krensel was drafted into the army and Jerry Halpern decided to carry on alone, The Buccaneers were offered to George Goldner and he signed them to his Rama Records label in September of 1953. Soon in the recording studio for Rama, The Buccaneers recorded the pop song "In The Mission of St. Augustine" on Rama #24. A typical jump tune of the time "You Did Me Wrong" was put on the flip side. The record did not do much on the sales charts and so Rama tried again with "The Stars Will Remember" and "Come Back My Love" on Rama #21 (released later despite the numbering system). The third and last single by The Buccaneers was also a failure in sales and airplay. This ended the recording career of the group.
http://home.earthlink.net/~jaymar41/buccaneers.html
Thanks to Marv Goldberg

Songs :


Dear Ruth                      Fine Brown Frame          In The Mission Of St. Augustine


You Did Me Wrong             The Stars Will Remember           Come Back My Love

...

See comments

Norma Brock & The Keynoters (1)

Posted on March 22 2014 by dion1

Beverly Brock, Norma Brock, Comedian George Gobel, Deana Williams and Theodora Allen
Norma Brock & The Keynoters (1) (Bragg City, Mo.)

Personnel :

Norma Brock (Lead)

Beverly Brock

Theodora Allen

Deanna Williams

Discography :

1959 - I'm Gonna Build A Mountain / Ever Good (Pepper 896) 3/59

Biography

High School girls from Bragg City, the Keynoters made appearances on many amateur programs around the country and won the 1957 Mid-South Fair talent contest. The singers also appeared on the Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour and on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Norma Brock & The Keynoters (1)
Norma Brock

After several months of concerts, the girls sign a recording contract with Pepper Records. Pepper Records Founded in Memphis by WDIA Radio owner John Pepper in 1959.

Norma Brock & The Keynoters (1)

The company eventually turned to producing and recording commercial jingles. The Keynoters cut only one single in 1959 "I'm Gonna Build A Mountain" b/w "Ever Good ".

Songs :
Updated by Hans-Joachim

Ever Good / I'm Gonna Build A Mountain

...

See comments

Leigh Bell & The Chimes (7)

Posted on March 21 2014 by dion1

Leigh Bell & The Chimes (7) (Toronto)

Personnel :

Leigh Bell (Lead)

Jim Clark

Myles Devine

Don Murray

Discography :

1959 - Terry / Eternity (Quality1948/Rust 5031/Viking33)

Biography :

Jim Clark, Myles Devine and Don Murray are the Chimes. Jim and Myles knew each other in Scotland. When they met again in Toronto, they formed a trio with Don. Composer Dick Taverner approached the boys with two songs, and they realized that the song were best suited to a girl lead singer.

Leigh Bell met the trio at a party, and a new vocal quartet was born. Conway Twitty and his manager heard the group singing "Terry" at a record hop, and immediately recommended them to a leading Canadian record Label. Charted at #3 on the CHUM chart in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in January 1960. Released as a single around November 1959. In the US, this recording was not released as a single until April 1961. It did not chart in the US in Billboard.

Songs :

Terry Eternity

...

See comments

The Off-Keys

Posted on March 21 2014 by dion1

The Off-Keys

The Off-Keys (Camden NJ.)

Personnel :

Pat Louis Sapia (Lead)

Discography :

Jerry Evans & The Off-Keys
1962 - Oh Little Girl / You Care (Rowe 001/002)

The Off-Keys
1962 - Singing Bells / Our Wedding Day (Rowe 003/004-Technicord 1001)

Biography :

Pat Louis Sapia starting with The Columbia Boys Choir in Princeton, N.J. As a young man he formed The School Quartet, The Off Keys.

In 1962 the Off-Keys backed Jerry Evans on "Oh Little Girl" b/w "You Are"on Rowe records. From the same session, Rowe Records released "Singing Bells" b/w "Our Wedding Day".

Songs :

The Off-Keys

Our Wedding Day / Singing Bells

Jerry Evans & The Off-Keys

Oh Little Girl You Care

...

See comments

The Pretenders (1) aka The Jones Boys aka The Savoys (3)

Posted on March 19 2014 by dion1

The Pretenders (1) (New York)
aka The Jones Boys aka The Savoys (3)

Personnel :

Jimmy Jones（Lead）

William Walker（Tenor）

Bobby Moore（Tenor）

Melvin Walton（Baritone）

Kerry Saxton（Bass）

Discography :

The Savoys (3)
Singles :
1956 - You / Say You're Mine（Savoy 1188）
1960 - With All My Heart / Please Say You're Mine（Savoy 1586）
Unreleased :
1956 - We Made A Vow (Savoy)

The Pretenders (1)
1956 - Possessive Love / I've Got To Have You Baby（Rama 198）
1956 - Lover / Plain Old Love（Rama 207）
1957 - Close Your Eyes (Sleep And Dream) / Part Time Sweetheart（Whirlin' Disc 106）
1958 - Tonight / I Love You So（Holiday 2610）
1958 - Blue And Lonely / Daddy Needs Baby（Central 2605/Apt 25026）

Jimmy Jones & The Pretenders (1)
1956 - Lover / Plain Old Love（Rama 210/Roulette 4243）
1960 - Blue And Lonely / Daddy Needs Baby（ABC Paramount 10094）
1964 - Close Your Eyes (Sleep And Dream) / Part Time Sweethear（Port 70040）

Barbara Gorman And Sister Viv bb The Jones Boys
1957 - Was It Just For Fun / 8 O'Clock（Arrow 714）

Jimmy Jones & The Jones Boys
1957 - The Whistlin' Man / Heaven In Your Eyes（Arrow 717）

Biography :

Jimmy Jones, who had spent a long apprenticeship singing in R&B vocal harmony groups, became a rock 'n' roll star in the early 1960s singing "Handy Man" and other hits with a dramatic and piercingly high falsetto. When Jimmy was around twelve years old he moved from his native Birmingham, Alabama, to New York City.

The Sparks of Rhythm

At that time he was already an accomplished tap dancer, but singing was equally important to him. Role models were Louis Jordan and the Ink Spots and later especially Clyde McPhatter and Jackie Wilson. Early in 1955 he joined a vocal group, the Sparks of Rhythm (originally the Berliners), who landed a recording contract with Apollo Records in July 1955.

Four songs were recorded at their first session, three of them led by Jimmy. When the two resulting singles went nowhere, Jones left the Sparks of Rhythm to form his own group, the Savoys, soon renamed the Pretenders. Their first session was for Herman Lubinsky's Savoy label (for which they were named), on February 2, 1956 and yielded the single "Say You're Mine"/"You" (Savoy 1188).

Jimmy Jones - Bottom LtoR : Lee"Moe" Gail, William Walker, Bobby Moore & Melvin Walton

By coincidence, this was one day after the Sparks Of Rhythm, now without Jimmy, recorded four - then unissued - songs for Apollo, among them Jones's composition "Handy Man" (with bass Andrew Barksdale on lead). In 1957, the Pretenders hooked up with Arrow Records and for some reason, though, there were no records by the "Pretenders"; they were called the "Jones Boys."

Their first task at Arrow was doing the backup on "Was It Just For Fun"/"Eight O'Clock Date" by "Barbara Gorman and Sister Viv. The Jones Boys themselves recorded "The Whistlin' Man" and "Heaven In Your Eyes," which were released in September 1957. "Whistlin' Man".

Jimmy Jones Gorman Sisters

Jimmy led the Pretenders on a series of doowop sides for a number of New York based labels : Savoy, Rama, Whirlin' Disc, Arrow, Holiday, Central and Apt, but nothing came close to denting the charts. In 1959 he was getting tired of groups ("too much responsibility") and decided to go it alone.
http://www.uncamarvy.com/JimmyJones/jimmyjones.html

Songs :
pdated by Hans-Joachim

The Savoys (3)

Say You're Mine With All My Heart You

Please Say You're Mine We Made A Vow

The Pretenders (1)

I've Got To Have You Baby / Possessive Love         Lover / Plain Old Love


Close Your Eyes / Part Time Sweetheart             Blue And Lonely / Daddy Needs Baby


Tonight                               Lover / Plain Old Love             I Love You So

The Jones Boys


Heaven In Your Eyes               The Whistlin' Man

Barbara Gorman And Sister Viv (bb The Jones Boys)

8 O'Clock / Was It Just For Fun

...

See comments

The Seniors (4)

Posted on March 17 2014 by dion1

The Seniors (4) (Boston, Il.)

Personnel :

Fred Pompeo (Lead)

Lenn Scolamiero

Donald Dallessandro

Frank Murphy

Discography :

The Seniors (4)
Unreleased :
1959 - I’m Yours
1959 - Lizzy Belle
1959 - Need Your Love
1959 - Oh Happy Day

The Rhythm Rockers bb The Seniors (4)
1959 - Oh Oh Honey / Madness (Square 505)

Biography :

Vocal group from Boston, with Fred Pompeo on Lead Vocals, Frank Murphy, Lenn Scolameiro and Donald Dallessandro. In 1959 the group Recorded four songs at Ace Recording Studios in Boston. On the four songs, the instrumental accompaniment is done by the Rhythm Rockers (later The Rondels).

The Rhythm Rockers The Seniors : Lenn Scolamiero, Donald Dallessandro, Frank Murphy & Fred Pompeo

Unfortunately the four songs that were never released. The Seniors singing backgrounds on "Oh Oh Honey" by the Rhythm Rockers First Recording.
http://therondels.net

Songs :

The Seniors (4)
Lizzy Belle

The Rhythm Rockers bb The Seniors (4)

Oh Oh Honey

...

See comments