Doo Wop - Rhythm & Blues

The Foster Brothers aka The Foster Bros.

Posted on February 26 2022 by dion1

he Foster Brothers aka The Foster Bros.

The Foster Brothers (Evanston, Illinois)
aka The Foster Bros.

Personnel :

Ray Pettis (Lead)

Lavern Gales (Lead)

Donald Clay (First Tenor)

Lindsay Langston (Second Tenor)

George Lattimore (Bass)

Discography :

The Foster Bros.
1957 - Tell Me Who / I Said She Wouldn't Do (El Bee 161)
1958 - I Could Cry / Never Again (Hi Mi 3005)
1960 - Land Of Love / Let's Jam (Dillie 101)

The Foster Brothers
1958 - Show Me / If You Want My Heart (Mercury 71360)
1959 - Trust In Me / Why-Yi-Yi (Profile 4004)
1960 - Revenge / Pretty, Fickle Woman (B and F 1333)

Biography :

After the Gems broke up, Sometime in 1957, Ray Pettis took over as the lead of another Evanston-based vocal group called the Foster Brothers (although its components were not brothers) They considered themselves ‘foster brothers’ because they had always called group member Lindsay Langston’s mother “Mama.” They sang somewhat anachronistically popular songs from the early 50s and later 40s. Donald Clay formed the group in the late 1930s naming it ‘The Four Harmonizers’, a Gospel quartet. Although its style already came across as dated in 1956, the group recorded for John "Lawyer" Burton's El Bee label that same year, for a tiny label called Hi Mi (1958), for Mercury (the Foster Brothers' only effort for a major company—also 1958), for Mel London's Profile label in 1959, for Bud Brandom's B&F label in 1960, and finally for another boutique label called Dillie (also 1960).

he Foster Brothers aka The Foster Bros.
The Foster Brothers The Gems

As a soloist, Pettis recorded for the Boss and Dee Dee labels (which were co-owned by former Gem Bobby Robinson). He was on singles for Boss released in 1962 and 1963, and on one side of a single for Dee Dee (1963). After a single for Salem in 1965 and one for Exodus (run briefly by Jimmy Bracken and Vivian Carter after Vee-Jay went bankrupt, 1966), Pettis recorded his last two singles for Dee Dee in 1969. Ray Pettis died on December 12, 1991, in Evanston, Illinois.

Songs: :


     Tell Me Who                             I Said She Wouldn't Do


I Could Cry                                  Never Again


Land Of Love                   Let's Jam


     Show Me                            If You Want My Heart


Trust In Me                                      Why-Yi-Yi


       Revenge                               Pretty, Fickle Woman

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The Prells (2)

Posted on February 26 2022 by dion1

The Prells (2)
John Petillo, Frank Campanile, Pat Siciliano and Antony Orifici

The Prells (2) (Asbury Park, NJ)

Personnel :

Pat Siciliano

Frank Campanelli

John Petillo

Antony Orifici (Guitar)

Discography:

Unreleased :
1965 - Bo-La-Le La-Le-La / I Believe

Biography :

By the 1950’s Asbury Park’s schools were integrated and white teenagers were getting into black music, especially doo wop. One such group, the Darchaes traces its origins back to the Siciliano home on the 1400 block of Asbury Avenue. Sam Siciliano sang with the Darchaes and Patsy Siciliano had his own group, Patsy & the Prells . The Prells were Frank Campanelli, John Petillo and Antony Orifici. Later, Anthony Castellucia replaced Pat Siciliano. They have a lot of personnel changes during their career

The Prells (2)
The Prells Patsy & the Prells : Patsy Siciliano, Joey Colangelo, Joey Vetrano, Ronn Costabile

The Prells recorded "Bo-La-Le La-Le-La" and "I Believe". They Gave the demonstration records in the hand of two promoters who make a Master copy for distribute it. Unfortunately the disc will never come out The Prells toured the New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania Tri-State area, opening up for the 'Dick Clark Caravan of Stars' Summer tours and other recording acts of the era such as the Temptations, 4 Tops,4 Seasons, Supremes, The Drifters the Tokens and many others. The Prells disbanded in 1966.

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Bill Cecere & The New Boys aka The Variatones

Posted on February 24 2022 by dion1

Bill Cecere & The New Boys aka The Variatones
1954, The Variatones at Club Rendevouz, Frankie Valli, Tommy DeVito and Hank Majestic

Bill Cecere & The New Boys
aka The Variatones (Later The Four Lovers)

Personnel :

William Cardinale aka Bill Cecere Lead)

Frankie Valli

Tommy DeVito

Hank Majestic

Discography :

Single :
1958 - Day After Day / Jealous Heart (Anchor 143 / Bilco 143)

Unreleased
1955 - I’ll Always Love You, Dear (Anchor)

Songs :

Frankie Valli (real name Francis Castelluccio) began his singing career in the early 1950s with the Variety Trio (Nickie DeVito, Tommy DeVito, and Nick Macioci). He cut his first single, "My Mother's Eyes" in 1953 as "Frankie Valley", a variation on a name he adopted from "Texas" Jean Valli, a female hillbilly singer. Around this time, Valli and Tommy DeVito left the house band at The Strand and formed The Variatones with Hank Majewski, Frank Cottone, and Billy Thompson. In 1955, The Variatones consisted of Frankie Valli, Tommy DeVito and Hank Majestic.

Bill Cecere & The New Boys aka The Variatones

The group backed an Italian Newark's singer named Bill Cecere (Bill Cecere was his stage name, his real name was William Cardinale) on three songs: "Day After Day", "Jealous Heart" and "I’ll Always Love You, Dear". For some unknown reason, "Day After Day" and "Jealous Heart" would be released three years later on Anchor and Bilco as Bill Cecere & The New Boys . Some time later, with the addition of Nick DeVito, big break came in early 1956 when backing up a female singer's audition for two New York record men. One of the two record men, Peter Paul, was suitably impressed enough to become their manager. A week later, they were themselves auditioning for RCA. RCA signed them up that day and the group selected a new name, The Four Lovers.

Songs :

Day After Day

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The Belltones (4)

Posted on February 20 2022 by dion1

The Belltones (4)
Bob Timmons, Gary Thresher, Jim Holmes and Jim Souslin  

The Belltones (4) (Columbus University, OH.)

   Personnel :

Bob Timmons

Jim Holmes

Jim Souslin

Gary Thresher

Don Dickerson

 Discography :

1963 - (Please Try) To Understand Me / Swingin' Little Chicky (Olimpic 241 /Itzy 1)

 Biography :

  The Belltones was organized in 1961 when the members were all students at Columbus Business University. In addition to Jim Souslin, who plays the guitar and sings as well as directing the group, are Bob Timmons of Columbus, the soloist, Gary Thresher of Muncie, Ind., the pianist and organist and Jim Holmes of Leescreek, who sings bass. The group are both a vocal and instrumental group. Originally it included four members but they expanded to five with the addition of Don Dickerson, a drummer. Jim Souslin of Norwalk played a key role in the production of the recording, released by Olympic Record Studio of Cincinnati for not only did Souslin compose the words and music of both songs on the record but he heads the vocal group, The Belltones which cut it.

The Belltones (4)

The record included "(Please Try) To Understand Me", a ballad, and "Swingin' Little Chicky", a rock 'n roll number. Olimpic records was formed by Phil Gary for releasing records by himself and his group, the Catalinas. Souslin accompanies the group with his electric guitar and they are also backed up by Jimmy Jamaal and his combo a group which formerly was with Lionel Hampton. The Belltones have appeared on television in both Cleveland and Columbus and have played for a number et dances banquets and proms.

Songs :

(Please Try) To Understand Me Swingin' Little Chicky

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The Classicals

Posted on February 19 2022 by dion1

The Classicals

The Classicals (Los Angeles)

Personnel :

Clevell Nichols

Lloyd Killebrew

Lloyd McCoy

Grant W. Taylor

Robert Key Jr.

Discography :

1961 - The Camel / Help Me (Prudential 1002)
1962 - One More River / The Camel Caravan (Kent 379)

Biography :

Vocal group from Los Angeles composed by Clevell Nichols, Lloyd Killebrew, Lloyd McCoy, Grant W. Taylor and , Robert Key Jr.. In 1961 Clevell Nichols write two songs "The Camel" and "Help Me". The group will record the tracks which will be released by a small Los Angeles label called Prudential. With a first single in hand, the group will knock on the door of the prestigious Kent records, a Los Angeles-based record label, launched in 1958 by the Bihari brothers. Clevell Nichols and the group wrote two new songs "One More River" and "The Camel Caravan" that Kent records will release in 1962.

Songs :

(updated by Hans-Joachim)

Help Me

One More River The Camel Caravan

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The Royal Holidays

Posted on February 18 2022 by dion1

L to R : Vernon Williams, Chester Scott, Charles Farley, Kenneth Fuqua, Jerry Wallace
The Royal Holidays (Detroit, MI.)

Personnel:

Vernon Williams (First Tenor/Lead)

Chester Scott (First Tenor/Lead)

Kenneth Fuqua (Second Tenor)

Jerry Wallace (Baritone)

Charles Farley (Bass)

Discography :

1958 - I'm Sorry / Margaret (Penthouse 9357/Carlton 472)
1959 - Down In Cuba / Rockin' At The Bandstand (Herald 536)

Biography :

Vocal group from Detroit, MI. composed by Vernon Williams (First Tenor/Lead), Chester Scott (First Tenor/Lead), Kenneth Fuqua (Second Tenor), Jerry Wallace (Baritone), Charles Farley (Bass). The Royal Holidays originally formed in Detroit in 1955, and composed by composed by Vernon Williams (First Tenor/Lead), Chester Scott (First Tenor/Lead), Kenneth Fuqua (Second Tenor), Jerry Wallace (Baritone), Charles Farley (Bass). From 1955 to 1958, they practiced incessantly and appeared at many local events in the Detroit area.

The Royal Holidays

In 1958, their manager, Harry Nivens, had them record for his Penthouse label. Williams and Scott alternated lead on "I'm Sorry (I Did You Wrong)," which Williams had written. To achieve more effective distibution, Nivens arranged for Carlton Records of New York to distribute "I'm Sorry" and "Margaret." "Sorry" sold fairly well and afforded the group several East Coast tours with several well-known deejays. The Royal Holidays' second release, "Down in Cuba" was also written by Williams. He and Fuqua sang lead. This disc was released on New York's Herald label in January 1959.

The Royal Holidays

The group made appearances at New York's Apollo Theater late in 1959. They also made appearances at the Howard Theater in Washington, D.C., and the RoyalTheater in Baltimore. They also appeared on Dick Clark's American Bandstand. "I'm Sorry" was not a success, and they disbanded in the early 1960s. Williams went on to sing wth the Pyramids on Cub and Vee Jay and the Satintones on Motown. Vernon Williams had been with Sax Kari and the Quailtones on Josie.

Songs :


I'm Sorry                                            Margaret


        Down In Cuba                           Rockin' At The Bandstand

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The Smart Tones

Posted on February 17 2022 by dion1

The Smart Tones (New Brunswick, NJ)

Personnel :

George Gregory

Leroy Pittman

Robert Pruitt

William Terrell

John Murray Jr.

Discography :

1958 - Ginny / Bob O Link (Herald 529)

Biography :

Herald Records was founded in New Jersey in 1950 by Fred Mendelsohn (1914-1999) who had previously worked as a talent scout and songwriter for Savoy Records. Over the years Herald Records would go on to sign and record some of the greatest artists of our time: The Nutmegs, The Mello-Kings, The Turbans, Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs, The Squires, Tony Maresco/Dynamics, many others ... and The Smart Tones, a quintet from New Brunswick.

The Smart Tones

The New Brunswick group begin as a foursome, which had been singing together informally since schooldays was managed by Max Harrison of Metuchen . The group were composed by George Gregory, Leroy Pittman, Robert Pruitt and William Terrell. In early 1958, the Group were joined with 16-year-old John Murray Jr. of Rahway. Max Harrison and Frank J. Wolf composed two songs "Ginny" and "Bob O Link". The new quintet, who perform as the Smart-Tones recorded the two songs released by Herald in September 1958. The Smart Tones were probably named after the publisher, Smart Music Corp., which handled all Copyrights for Harrison & Wolf.

Songs :

Bob O Link Ginny

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The Interludes (1)

Posted on February 16 2022 by dion1

Otha Sonnie, Freddie Jackson, Hugo Winterhalter (RCA musical director), Frankie Anderson, Eddie Adams and Kenny Loftman

The Interludes (1) (Boston, MA)

Personnel :

Frankie Anderson (Lead)

Otha Sonnie (First Tenor)

Kenny Loftman (Second Tenor)

Eddie Adams (Baritone)

Freddie Jackson (Bass)

Discography:

Single :
1958 - I Shed A Million Tears / Oo-Wee (RCA 7281)

Unreleased :
1958 - In The Night (RCA)
1958 - The Wadda-Do (RCA)

Biography :

The original members of the group were Frankie Anderson who sang lead tenor; Kenny Loftman, second tenor; Eddie Adams, baritone; Freddie Jackson, bass, and Otha Sonnie who sang first tenor. Actually, the group was formed as a result of a number of different local groups breaking up. Frankie and Otha had been singing together with a group called the Del-Rays who later changed their name to the Four Legends. Both groups had the same personnel: Frankie, Otha, George Adams, who sang baritone and a second tenor named Paul Francis. When the Four Legends disbanded, Frankie and Otha stayed in touch and decided to try again. Frankie contacted Eddie Adams who suggested asking Kenny Loftman, who was a schoolmate, to join.

The Interludes (1)

The first time They got together, the four of them knew they had a good sound. Their initial intent was to keep the group to only four. However, there was something noticeably missing when Eddie had to double on bass and baritone on some songs.   That when they decided to add a bass singer and it was Freddie. In 1957, WBZ, and its affiliated stations, sponsored a nationwide talentt hunt. They ente red the contest and won the local and regional competition here in Boston. The national finals were held in New York where other groups from all over the country were brought in. First prize was a RCA recording contract and an appearance on Patti Page's Record Show. There were six judges, one of whom was Hugo Winterhalter. They tied with a female group called the Deb-Tones from Oregon. Since the judges couldn't break the tie, they awarded both groups contracts. They cut their only 45 rpm for that label on May 28, 1958. Several tunes were recorded at this session but only one was released. The record failed to attract a lot of attention. The group broke up soon after recording because of discord between members. Certain individuals would not come to practice sessions. If they came at all, they were late. Or they would totally miss performances.

Songs :


I Shed A Million Tears                                 Oo-Wee

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The Twins aka The Twin-Tones (2)

Posted on February 13 2022 by dion1

The Twin-Tones aka The Twins

The Twin-Tones (2) (Hicksville, Long Island)
aka The Twins
(updated by Hans-Joachim)

Personnel :

John Cunningham

James Cunningham

Discography :

Singles :

The Twin Tones (2)
1958 - My Dear / The Flip Skip (Skip-Tip) (RCA 7148)

The Twins
1958 - Jo Ann's Sister / Who Knows The Secret (RCA 7235)
1958 - Gee Whiz / Classroom Rock (RCA 7382)
1959 - Heart Of Gold / Buttercup (Lancer 106)

The Twin-Tones aka The Twins

Eps :

The Twin Tones (2) - Jim & John (RCA 4107)
1957 - Jo-Ann / Before You Go / My Dancing Lady / One Mail A Day

The Twin-Tones aka The Twins

The Twins (Jim And John) Teenagers Love The Twins
1958 - My Dear / The Flip Skip (Skip-Tip) / I Want A Girl / Together Forever

The Twin-Tones aka The Twins

Lps :

The Twins Jim and John - Teenagers Love The Twins (RCA Victor LPM-1708)
1958 - Jo-Ann / Who Knows The Secret / My Dear / Before You Go / After Dark / The Flip-Skip (Skip-Tip) / Bubble-ee Bubble-ee Bubble Gum / Jo-Ann's Sister / Give Me Your Picture / You Know You Love It

The Twin-Tones aka The Twins

Biography :

On 20 December 1957, Jim and John Cunningham, the Twin-Tones, appeared or the 100th broadcast of Dick Clark's American Bandstand, along with Jerry Lewis, who performed his only hit. "Rock-a Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody". The Twin-Tones sang 'Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now". Jim & John were not Patiente and Prudence in drag. They were two good looking blonde boys from Hicksville High School in Long Island, New York.

The boys recorded a cute rock-a-ballad called "Jo Ann" for RCA Victor, which was quickly covered by a group of three chubby comedians called the Playmates who turned the song into a hit for Roulette. RCA did not give up, however, releasing an LP, an EP and several singles, like "The Skip Flip" and "Jo-Ann's Sister" Unlike the Midnighters, they failed to record "Jo-Ann Had A Baby".

The Twin-Tones aka The Twins

The reader should not attach any cosmic meaning to the following, but both the Twins' and the Playmates' album covers featured the acts on motor scooters. One may, however, deduce that the Twins' booking on the Alan Freed Holiday Show at the Paramount Theater may have had something to do with the fact that 'Jo-Ann's Sister' was published by Freed's Figure Music.

The Twin-Tones aka The Twins

The twins didn’t realize and profit for composing the song – nor did they make any money from their RCA Victor long play and such was the business back then. John Grant Cunningham, born on September 22, 1940 in Flushing, New York, passed July 18, 2016 in Brockwell, Arkansas. His twin brother James William Cunningham died May 29, 2018 in Cullman, Alabama.

(There were in fact two different Twin Tones duets. The Twin Tones on Monte Carlo 005 were girls)

Songs :

(updated by Hans-Joachim)

Jo- Ann                                         My Dear


The Flip Skip                           Before You Go


My Dancing Lady                           One Mail A Day


Jo Ann's Sister                           Classroom Rock


   Buttercup                                        Together Forever

     After Dark                             Give Me Your Picture


Bubble-ee Buble-ee Bubble Gum               Who Knows The Secret


I Want A Girl                                      My Foolish Fling


This Feelings Bound To Love    T.V. Hop

Heart Of Gold

……

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The Spindrifts

Posted on February 12 2022 by dion1

Freddy Cannon

The Spindrifts (Lynn, Massachusetts)

Personnel :

Frederick A. Picariello (Freddy Cannon) (Lead)

John Falzone

David Sugarman

Discography :

1958- Cha Cha Doo / Belinda (Hot 1000 / ABC 9904)

Biography :

Freddy 'Boom Boom' Cannon was pretty much the last of the 50s rockers. His records were wild, raucous affairs, propelled by loud whoops, a booming backing and a thumping beat - all of which invariably made them sound dated. Indeed, his breakthrough hit, the brash "Tallahassee Lassie", heralded a booting, big band style which, by 1959, already sounded anachronistic. Yet it has served him well and with a couple of dozen major hit records under his belt, a half-dozen of which were million-sellers, Freddy continues to tour and record to this very day. He was born Frederick Anthony Piciarello Jr, on December 4th, 1939, in Swampscott, Massachusetts, and was raised in the neighbouring town of Lynn. Freddy grew up in a musical environment- his father played trumpet in local bands and he was encouraged to listen to singers like Big Joe Turner on the radio. When R&R came along he was quickly seduced by it, his earliest heroes being Chuck Berry and Elvis.

The Spindrifts
(Original Majestics 1956) John Falzone second from right.

As a 16-year old he (allegedly) played guitar on The G-Clefs' Doo-Wop classic "Ka-Ding-Doug" and the following year Freddy Cannon recorded with two Boston buddies: John Falzone (who was part of the original Majestics before they recorded for 20th Fox) and David Sugarman who wrote with him the two songs. The single will be released by Hot Records (Boston). "Cha Cha Doo" b/w "Belinda" will be picked up by ABC-Paramount for distribution.. With The Spindrifts, he writing, singing and playing guitar on 'Cha Cha Doo', which became a significant local success. However, he wanted to get into more mainstream R'N'R to which end he formed his one band, Freddy Karmon & the Hurricanes, who very quickly became popular in and around Boston, managed by local deejay Jack McDermott.

Songs :

Belinda Cha Cha Doo

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