The Majors on Original Records with Pauline Rogers (Center).
The Majors (1) (Brooklyn, NY.)
Personnel :
Bernard "Jimmy" Beckum (Lead)
Eddie Harris (Tenor)
Alvin Scott (Tenor)
Clyde "Bebe" Lee (Baritone)
William Beebe (Bass)
Discography :
Singles : 1951 - You Ran Away With My Heart / At Last (Derby 763) 1951 - Sleepless Nights / I'm Gonna Move Cross The River (Brownie McGhee) (Derby 776) 1951 - Laughing On The Outside, Crying On The Inside / Come On Up To My Room (Derby 779) 1954 - Big Eyes / Go Way (Original 1003)
Unreleased : 1951 - When The Train Comes Along (Derby)
Biography :
When he was fourteen, Beckum joined a Pentecostal church and sang with a gospel group and became the Brooklyn Crusaders. Milton Grayson, later of the Dominoes, sang at this church as well. Beckum sang with many gospel groups before moving to R&B. They changed their name to the Majors and were spotted by Phil Rose and Larry Newton of Derby Records.
Eventually, the Majors recorded Three records for Derby but none of these sold well. In 1953, with some changes of singers, The Majors recorded "Big Eyes" and "Go Away" on Original #1003.. Beckum would later marry the cousin of Willie Winfield's wife, Alice. Through her he met Willie Winfield of the Harptones. When Bill Galloway departed from the Harptones, Beckum was his replacement.
The Ospreys Single : 1958 - Do You Wanna Jump Children / It's Good To Me (East-West 110) Unreleased : 1958 - Wrapped Up In A Dream (East-West) 1958 - My Baby (East-West)
Chuck Willis bb The Ospreys 1958 - What Am I Living For / Hang Up My Rock And Roll Shoes (Atlantic 1179) 1958 - You'll Be My Love / Keep A-Driving (Atlantic 2005)
Biography :
East Harlem, NY-based R&B group the Ospreys formed in 1955. According to Marv Goldberg's profile in the December 1977 issue of Yesterday's Memories, their lineup -- lead Robert Council, first tenor Maurice Williams, second tenor Jackson Thompson, and bass John Miro -- represented a kind of neighborhood supergroup assembling the best voices from four other combos. The first act represented by James A. Dailey, later a prominent New York City R&B manager, the Ospreys built a devoted fan base at local record hops and teen TV showcases, and in mid-1957 signed to Atlantic Records, also home to another Dailey act, the Bobbettes.
Chuck Willis
"Do You Wanna Jump Children" followed on Atlantic's East-West imprint in the spring of 1958, around the same time they backed Chuck Willis on his posthumous smash "What Am I Living For." Atlantic declined to release a second Ospreys single, however, and in 1959 the group dissolved; Miro later resurfaced in the Lincolns, singing lead on their lone Mercury effort, "Baby Let Me Love You." http://www.uncamarvy.com/Ospreys/ospreys.html
Songs :
The Ospreys
Do You Wanna Jump Children It's Good To Me
Chuck Willis bb The Ospreys
What Am I Living For Hang Up My Rock And Roll Shoes
In 1959, Al Anderson began singing as the only black person in a popular vocal & instrumental group, the Fabians in Morgantown. Also in the group are Dave Whiston (Vocal), Keith Collins (bass), Ed Collins (saxophone), Roger Britton (drums), and Ronnie Kemper (guitar). Al Anderson joined The Fabians in 1959 as lead singer and continued until 1962. In February 1962, Bruce Cloud departed from Billy Ward & the Dominoes. This left just a trio: Billy Ward, Monroe Powell, and Milton Merle. To replace Cloud, Ward put an ad in several black newspapers in March. Al Anderson read the ad in a Pittsburgh paper. Ward requested a picture and an audition tape, and that's what Al sent off. The Dominoes were off on a tour, but one day Al got a telegram saying that they were returning at the end of June; he was told to meet them in Bakersfield, California. In 1965, Al sang both the lead and background vocals on the song "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve." The song was released in October of that year. Shortly after cutting the album Al was contacted by his brother and asked to return to Osage, WV where his father was very ill. It was the end of his role with The Dominoes.
Richard Berry & The Pharaohs (1) (Los Angeles) aka The Cyclones (1) aka The Pharaos
Personnel :
Richard Berry (Lead)
Godoy Colbert (First Tenor)
Robert Harris (Second Tenor)
Noel Collins (Baritone)
Discography :
Ricky & The Pharaohs (1) 1956 - Teenager's Love Song / Watusi (Class 202)
Richard Berry & The Pharaohs (1) 1956 - Louie Louie / You Are My Sunshine (Flip 321) 1956 - Take the Key/ No Kissin' and A-Huggin' (Flip 318) 1957 - Louie Louie / Rock Rock Rock (Flip 321) 1957 - You're the Girl / You Look So Good (Flip 331) 1958 - Besame Mucho / Do I, Do I (Flip 339) 1959 - Have Love- Will Travel / No Room (Flip 349) 1960 - I'll Never Ever Love Again / Somewhere There's A Rainbow (Flip 352) 1961 - You Look So Good / You Are My Sunshine (Flip 360)
Trudy Williams bb The Pharaohs (1) 1958 - You’re My Boyfriend / A Foolish Little Girl (Flip 340)
The Cyclones (1) 1957 - My Dear / Do You Love Me (Flip 324)
The Pharaos 1960 - Heads Up, High Hopes Over You / The Tender Touch (Donna 1327)
Biography :
The Pharaohs were formed out of the Jefferson High School in Los Angeles, in 1954 by Godoy Colbert and two friends, Robert Harris, and Noel Collins. Richard Berry parted ways with Modern Records after frustations over songwriter royalties. Waiting for his Modern contract to expire, he signed with Max Feirtag's fledgling Flip label, but still seemed hesitant about a solo career. He used the Pharaohs for his new recordings on Flip, trying out a new, Latin influenced sound. Stacked away on the flip of the first Flip single by Richard Berry and the Pharaohs ("You Are My Sunshine", Flip 321) was a little ditty called "Louie Louie", a calypso-styled song that Berry had based on "El Loca Cha Cha" by Rene Touzet.
Richard Berry
It would be an exaggeration to say that "Louie Louie" went unnoticed at the time of its release in March 1957. It sold well enough to be reissued as the A-side, with "Rock Rock Rock" on the reverse, later in 1957. But his future wife Dorothy wanted an expensive wedding ring and Berry decided to sell the rights to "Louie Louie" and three other songs to Max Feirtag for $ 750. In 1958 Trudy Williams (of The Six Teens) recorded “A Foolish Little Girl” and “You're My Boyfriend”, backed The Pharaohs.
Berry's recording career petered out in the late '50s, though he remained an active performer. In the early '60s, several Northwest bands seized upon "Louie Louie" as cover material, scoring sizable regional hits. But as was quite common at the time, they also assumed another name for a record on the same label. They chose the name the Cyclones for this release and the true identity of the group is one of the reasons why their coupling of My Dear / Do You Love Me is highly sought after.
Richard Berry
Finally, in 1963 the Kingsmen broke the song nationally, reaching # 2. In the decades since then, "Louie Louie" became one of the most oft-covered rock standards of all time; there probably exist well over 1,000 versions. After the departure of Berry from the group, Colbert and the Pharaohs cut one singles for the Donna (DelFi Subsidiary) Record Label under the name of The Pharaos (h?) , and more performing. It was soon after this that Colbert and the Pharaohs themselves decided to call it quits and disband.
1958 - I'm Not Kidding You / Evening Bells (Kappa 206)
Biography :
When the Sputniks (1) decided to call it quits, Curtis Stanton, then took up with The El Domingoes of “Evening bells” fame on the Kappa Rex label. This was a short while after they had recorded and work was still plentiful. The El Domingoes line-up at this juncture was Jay Vernon, lead, guitar and songwriter (Vernon wrote “I’m not kidding you,” the Kappa Rex B-side), Robert Troutt, baritone, Lawrence Thompson, lead, first and second tenor, Curtis Stanton, lead and tenor, plus a bass singer, a country boy remembered only as “Turk.” The El Domingoes played all over the Bay Area, including The 54 Club. In 1962, Curtis Stanton quit The El Domingoes and joined a jazzy trio with Artis Johnson and his old buddy, Robert Beale. This unnamed combo sang jazz standards and was able to find sufficient employment.
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