Eklablog
Follow this blog Administration + Create my blog

The Alladins

Posted on by dion1

The Alladins
(L To R) Cosmo Watkins, Steve Harrison, Curtis L Ware and Joe A.Brock

The Alladins (Spokane, Washington)

 

Personnel:

Joe A.Brock (Lead)

Cosmo Watkins (Baritone)

Steve Harrison (Bass)

Curtis L Ware (Tenor)

 

Discography :

Single :
1960 - Gee / Then (Prism 6001)

Unreleased :
1960 - Blue Moon (Prism)
1960 - Thunderbird  (Prism)

 

Biography :

In 1960, a Spokane singing group, The Alladdins, had released their first record on the Prism label owned by Fletcher Daniels. The Alladins took their name from a Trent avenue Building. Three of the singers blended their talents first in 1957: Joe A.Brock, from Baltimore, the lead, Cosmo Watkins , Chicago, Baritone and Steve Harrison, a native of Rochester, N.Y. All were in the Air Force at Fairchild Air Force Base. They were joined in 1959 |by Curtis L. Ware (tenor) who came from Gary, Ind. Ware, at 22 is the baby of the quartet. They sing without accompaniment and the orchestra was dubbed in later on their record in which they sing "Then" and "Gee". They have recorded two more songs with Prism for release at any Time. One side is their own "Thunderbird" and the other a calypso-type, cha-cha version of the old standard "Blue Moon".

 

Songs :

  
Then                                                     Gee

...

See comments

The Aladdins

Posted on by dion1

clockwise from top : Morrie Marino, Robert A Fortunato, Nick Fortunato, Vinny Gangi & William Schwartz

 
The Aladins  (Greenwich, Connecticut)


Personnel :

Morrie Marino

Robert A Fortunato

William Schwartz

Vinny Gangi

Nick Fortunato

 

Discography :

???

 

Biography :

Unrecorded group from Greenwich (Connecticut) The Aladdins ( was composed  by Morrie Marino, Nick and Robert A. Fortunato, William Schwartz & Vinny Gangi.

The Alladins



...


See comments

The Teen-Clefs

Posted on by dion1

The Teen-Clefs
George Heidtman, jim morfino, John Falbo & Charlie Velez

The Teen-Clefs (Bronx, New York)

 

Personnel:

Charlie Velez (Lead)

jim morfino

John Falbo

Charlie Velez

 

Discography :

...
...

See comments

The Chymes aka Four Chymes aka The Three Chimes

Posted on by dion1

The Chymes aka Four Chymes aka The Three Chimes

The Chymes (Brooklyn, NY)
aka Four Chymes aka The Three Chimes

 

Personnel :

Gil Pabon (Lead)

Larry Gerona (First Tenor)

Ray Diaz (Second Tenor)

Carmine Scibelli (Baritone)

 

Discography :

The Chymes
1964 -  If I Give My Heart To You / On The Street Where You Live (Musictone 6125)

Four Chymes
1964 - The Gypsy / Now Look At Who's Crying (Musicnote 121)

The Three Chimes
1964 - Tears And Pain / Show Me The Way (Crossway 444)

 

Biography :

In 1961, Lenny coco & The Chimes entered a local studio to cut a demo in 1960; a recording engineer called Andy Leonetti, who hustled down and signed the newcomers to his fledgling Tag label. Leonetti pressed up the ballad under the slightly off-kilter title of "Once In Awhile" that autumn. The Chimes' debut single soared to #11 pop in early '61. The group would not find success with their following albums, and split up in the middle of the decade. Andy Leonetti did not give up and in 1964 signed another Brooklyn group on his Musicnote label. He calls them The Chimes with a different spelling, The Chymes. Composed by Gil Pabon, Larry Gerona, Ray Diaz and Carmine Scibelli , the group recorded "If I Give My Heart To You" b/w "On The Street Where You Live" followed by "The Gypsy" and "Now Look At Who's Crying" some time later as the Four Chymes. After one member left, Andy Leonetti released on his Crossway label "Tears And Pain" and "Show Me The Way" as the Three Chimes.

 

Songs :

The Chymes

  
   If I Give My Heart To You              On the Street Where You Live


The Four Chymes

  
Now Look At Who's Crying                        The Gypsy              


The Three Chimes

  
Tears And Pain                               Show Me The Way

...

See comments

The Cardigans (1)

Posted on by dion1

The Cardigans (1) (Chattanooga, TN)
(Updated by Hans-Joachim)

 

Personnel :

Mike Alday  (Lead)

Jack Bookout

Ted Schreiner, Jr

Curtis Harmon

 

Discography :

1957 - Your Graduation Means Goodbye / Bo Weevil On The Mountain (Mercury 71251)
1958 - Wacky Wacky / It's Better That You Love (Mercury 71349)
1959 - Each Other / Poor Boy (Mercury 71367)
1959 - Make Up Your Mind / Half Breed (Spann 431)

 

Biography :

Dabbling in poetry writing his high school day, Young Joe Hopper wrote "Your Graduation" as a poem early fall 1957 while he was attending the University of Chattanooga. It Was set to music by Mike Alday, a member of a male quartet who called themselves "The Cardigans". The Cardigans were from City High School in Chattanooga, TN. Mike Alday was the lead singer along with Jack Bookout, Ted Shriner and Curtis Harmon. Curtis Harmon left the group in 1958 to return to college and was replaced with Bob Brandon.

The Cardigans (1)
Seated, Jay Michael (WCAE Deejay) with Curtis Harmon, Ted Schreiner, Mike Alday and Jack Bookout

The Group sang "Your Graduation Means Goodbye " at several campus functions where it always made such a hit that the boys decided to tape record it. They took the tape to the National Disc Jockeys Convention in Nashville, Teen; in November 1957 and contrived to play it for Al Talmadge, the vice president of Mercury Recording Co. He signed The Cardigans and "Your Graduation" on the spotted the song was put on Wax Dec. 17, 1957.

    

The Tuneful ballad with a gentle rocking beats doing very well in record shops and on the radios around the country. Billboard and Cashbox Magazines each have picked it to be spotlighted as hit of the week.  "Your Graduation Means Goodbye " received some airplay in several parts of the country around this time in 1958, but not enough to reach the top 100 nationally.  

 

Songs :

    
Your Graduation Means Goodbye          Bo Weevil On The Mountain 

  
         Wacky Wacky                            It's Better That You Love

  
   Poor Boy / Each Other                  Make Up Your Mind / Half Breed

  ....

See comments

The Velquins aka The Vel-Quin Singers

Posted on by dion1

The Velquins aka The Vel-Quin Singers

The Velquins (St. Paul, Minn.)
aka The Vel-Quin Singers

 

Personnel :

John Stafford (Lead)

Eddie Ballard (Tenor)

Sylvester "Peachy" Eaves (Baritone)

Clarence "Huffy" Wright (Bass)

Allan Jones

 

Discography :

The Velquins (Valquins)
1959 - My Dear / Falling Star (Gaity 161/162)

Bobby Wharton & The Little Green Men  with The Vel-Quin Singers
1962 - I'll Cry / You Don't Believe Me (no group) (Golden Wing 3284)

George Davo bb the Velquins (Uncredited)
1958 - All Through With You / Candy Man (no group)  (North Star-2073)

 

Biography :

The Same St. Paul, Minnesota scene that brought us the Wisdoms also gave us Gaity labelmates the Velquins, who had started out in 1956 as the Cranes, then the Jades, and ultimately settling on the Velquins as their group name.

The Velquins aka The Vel-Quin Singers
(L to R : John Stafford, Clarence "Huffy" Wright, Allan Jones, Eddie Ballard & Sylvester "Peachy" Eaves. Kneeling: Buzz Ransom

The Velquins used local rockers the Teen Kings as their backing band.  The Twin cities had fierce territorial rivalries amongst vocal groups but the Velquins were always welcome behind enemy lines. A University of Minnesota frat once asked them to sing a boiling pot at a jungle theme party! The Velquins unsuccessfully auditioned for both Chess and Vee-Jay in Chicago.

The Velquins aka The Vel-Quin Singers   The Velquins aka The Vel-Quin Singers

They did back George davo on his single "All through with you" on North Star, and recorded their own lone Gaity release "My Dear" / "Falling Star", bringing in Henry Jones of the Five Blind Boys to beef up their sound. All copies misspelled the group name as the Valquins. The Group sang also on "I'll Cry" by Bobby Wharton & The Little Green Men under the name of The Vel-Quin Singers.



Songs :

The Velquins

    
Falling Star                                       My Dear


Bobby Wharton & The Little Green Men  with The Vel-Quin Singers


I'll Cry

...

See comments

The Smoothtones (1)

Posted on by dion1

The Smoothtones (1)
1953 - Kenny McMillan, Alfred Gaitwood, Joe Martin, Enoch Hale, Walter Lowry
Thanks to Liam

The Smoothtones (1) (Pittsburgh)

 

Personnel :

Alfred Gaitwood (Lead)

Enoch Hale (First Tenor)

Joe Martin (Second Tenor)

Walter Lowry (Baritone)

Kenny McMillan (Bass)

 

Discography :

1955 - Bring Back Your Love / No Doubt About It (Jem 412)

 

Biography :

The Smoothtones surfaced in 1953 in Pittsburgh. The lead, Alfred Gaitwood, was from Alabama and found himself in Pittsburgh with a U.S. Air Force unit. Gaitwood rounded up  Enoche Hale (First Tenor), Joe Martin (Second Tenor), Walter Lowry (Baritone), and Kenny McMillian (Bass). Gaitwood named the group the Smoothtones. Paul Ruffin was their manager.


L to R : Alfred Gaitwood,  Walter Lowry, Paul Ruffin (Manager), Bill powel (DJ), Kenny McMillan, Jud Hunter & Joe Martin

Hale was drafted in 1954 and was replaced by Jud Hunter at First Tenor. Through networking, Gaitwood met Lennie Martin, who ran the operations at Jem Records . (Martin would later be instrumental in forming Calico Records [Skyliners] and Robbie Records.) The Smoothtones recorded two sides for Jem in June 1955. Interestingly, these were the first black vocal group releases out of Pittsburgh. Early in 1956, Gaitwood was transferred to another air force base. Jud Hunter then brought Sylvester Brooks into the group at lead.

   The Smoothtones (1)

This altered group went back to Jem to record two more sides. Supposedly, they recorded the Gaitwood-penned "It's Too Late Now."  A pressing of this disc has never been seen. Jud Hunter, in an interview by Carl and Nancy Janusek, swore that this was released and that he saw the recording on wax. (This cannot be confirmed — perhaps it was never released.) It was later done by the Cufflinks on Dootone. Gaitwood was with the group at that time. With Gaitwood gone, the cohesiveness that once held the group together disappeared, and they disbanded in September 1956.
http://www.uncamarvy.com/Cufflinks/cufflinks.html



Songs :

  
Bring Back Your Love                         No Doubt About It




…

See comments

Ronnie Booker & The Boardwalkers

Posted on by dion1

Ronnie Booker & The Boardwalkers
(L to R) Lany Ross, Leon Garrison, Andrew Sims, Billy Foster and Ronald Booker

Ronnie Booker & The Boardwalkers (Atlantic City, New Jersey)

 

Personnel :

Billy Foster (Tenor/Guitar)

Ronald Booker (Lead)

Leon Garrison (Tenor)

Lany Ross (Bass)

Andrew Sims (Baritone)

 

Discography :

Single :
1957- She Won't Go Steady / What'll I Do? (Rex 103)

Unreleased :
1957 - She's the Girl in My Dreams (Rex)

 

Biography :

Ronnie Booker & The Boardwalkers were a Vocal group from Atlantic City, N.J. composed by five singer  Ronnie Booker, William Foster, Andrew Sims, Leon Garrison and Lanny Ross. With their truly "resortish” monicker, and with not one member of the group over 23, the localites have cut a recording acclaimed by professional musicians and critics in March 1957.   The disc, "She Won't Go Steady" and “What Will I Do" demonstrates that talent of the versatile vocalists. "Steady" is a ballad involving trials and tribulations of a youth whose best girl won't go steady with him, and "What Will I Do," an up-tempo with a hard driving beat.

Ronnie Booker & The Boardwalkers

Booker is the lyricist and Foster writes the music, Garrison has also penned one of his own, "She's the Girl in My Dreams.” Booker sings lead, and Foster croons tenor and plays guitar. Though voung in years, "The Boardwalkers" have all had ample previous experience in the singing profession, Each boy got his start vocalizing in church choirs.

 

Songs :

  
She Won't Go Steady                                What'll I Do?     

...

See comments

The Melodears

Posted on by dion1

The Melodears
(L to R) Millicent "Millie" Fitzgerald, Annette Chimento & Madeline "Maddy" Stone

The Melodears (Belmore, New York)

 

Personnel :

Annette Chimento

Madeline "Maddy" Stone

Millicent "Millie" Fitzgerald

 

Discography :

1958 - Charock  / Summer Romance  (Gone 5033)
1958 - It's Love Because / They Don't Say (Gone 5040)

 

Biography :

In 1958, Ed Portnoy and Stan Feldman, Ivy records, just overhead in love with their newest group, The Melodears. The Trio consists of Millicent "Millie" Fitzgerald, Annette Chimento  and Madeline "Maddy" Stone , Seniors at Wellington C. Mephan High school in Belmore. Though busy with school work and extra curricular activities, they still find time to practise every day and stay on the top of their class scholastically.

The Melodears   The Melodears

Their first on Gone, "Chamrock" was written and a & r’d by writer of "Wheel Of Fortune" and many other hits, George Weiss and produced by Portnoy and Feldman. Ivy Records was set up in Sept 57 by Stan Feldman & Ed Portnoy. It was based out of 1697 Broadway, New York. The label's 1st release was "it's Only You Dear" by the Deltairs.

The Melodears  The Melodears  The Melodears
The Melodears : Millie, Annette and Maddy

The pair didn't have too much success distributing their product so signed lease deals for it to come out on APT, Gone & Felsted . A second single was released by Gone in 1958 with "It's Love Because" b/w "They Don't Say".

 

Songs :

  
Charock                                          Summer Romance

…

See comments

The Chandeliers (1) aka The Chandeliers Quintet

Posted on by dion1

The Chandeliers (1) (Midtown Kansas City, Missouri)
 aka The Chandeliers Quintet

 

Personnel :

Luther Rice (Tenor Lead)

William Watson (First & Second Tenor, Second Lead)

Reginald "Sandy" Johnson (First Tenor)

George Chambers (Second Tenor)

Jesse Watson (Bass)



Discography :

The Chandeliers Quintet
1958 - Blueberry Sweet / One More Step (Angle Tone 521)

The Chandeliers (1)
1958 - Blueberry Sweet / One More Step (Angle Tone 521)
1958 - Dolly / Dancin' In The Congo (Angle Tone 529)
1973 - Wild Cherry / Tender Love (Angle Tone 520)
 

Biography :

Doo wop quintet the Chandeliers formed in Kansas City in 1954. According to Marv Goldberg's profile in the April 1998 issue of Discoveries, first tenor/second lead William Watson and his bass brother Jesse co-founded the group with tenor/lead Luther Rice, first tenor Reginald "Sandy" Johnson, and second tenor George Chambers. Deriving their name simply by looking up at the ceiling during rehearsal, the Chandeliers honed their harmonies playing one-nighters and cabarets across the Kansas City region.

The Chandeliers (1) aka The Chandeliers Quintet
(L to R) William Watson, George Chambers, Reginald "Sandy" Johnson, Jesse Watson and Luther Rice

In mid-1957, manager Saul Davis arranged an audition with Atlas label exec Bobby Robinson, and weeks later the group recorded the Davis-penned "Blueberry Sweet," issued on Atlas in early 1958. The single emerged as a hit at home and in St. Louis and New York, and the Chandeliers mounted a brief Midwest tour highlighted by a Kansas City date on the same bill with the fledgling James Brown. "Dolly" followed in the summer, but fared poorly and Atlas chose to shelve a proposed third single, "Wild Cherry." In mid-1959 William Watson enlisted in the Navy, effectively spelling the Chandeliers' demise.

   

Jesse Watson and Luther Rice soon joined him in the service, and together they continued harmonizing on an informal basis, but only Rice returned to music full-time, working for a series of radio stations.
Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide


Songs :

  
Blueberry Sweet                                One More Step

  
           Dolly                                 Dancin' In The Congo 


  
Wild Cherry                                         Tender Love 
 

 

...

See comments

1 2 > >>