Doo Wop - Rhythm & Blues

The Keynotes (2)

Posted on May 6 2020 by dion1

The Keynotes (2)
L to R : Billy Ables, John Fisk, Ray Flannery and Douglas Taylor

The Keynotes (2) (Nashville, Tennessee)

Personnel :

Ray Flannery (First Tenor)

Billy Ables (Second Tenor)

Douglas Taylor (Baritone)

John Fisk (Bass)

Discography :

1954 - Who / They Say (Dot 15225)

Biography :

In 1953, they were four David Lipscomb college students who decided to organize a quartet. Their names were Billy Ables, 19, second tenor; Douglas Taylor, 20, baritone; John Fisk, 19, bass; Ray Flannery, 19, first tenor. They decided to call themselves "The Keynotes." They entered the talent show sponsored by THE NASHVILLE TENNESSEAN and the East High School Men's club. They won first prize. An unending series of invitations to make singing appearances began to flood them. Soon they were singing before all sorts of audiences. Randy Wood of Dot Records in Gallatin, Tenn., invited them in for an audition and liked what he heard. The Keynotes signed a recording contract and recorded " Who" b/w "They Say" released by Dot.

Songs :
(updated by Hans-Joachim)

Who / The Say

...

See comments

The Lonely Guys

Posted on May 5 2020 by dion1

The Lonely Guys

The Lonely Guys (Oakland, CA)

Personnel :

Jame Ellington (Lead)

Bob Selva (Baritone)

Tony Cardinale (Tenor)

Ted Bell (Bass)

Discography :

1961 - The Way You Look Tonight / Moon Flight (inst.) (Caddy 117)

Biography :

Dick Hugg, known to his listeners as "Huggy Boy", was instrumental in the promotion of rock and roll in the 1950s. He was the first white disc jockey to broadcast (on station KRKD) from the front window of John Dolphin's popular all-night record store, Dolphin's of Hollywood, at the corner of Central and Vernon Avenues. He was one of the first, if not the first disc jockey's to play the Penguin's "Earth Angel". In 1955, Hugg would start his own record label, Caddy Records.

The Lonely Guys

In 1960, he Managed a young black vocal group named the Lonely Guys from Oakland composed by Jame Ellington (Lead), Bob Selva (Baritone), Tony Cardinale (Tenor) and Ted Bell (Bass). According to Bob Selva, It's in 1961 (Not 1957) that the Lonely Guys recorded "The Way You Look Tonight" coupled with an instrumental "Moon Flight" released on Caddy #117. The Lonely Guys stayed together for over 10 years, played a lot of gigs, around the states .

Songs :

The Way You Look Tonight

...

See comments

The Avalons (2)

Posted on May 5 2020 by dion1

Jimmy Colwell, Chuck & Mike Packevicz , Phil Tutino

The Avalons (2) (New Heaven, CT.)

Personnel:

Chuck Packevicz

Dave Kendricks

Jim Colwell

Ed Hayden

Larry Meeker

Discography :

1974 - Cheaters / Stuttering (Wallis 100)

Biography :

Vocal group from from New Heaven,CT, originally know as the The Pastels in 1957, they changed their name when "Been So Long" by the Air Force Pastels reached # 4 on the Billboard R&B chart and # 24 on the pop chart. They changed their name by the Avalons from the box of the deck cards (The Avalon Deck). The Avalons is composed between 1957 and 1958 of various singers like Ed Hayden, Larry Meeker, Chuck Packevicz, Dave Kendricks or Jim Colwell.

The Avalons (2) Marty Kugell

In 1957, they recorded two songs for Marty Kugell’s Klik Records: "Cheaters" and "Stuttering". Klik was a short-lived New Haven’s label that never really had much in the way of hits but nonetheless cranked out a small batch of absolutely great doo wop sides before the payola scandal of 1959 closed its doors. Kugell, like most of his contemporaries in the record business did not keep detailed files on every group he recorded in the fifties. Many are unfortunately just names on a tape or demo, never tobe fully identified. Finally in the 70s, Wallis Records released the Klik Demos on a singles.

Songs :

Stuttering Cheaters

…

See comments

The Five Chances ref : The Maples

Posted on May 4 2020 by dion1

The Five Chances
Reggie Smith, Ronald Johnson, Johnny Jones, Jesse Stafford and Howard Pitman

The Five Chances (Chicago)
ref : The Maples

 Personnel : 

Darnell Austell (Lead)

Eddie Stillwell (Lead)

Reggie Smith (Tenor)

Harold Jones (Baritone/Tenor)

Howard Pitman (Baritone)

John Austell (Bass)

Discography :

The Five Chances
Singles :
1954 - I May Be Small / Nagasaki (Chance 1157)
1955 - All I Want / Shake A Link (Blue Lake 115)
1956 - Gloria / Sugar Lips (States 156)
1957 - My Days Are Blue / Tell Me Why (Federal 12303)
1960 - Need Your Love / Land Of Love (Corina 2002)
1960 - Need Your Love / Is This Love (PS 1510)
Unreleased :
1954 - Make Love To Me (Chance)
1954 - California (Chance)
1956 - Bashful Boy (States)

Tiny Topsy bb The Five Chances
1957 - Aw! Shucks Baby / Miss You So (not them)((Federal 12302)

The Maples
1955 - I Must Forget You / 99 Guys (Inst.) (Blue Lake 111)

Biography :

One of the pioneer Rhythm & Blues vocal groups in the wake of the breakthrough by The Orioles was a group from Chicago who were known originally as The El Travadors. They formed during the year of 1950 and the members of the group were Howard Pittman, Reggie Smith, Harold Jones, and the Austell brothers Darnell and John. They began singing together in high school and tried their hand at neighborhood appearances and local talent shows and amateur nights. It was one of these shows held at Chicago's famous night spot, the Crown Propeller, that they made contact with some people with the knowledge of the music scene that could help them. Before long they had a chance to audition for Chance Records, then a top independent label in Chicago. The top talent and A & R man at the label Ewart Abner (who in later years would be a key factor in the success of Vee-Jay and his own Abner labels) liked what he heard and almost immediately changed the name of the group from the El Travadors to blend with the label and so The Five Chances were born.

The Five Chances
(Top) Reggie Smith, (Middle) Harold Jones, Johnny Jones, Howard Pitman, (Bottom) Kenneth Childers

In August of 1954 Chance Records released "Nagasaki" and "I May Be Small" on # 1137 by the group. This ended up being a short relationship between the group and the label, as president Art Sheridan soon folded the Chance label, and so The Five Chances had to look elsewhere in their search for success. On the Al Benson's Blue Lake label, a subsidiary of Parrot Records, The Maples were a one-time ad hoc gathering of vocal group singers who came together in November 1954. The Five Chances started working with singer Kenneth Childers, who was paying for his own sessions to get on record.The Maples were a one-time ad hoc gathering of vocal group singers who came together in November 1954. The Five Chances started working with singer Kenneth Childers, who was paying for his own sessions to get on record. Reggie Smith and Howard Pitman recalled the Five Chances (using the name Maples) making a recording with Childers. But it never got that far according to Johnny "Chubby" Jones (who was the lead singer for the Five Chances at the time). Rather, Jones arranged to back Childers at the recording session with an ad hoc group consisting of himself, Albert Hunter (from the Clouds), and Andrew Smith (from the Fasinoles).

The record was "I Must Forget You" b/w "99 Guys" and the group was dubbed the Maples. Like many Benson-produced jump sides, "99 Guys" gets a superb instrumental break courtesy of Von Freeman on one of the tenor. At this time Johnny "Chubby" Jones had replaced John Austell in the group. Blue Lake released "All I Want" and "Shake-A-Link" with Darnell Austell on lead. Except for a brief flurry of airplay in their native Chicago, the record did not receive much in the way of sales nationally. Once again the Five Chances were looking for another record label, and they went once again to a Chicago independent, this time the States label. "Gloria" and "Sugar Lips" were released in May of 1956 on States # 156. The group tried to get the word out about their effort with appearances like the one they did in June of the year at Chicago's Trianon Ballroom called "Blues-O-Rama" that also starred Ray Charles, Muddy Waters, The Kool Gents, and others.

The Five Chances
Ronald Johnson, Howard Pitman, Jesse Stafford, Reggie Smith and Johnny Jones

Unfortunately it was more of the same for the group. By the following year they found themselves on still another label. This time it was the Federal label based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the group was going through a number of personnel changes. In July of 1957 Federal released "My Days Are Blue" and "Tell Me Why" on # 12303. In September the group appears at a big R & B midnight show at the Senate Theater presented by Sam Evans. Also on the bill are Jimmy Reed, Slim Harpo, Sonny Boy Williamson, and others. The Five Chances also appear at a R & B show in Joliet, Illinois Coliseum with Magic Sam, Billy "The Kid" Emerson, and others. By the end of the year the Five Chances had all but called it a day as a recording entity.

Songs :

The Five Chances


I May Be Small / Nagasaki               All I Want / Shake A Link


Gloria / Sugar Lips            My Days Are Blue                   Tell Me Why


Need Your Love / Land Of Love                    Is This Love


Make Love To Me                California                         Bashful Boy

Tiny Topsy bb The Five Chances

Aw! Shucks Baby

The Maples


I Must Forget You                        99 Guys

…

See comments

The Franciscans

Posted on May 3 2020 by dion1

The Franciscans

The Franciscans (San Francisco, CA.)

Personnel :

Benny Stevens Jr (Lead)

Leroy Johnson

J. C. Loggins

Theodis Riley

Larry Thornton

Discography :

Single :
1963 - Mother Please Answer Me / Walk To The Bottom Of The Sea (Jimbo 01/02)
Unreleased :
1963 - Ocean Of Love (Music City)

Biography :

The Franciscans started about 1959 in San Francisco and were composed of Benny Stevens Jr, Leroy Johnson, J. C. Loggins, Theodis Riley and Larry Thornton. It is at the end of 62 / beginning 63 that they recorded "Mother Please Answer Me" b/w "Walk To The Bottom Of The Sea" released by Jimbo record. They were together until about 1963 when the group started to fall apart. This occurred shortly after they returned from Los Angeles. They would go to Los Angeles occasionally to do some recording. They got a new manager and that is when things began to fall apart. The manager approached Bennie Stevens who they call Steve about leaving the group and going solo. He turned the offer down because those were his friends. This was a hard decision for him because he really wanted to sing. The manager decided that since Bennie Stevens would not leave the group he would invest in another singer : the manager’s girlfriend. He took off with their money and dropped them.

Songs :

Mother Please Answer Me Walk To The Bottom Of The Sea

Ocean Of Love

...

See comments

The Bachelors (3) aka The Music Men (1)

Posted on May 2 2020 by dion1

The Bachelors (3) Top : Fred Merola & Santo "Sandy" Ratineri- Center : Kenny "Vance" Vogt - Bottom : Charlie Guanierie & Chico Gambardella

The Bachelors (3) (New Heaven, CT)
aka The Music Men (1)

Personnel :

Kenny "Vance" Vogt (Lead)

Santo "Sandy" Ratineri

Chico Gambardella

Fred Merola

Discography :

Kenny Vance & The Bachelors (3)
1957 - Flaming Red Hair / Did Your Pen In Sunshine (Winston 8001)

The Bachelors (3)
Singles :
1957 - From Your Heart / A Million Teardrops (National 104)
1958 - Today, Tomorrow, Forever / I Want A Girl (National 115)
1958 - Teenage Memory / Sometimes (MGM 12668)
Unreleased :
1958 - I'm Sincere (MGM)
1958 - Moon (MGM)

The Music Men (1)
1959 - Blue Bird / Santa Cruz (Bigtop 3006)
1959 - An Open Fire / Via De Paradisio (Bigtop 3014)

Biography :

Vocal group from New Heaven composed by Santo ”Sandy” Ratineri, Chico Gambardella , Fred Merola and Ralph Donnarummo. The Bachelors, all New Haven, Connecticut residents, first organised in 1956 under the name of the Teardrops. They worked the Connecticut and New York areas and built up quit a following for themselves under that name. Kenny Vance who is now a New Haven resident hails from Chicago, Illinois.

He came to Connecticut to live near his manager and also "to be near New York where everything is going on". He worked as a single in most of the top Connecticut nite-spots before teaming up with the the Teardrops to Replace Ralph Donnarummo. That happened one night after both acts worked a dance-job at the town House in New Haven. At the age of 23, Kenny is the oldest member of the group. When a new group called the Teardrops came out on the King label, the boys had to change their name to the Bachelors.

The Bachelors (3)

Bandleader Bobby Madera (Bobby Woodlen), ABC Paramount recording star was the co-composer of two tunes which he offered the boys after he heard them sing at a dance in New Haven. The tunes were suited to the style of the Bachelors and The Bachelors were suited tot he style of the tunes. A recording session was scheduled and "Flaming Red Hair" and "Did Your Pen In Sunshine" were released on the Winston Record Label. The release of the record brought a "double-first", as this is the first offering by Kenny Vance & the Bachelors and the first released by Winston.

The Bachelors (3) aka The Music Men (1)
Kenny Vance

In 1957, Charlie Guanieri join the Bachelors and the group sign a recording contract for National records. National label operated by industry veteran Joe Leahy for a short period in New York in 1957. It seems there may have been at least five totally different National labels over the years. The Group cut two singles for Joe Leahy, and "From Your Heart" became a Northeast regional hit song. Chico Gambardella abandons the group to execute his military obligationsand the quartet with Kenny Vance, Sandy Ratinieri, Fred Merola and Charlie Guanierie recorded a single for MGM in 1958 "Teenage Memory" b/w "Sometimes" . Two other titles were recorded but MGM will never release them.

The Bachelors (3) aka The Music Men (1)

But the story does not end there, at the end of 1958, the Bachelors signed a recording contract with Johnny Bienstock from BigTop records and in January 1959, Bigtop released the first of their two singles under their new name The Music Men, "Blue Bird" b/w "Santa Cruz" and four months later, a second single will be released by Bigtop : "An Open Fire" b/w "Via De Paradisio".

Songs :
(Updated by Hans-Joachim)

The Bachelors (3)

From Your Heart A Million Teardrops Sometimes

I Want A Girl (Shame Shame On You) Teenage Memory Today, Tomorrow, Forever

..

See comments

The Kodaks aka The Kodoks aka The Kadak's

Posted on May 1 2020 by dion1

The Kodaks aka The Kodoks aka The Kadak's

The Kodaks (Newark, New Jersey)
aka The Kodoks aka The Kadak's

Personnel :

Pearl McKinnon (Lead)

James Patrick (First Tenor)

William Franklin (Second Tenor)

Larry Davis (Baritone)

William Miller (Bass)

Discography :

The Kodaks
1957 - Teenager's Dream / Little Boy And Girl (Fury 1007)
1957 - Oh Gee, Oh Gosh / Make Believe Worlds (Fury 1015)
1958 - My Baby And Me / Kingless Castle (Fury 1019)
1958 - Guardian Angel / Run Around Baby (Fury 1020)

The Kadak's
1960 - Don't Want No Teasing / Look Up To The Sky (J&S-1683 / 1684)

The Kodoks
1961 - Twista Twistin' / Let's Rock (Wink 1004)
1961 - Mister Magoo / Love Wouldn't Mean A Thing (Wink 1006)

Biography :

An early male R&B group with a female lead, the Kodaks' chief asset was the uncanny similarity of Pearl McKinnon's voice to that of Frankie Lymon. Pearl's first group got together in Newark, New Jersey, at Robert Trent Junior High and consisted of 15-year-old Pearl, Marian Patrick, and Jean Miller. The boys, who grew up in the Baxter Terrace housing project, included Marian's brother James (lead, tenor, and brother of Charles Patrick of The Monotones), William Franklin (second tenor), Larry Davis (baritone), and William Miller (bass). The guys met Pearl in 1957 and felt she would be the unique twist that would differentiate them from the volume of vocal acts singing throughout Newark. The group's influences included The Harptones, The Spaniels, The Heartbeats and Frankie Lymon's Teenagers.

The Kodaks aka The Kodoks aka The Kadak's
The Kodaks (1957) William Franklin, William Miller, James Patrick and Larry Davis

Whether conscious or not, Pearl's amazing ability to sound like Frankie made the group a popular quintet around the Baxter Terrace recreation hall where they rehearsed. They called themselves the Supremes (over four years before the Detroit superstars) and when they felt confident enough headed for Harlem to audition for Fury label owner Bobby Robinson. Since Bobby had reportedly missed out on signing Frankie Lymon because he had been late for an appointment with Richard Barrett (who had then taken Lymon downtown to George Goldner's Gee label), he made up for it by grabbing the Supremes and recording "Teenager's Dream," a ballad Pearl and he collaborated on.

The Kodaks aka The Kodoks aka The Kadak's
Pearl McKinnon

At this time the group decided to change their name to the Kodaks after the camera company. Both "Teenager's Dream" and its flip, the rollicking "Little Boy and Girl," were immediate New York airplay favorites, and the group's smooth yet enthusiastic harmonies gave both the songs and Pearl's lead an aura of quality not found in many of the Lymon-like groups. The group's second single, "Oh Gee Oh Gosh," written by Pearl when she was 12, became their best-known effort; it did well in the Northeast and reached number eight R&B on their hometown chart in June 1958. They performed a number of times at the Apollo, did the chitlin circuit from Philadelphia's Uptown Theatre to the Howard in Washington, and appeared on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand." Around this time Franklin and Davis left to join the Sonics ("This Broken Heart," Harvard, 1959).

The Kodaks aka The Kodoks aka The Kadak's

They were replaced by Harold "Curly" Jenkins and Richard Dixon. The group had two more Fury singles, neither of which reached the level of the previous efforts, and within a year the Kodaks had disbanded. Pearl married and stopped performing; James Patrick joined his brother in the Monotones. Miller, along with his wife Jean, Harold Jenkins, and Renaldo Gamble (the Schoolboys, Okeh), formed a new Kodaks and recorded one single for Zell Sanders' J&S label in 1960 and two for Sol Winkler's Wink label, the best side being "Love Wouldn't Mean A Thing". In 1960 Pearl, along with Carl Williams (first tenor), James Straite (second tenor), Luther Morton (baritone), and Aaron Broadnick (bass), became Pearl and the Del tars and did another version of "Teenager's Dream" for Robinson's Fury label.

Songs :

The Kodaks

Teenager's Dream        Little Boy And Girl                 Oh Gee, Oh Gosh


Make Believe Worlds            My Baby And Me                           Kingless Castle


Guardian Angel                     Run Around Baby

The Kadak's

Don't Want No Teasing Look Up To The Sky

The Kodoks

Twista Twistin' / Let's Rock Mister Magoo

Love Wouldn't Mean A Thing

...

See comments

The Smoothies

Posted on May 1 2020 by dion1

The Smoothies
Top L to R: Mike Boran, John Phillips ana Scott McKenzie - Bottom : Bill Cleary

The Smoothies (New York)

Personnel :

John Phillips

Scott Mckenzie

Bill Cleary

Michael Rand

Discography :

1960 - Softly / Joanie (Decca 31105)
1960 - Lonely Boy And Pretty Girl / Ride,Ride,Ride (Decca 31159)

Biography :

Scott McKenzie (born Philip Blondheim, January 10, 1939, Jacksonville, Florida) is an American singer. He is best known for his 1967 hit single and generational anthem, "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)". McKenzie grew up in North Carolina and Virginia, where he became friends with the son of one of his mother's friends, John Phillips.

The Abstracts became The Smoothies

In the mid 1950s, he sang briefly with Tim Rose in a high school group called The Singing Strings, and later with Phillips, Mike Boran and Bill Cleary formed a doo wop band, The Abstracts. In New York, The Abstracts became The Smoothies and recorded two singles with Decca Records, produced by Milt Gabler. They had a minor hit, "Softly," in the late '50s with the Smoothies. Phillips had arranged his songs with Four Freshmen style harmonies.

The Smoothies
Bottom L to R: Bill Cleary, Scott McKenzie - Top L to R: Mike Boran, John Phillips

In 1961 Phillips and McKenzie met Dick Weissman and formed The Journeymen, which recorded three albums for Capitol Records. They disbanded The Journeymen in 1964, as McKenzie wanted to perform on his own. So Phillips formed the group The Mamas & the Papas with Denny Doherty, Cass Elliot and Michelle Phillips, his second wife. The group soon moved to California. Two years later, McKenzie followed from New York and signed with Lou Adler's Ode Records.

Songs :
(updated by Hans-Joachim)

Softly Lonely Boy And Pretty Girl

Ride, Ride, Ride Joanie

...

See comments