The Coachmen Five (River Edge N.J.) aka Ginny & The Saints (2)
Personnel:
Ray Davis (Lead Singer)
Frank Zillitto (Lead Guitar & Vocal)
Rich Gangi (Rhythm Guitar & Vocal)
Ricky Keith (Bass & Vocal)
Steve Bogue (Drums)
Discography :
The Coachmen Five Featuring Ray Davis 1962 - This I Know / Oh Joan (Janson 100)
Ginny Zee bb The Coachmen Five 1962 - Bobby Baby / You Can't Imagine (Atco 6218)
Ginny (Zee) & The Saints (2) 1962 - Wait, Wait, Wait / Please Be My Boy Friend (Alpene 100)
Biography :
Vocal & Instrumental group composed by Ray Davis, Frank Zillitto, Rich Gangi, Ricky Keith and Steve Bogue. They live in River Edge N.J., except Frank Zillitto, Oradell N.J.. Ginny Zee was actually Ginny Zillitto, who was the sister of Frankie Zillitto, a member of Ray Davis and the Coachmen Five .
Ray Davis wrote both songs for Ginny Zee, "Bobby Baby" and "You Can't Imagine". Ginny also has another record on ALPAN records, "Wait,Wait,Wait" & "Please Be My Boyfriend", with the Coachmen backing her up under a new name : The Saints (Ray Davis wrote again both songs for Ginny). Ray Davis recorded two of his own , "Oh Joan" & "This I Know", before he passed away in 1962.
The Dreamliners 1963 - Just Me & You / Daiquiri (The Velvederes) (Cobra 013) 1965 - A Shoulder to Cry On / The Lonely Fool (Jox 042) 1965 - From One Fool To Another / Best Things In Life (Jox 037)
Rene & Rene bb The Dreamliners 1965 - Chantilly Lace / I'm Not The Only One (HMV 1468/ABC 10699/Ampar 1072/CBS 1942)
Biography
Claire Peralta, Sylvia Wilburn, Cecilia Silva came together in 1961 as the Royaltones in the choir room of South San Antonio High, harmonizing the latest hits while waiting for their parents to collect them. After changing their name to the Dreamliners—inspired by the San Antonio transit system—they began performing at VFW Halls and military bases in greater Bexar County, singing a set of McGuire Sisters-esque ditties for the ranking folks, and the Sound of Young America for the NFG privates. Epstein caught wind of the group in 1963 and signed them without hesitation. A split single with the Velvedeers appeared on Cobra later that year, featuring Wilburn’s original “Just You and Me” as the A-side. The 45 failed to find a footing locally, a by-product of his bloated release schedule and overshadowing by the duo that put Epstein and his ragtag group of labels on the map and in the black.
René Ornealas and René Herrera stormed out of Laredo and onto the national scene with their Spanish-English hybrid smash “Angelito,” issued on Jox in mid-1964. Flush with cash from his first, and arguably only hit artist, Epstein kept the studio open around the clock, recording artists from all over Texas at all hours of the night. The Dreamliners were called back for a series of follow ups, including a turn adding “yeah yeahs” and “ahhhhs” to Rene y Rene’s 1965 take on the Big Bopper’s “Chantilly Lace.” Two other Jox-labeled Dreamliners 45s emerged that year, “From One Fool To Another” b/w “Best Things In Life” and “A Shoulder To Cry On” b/w “The Lonely Fool.” The trio spent the next three years on and off the road, culminating in a residency at The Golden Nugget in Las Vegas backing brown-eyed soul masters Sunny & the Sunliners. The Dreamliners splintered in 1968, with Peralta and Silva choosing motherhood and Wilburn plying her craft in the jingle trade.
(L to R) Oliver Spence, Joe Scott, Richard Anderson and James Wilson.
Little Jimmy & The Sparrows (2) (Philadelphia)
Personnel :
James "Little Jimmy" Wilson (Lead)
Oliver "Ollie" Spence (First Tenor / Lead)
Joe Scott (Second Tenor)
Richard Anderson (Baritone / Second Tenor)
Discography :
1958 - Snorin' / Two Hearts Together (Val-Ue 101)
Biography :
Vocal group from Philadelphia, The Sparrows prowled the precinct of 20th & Brown known in these parts as Fairmount. The year was 1956 or 1957, and most of the Sparrows, a handle concocted by Ollie Spence, attended Vaux Junior High School or Ben Franklin High School. The Original roster shook out as follows, James "Little Jimmy" Wilson, Richard Anderson, Joe Scott and Oliver "Ollie" Spence , there was a bass named Sinclair. but it remains questionable if he ever made it as far the recording studio. He was a troublesome dude sticking up people and stores. He was stabbed to death in prison some years later.
(L to R) Richard Anderson, Joe Scott, James Wilson and Oliver Spence
At their regular rehearsals, the Sparrows gathered confidence and momentum by chirping the most popular fugues of the day, number like "Little Darlin", "Teardrops", "Long Lonely Nights", "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", "Goodnight Sweetheart Goodnight", "Only You", "Earth Angel" …. The Sparrows felt well-armed enough to sign up for one of those highly contested local talent trysts. Coincidentally, it was held at Francisville Playground, their local haunt where the sparrows scored first place. Francisville officials sent the group out as emissaries for their region to compete at other contest , at other Playground. Then they started appearing at local theaters and movie houses.
Little Joe Cook, rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer of Little Joe & The Thrillers, whose song "Peanuts" reached no. 22 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1957 became their manager. In 1958, The group recorded "Snorin" and "Two Hearts Together" arranged by Joe Cook. The Philadelphia based label VAL-UE released the single, but with little promotion the single quickly fall into oblivion. The boys wrote more song, worked hard on them, developed a more professional stage routine. Unfortunately, the group split before having the opportunity to return to the studio.
1959 - The Altairs - George Benson(guitar), Marvin Benson, William Herndon, Ralph Turry, Dan Ponder & Richard Harris
The Altairs (Pittsburgh)
Personnel :
George Benson (Lead)
William Herndon (First Tenor)
Nathaniel Nelson (Second Tenor)
Richard Harris (Baritone)
Ralph Turry (Bass)
Marvin Benson
Discography :
Anne Keith (Anna Mae Jackson) & The Altairs
1958 - Lover's Prayer / Lonely Girl (Anne Keith & The El Venos) (Memo M3)
The Altairs
Single : 1959 - If You Love Me / Groovy Time (Amy 803) Demos : 1959 - Return to Sender 1959 - Great Balls of Fire
Biography :
The Altairs were a group of Pittsburgh high school students that put together a vocal group in 1957. The original members were Tim Johnson, William Herndon, Nathaniel Nelson, Ralph Terry, and Richard Harris. They were heard by Porky Chedwick and another area dee-jay named Sir Walter and were on their way to performing and recording. The father of Richard Harris became the manager of the group and soon there was a replacement of Tim Johnson by guitarist and vocalist George Benson. One of the radio personalities that worked with Porky at WAMO was named Bill Powell, and it was he who persuaded the group to come into the studio and try some backup work for other performers. One of these was Anna Mae Jackson and the song was called "Lover's Prayer".
1953 - Young George Benson holding guitar, seated next to his manager Harry Tepper.
This song was coupled with an earlier tune by Jackson called "Just A Lonely Girl" and released on the local Memo label. This first release by the group went nowhere as far as sales and airplay were concerned, but the group did gain valuable experience in the performing arts. The Altairs made a good impression on the local music scene however, and they were rewarded with many gigs in the area in support of many of the headliners of the day. Billy Ford, a long time R & B performer who had gotten national recognition as part of the "Billy & Lillie" duo (thanks to Dick Clark) put the group in touch with Amy Records located in New York.
By this time in 1959 Benson was the lead singer for the group and they recorded the songs "If You Love Me" and "Groovy Time" on Amy # 803. By the following year Benson had left the group and soon the group was put in touch with song writer Otis Blackwell. Blackwell had also been a recording artist in earlier years with R & B tunes such as "Daddy Rolling Stone" and "Let The Daddy Hold You". He was soon to gain world wide fame as a chief writer for Elvis Presley, and one of the tunes he had The Altairs sing as a song demo was "Return To Sender" and that arrangement was later used on the Presley single of the song.
Anna Mae Jackson The Altairs
The group next moved to a professional partnership with Dinah Washington. Dinah had observed the group performing in a night spot that she was a managing partner in, and was impressed. She soon had them on tour as accompanying performers and formed a vocal ensemble with some former members of The Dells and were known as The D-Gents. With the untimely death of Dinah Washington in 1963, the members of the Altairs went their seperate ways. Two of the members joined a revamped version of The Marcels and played the "oldies circuit" while George Benson became a major performer in the early seventies winning Grammy awards for "This Masquerade" for Record Of The Year, and a tremendous reworking of The Drifters hit "On Broadway" among many others.
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