The Chanters (1) (Santa Monica, CA) ref Gene & Billy aka The Cats
Personnel :
Ethel Brown
Gene Ford
Billy Boyd
Alan Boyd
Discography :
The Chanters (1) Singles : 1954 - She Wants To Mambo / Tell Me, Thrill Me (RPM 415) 1955 - Watts / Why (Combo 78) 1955 - I love You / Hot Mama (Combo 92) Unreleased : 1955 - Do you Remember (Combo)
The Cats 1955 - Get Gone / You're So Nice (Federal 12238) 1955 - I Don't Care No More / After I Gave You My Heart (Federal 12438)
Gene & Billy 1955 - Zerlene / It's Hot / (Spark 120) 1955 - Zerlene / The Whip (Billy & Billygoats) (Loma 702)
Biography :
The Chanters were a Santa Monica vocal group and not to be confused with the Queens, NY group. This group consisted of Ethel Brown from the squires (on Combo) Gene Ford, Alan Boyd, and Billy Boyd. On RPM, they had just this one record. They also had two releases on Combo Records in 1955. Gene Ford had sung with Jim Forrest & The Four Feathers.
When the group broke up, Gene & Billy cut "Zerlene " "It's Hot" in 1955 on the short lived Spark label. Spark Records was the brainchild of the clever Jerry Leiber and the gutsy Mike Stoller. The Same year, Gene & Billy cut two Singles for Federal, King Record's subsidiary, under the name of the Cats.
Singles : 1962 - A Million And One Dreams / Satisfied (Ransom 5001) 1963 - Get Married In June / A Million And One Dreams (Hammer 6313)
Unreleased : 1962 - You're Mine 1962 - I Believe 1962 - It Hurt To Be In Love 1962 - Unchain My Heart (Allen & Kemp)
Biography :
This Group formed in 1958 and consisted of Robert Reese (Lead/First Tenor), Eric Simmons Jr. (Lead/First & Second Tenor), Frederick Simmons (Baritone) and Robbert Baggett (Lead/Bass). They decided to call themselves the "Bell Larks" (later shortened to "Bel-Larks"), imagining ringing chimes and singing birds. The Bel Larks practiced in the basements of the Simmons' Home singing such as "Only you", "Book Of Love" and "Come Go With Me" . They Also sang few original tunes, including "Bobby" and "Dinner at Baggett's".
E.Simmons, R. Baggett, R.Reese & F. Simmons
As the group became more polished, they started performing at local high school dances, parties and neighborhood nursing homes. In the summer of 1959, they asked Roselind Allen to join the group as the Second Lead and Soprano. Roselind had been singing since the age of four or five and at thirteen she formed a group (the Blendtones) with fellow Madison junior high classmates Marie Smith and Geruleve Outley. The gores sang an original song written by Roselind Allen and Marie Smith, entitled "A Million And One Dreams". In August 1960 Robert Reese joined the Navy.
In 1962, The Bel-Larks hooked up with David Ransom, and he became their Manager. Ransom introduced the group to independent record producer Scott Hilton and Together they booked a recording session for the Bel-Larks at Riposo studios on Warren street in Syracuse. they recorded "A Million And One Dreams" and "You're Mine". A second recording session was set up at Riposo Studios and the Bel-Larks recorded "Satisfied" along with their original Tune "Get Married In June", "I Believe" and "It Hurt To Be In Love".
R. Baggett, F.Simmons,R. Allen, R.Reese & E. Simmons
"A Million And One Dreams" b/w "Satisfied" was released on Ransom Records towards the latter part of 1962 and received airplay on local radio station WNDR. Unfortunately, nothing much happened after the release, But the Bel-Larks continue to perform in the Syracuse Aera….Tragically, on July 29, 1963, 21-year-old David Ransom was in a car accident that led to his death on August 7th. Shortly After Ransom's passing, The Bel-Larks Called to Quit..
1961 - Do You Remember? / Get To Stepping (Bay-Tone 102) 1961 - Do You Remember? / I Need You, Dear (Bay-Tone 102) 1961 - Lover / I'm So Alone (Bay-Tone 105°
Biography :
The James Brown's singing group, The Famous Flames, After the group's initial breakup in 1957, with original group members Bobby Byrd, Sylvester Keels, NaFloyd Scott, Nash Knox, and Johnny Terry leaving the group due to the group's managers Clint Brantley and Ben Bart giving James Brown top billing, Brown was having trouble keeping The Flames together.
James Brown & The Famous Flames
Several members came and went over the next several months, including Willie Johnson , Big Bill Hollings, J.W.Archer, Louis Madison and others. One of the bigger bust-ups occurred in the spring of 1959. Hollings, Madison and Archer, who had sung on 'Try Me', had a big confusion out in Oakland, California following a show at the Oakland auditorium at which they opened for Jackie Wilson, Ray Charles, and Hank Ballard & the Midnighters and James Brown left 'em all out there. The then-Flames claimed that Brown refused to pay them, while Brown claimed it was because of alcohol and drug use on the road.
Bay-Tone label owner Brad Taylor & The Fabulous Flames :Madison, Archer, Johnson and Hollings
It led to one of the many confusing backwaters of Famous Flames discography Of the marooned ex-Flames, Madison was the busier, forming a group called The Fabulous Flames . They recorded three singles in 1959 for the Bay-Tone, a San Franciscan outlet started by Bradley Taylor. Either way, they were fired by Brown, who, by this time, had assumed full literal and financial control of the Famous Flames following the departure of group founder Bobby Byrd.
The Famous Flames (l to r): Bobby Byrd, Bobby Bennett & “Baby” Lloyd Stallworth
Lloyd was recruited as a replacement member of the group one year later, along with Bobby Bennett, and returning members Bobby Byrd and Johnny Terry.These men, along with Brown, became the permanent Famous Flames lineup.
Songs :
The Fabulous Flames (2)
Do You Remember? / Get To Stepping I Need You, Dear
The Buddies (9) (New Haven, Conn.) aka David & Goliath
Personnel :
Roger Koob
Bill Baker
Discography :
The Buddies (9) 1962 - Must Be True Love / Hully Gully Mama (Comet 2143)
David & Goliath 1969 - I'm Still Lovin' You / Like Strangers (Tomaro 101)
Biography :
Bill Baker was the lead singer for the Five Satins in 1956-7. Baker is heard on five Ember releases. Of These, only "To the Aisle" achieved a commercial success. When Fred Parris returned from the Army in 1958, Baker stopped recording for a couple of Years. In 1960 he recorded two records with the Chestnuts.
Roger Koob Bill Baker
In 1962, Roger Koob, Lead singer of the Premiers, Roger & The Travelers and the Frontiers, Teamed up with Bill recording one single as the Buddies.In 1969, Roger teamed up once again with Bill Baker and released a record as David & Goliath on Tomaro Records.
The La-Rells Singles: 1961 - Everybody Knew / Please Be Fair (Robee 109) 1961 - I Just Can't Understand / Public Transportation (Robee 114) 1962 - I Guess I'll Never Stop Lovin You / Sneaky Alligator (Liberty 55430) 1991 - Tomorrow Will Only Bring Sorrow / Guess I'll Never Stop (Robee 120) Unreleased: 1963 - Wish I Stayed In School / Tomorrow Will Only Bring Sorrow (World Artists)
Geno and Rabbit bb The La-Rells 1961 - Deep In the Night / Never Before (TeemA 696)
Biography :
From the very beginning the La Rells were busy gigging at various shows and record hops throughout the area. But like most groups of the era, they had trouble keeping the players in one place. Frank Avery on lead, Bob Best (first tenor), David Parr (second tenor), Lafon McKellar (second tenor), Wilton Anderson (baritone and bass), Alex Richburg (guitarist) and Vann Harris (drummer) formed the classic La-Rells line up.
In 1960, KQV DJ Larry Aiken hooked them up with Lennie Martin of Robbee Records. He liked their demo tape, and cut the ballad "Everybody Knew" b/w the up-tempo "Please Be Fair," released as Robbee 109. The song was a big local hit. Their career took off in the region. They did hops and shows for Clark Race, Larry Aiken, Porky Chadwick, Bill Powell, and Sir Walter at places like the Savoy Ballroom, Diamond Roller Rink, White Elephant and Twin Coaches.
In 1960 they won Bill Powell's prestigious "Pittsburgher" Award. In 1961, they cut another record, "Public Transportation" b/w "I Just Can't Understand," released as Robbee 114. The music tracks were laid by the Rock 'N' Bluesmen, the La Rell's choice over Martin's house band. Still, it didn't hurt them locally.
The La-Rells were the first Pittsburgh group to appear on a rock 'n' roll show at the Civic Arena. On October 20, 1961, they were on the same bill with Fats Domino and Brenda Lee. In 1962, the La-Rells signed with Liberty Records and cut "I Guess I'll Never Stop Loving You" b/w "Sneaky Alligator" in the Big Apple (Liberty 55430, reissued as Robbee 120 in 1991.)
The Liberty session players backing the band were pretty solid. King Curtis was on the sax, and a young Roberta Flack sat in on piano. But the disk received little airplay, and signs of dissension and career frustrations started to bubble up within the group. It didn't help when Bob Best left the band to join the military shortly after the record's release. His place was filled by Ronald Bentley. Then David Parr received his "greetings from Uncle Sam" notice and traded in his microphone for an M-16 in March 1964. His departure was the death knell of the La-Rells. http://oldmonmusic.blogspot.com/2008/07/la-rells.html
Songs :
Everybody Knew Please Be Fair I Just Can't Understand
Public Transportation I Guess I'll Never Stop Lovin You Tomorrow Will Only Bring Sorrow
Singles: 1966 - Lullaby Of Love / I Wonder Why (Epic 9893) 1966 - He's Ready / He's Got Real Love (Epic 10019) 1966 - Do It With Soul / He Means So Much To Me (Epic 10059) 1966 - There's A Pain In My Heart / My Love And I (Epic 100086)
Epic 9893 Epic 10019
Album: 1966 - The Poppies "Lullaby Of Love" (Epic LP 24200) Lullaby Of Love / The Love We Knew / Don't Throw Our Love Away / Spellbound / Sure Is Worth It / He's Ready / Wonderful World Of Love / I Wonder Why / The Love Song / He's Got Real Love
Biography:
Jim Hill High School of Jackson, MS, spawned the Carvettes and the Poppies around the same period. the Carvettes were the area's dominate male group; the Poppies took the female honors. The original Poppies trio formed at Jim Hill High School with Dorothy Moore, Rosemary Taylor, and Patsy McClune. After organizing, still in high school, they became good enough to work for Billy Sherrill in Nashville doing background work.
After high school, Moore elected to go to Jackson State University, but still pursued her musical activities. The Jackson State experience didn't last long - Moore quit after her freshman semester to take advantage of an opportunity for the Poppies to record for Epic Records, with Sherrill producing. „Lullaby of Love,“ a Sherrill/Larry Butler composition, was a small regional hit in 1966.
Taking advantage of their golden chance, the Poppies assembled a road show, the Mid-South Review, which toured the south with a Sam & Dave-type duo and a male group (possibly the Carvettes since all the acts were Jackson natives).Epic released a second single, „He's Got Real Love“ b/w „He's Ready,“ in June 1966, three months after the first, but it didn't do as well. Yet the Poppies didn't notice, they were too busy barnstorming. Epic dropped the Poppies' Lullaby of Love LP during the tour; it consisted of songs by Sherrill, Butler, Bob McCree, and brothers Clinton and Edward Thomas.
All ten songs take only 23 minutes to play. Sherrill, a masterful songwriter and producer with countless hits to his credit, couldn't work his magic with the Poppies. A third single, "Do It With Soul“ (released late in 1966), was new material not featured on the LP, but its success was, again, of the local/regional variety. „There's a Pain in My Heart,“ the Poppies’ final Epic single, felled in 1967. The girls still toured with the Mid-South Review, but the experience was far from lucrative - the girls worked four or five days a week to clear about 30 to 35 dollars a month each.
Patsy McClune left for California and continued singing background, sans Moore and Taylor, on the West Coast (and became replaced by Fern Kinney); Rosemary Taylor resumed her education and became a French teacher. Dorothy Moore, the Poppies' lead singer, continued as a solo act and kept the Mid-South Review rolling.
Dorothy Moore
She recorded two flops - "See How They've Done My Love" and "Same Old Feeling" - for Avon Records, but had better luck with a Malaco production distributed by Lloyd Price's GSF label entitled "Cry Like a Baby" b/w "Just the One I've Been Looking For"; it stayed on the R&B chart for five weeks in 1973. A duet on Chimneyville Records with King Floyd entitled "Don't Let Go" received good airplay and set the stage for her monster, "Misty Blue," in 1975, a million-seller that earned the Jackson, MS, songbird a well-deserved gold record. Andrew Hamilton, All Music Guide http://www.soulfulkindamusic.net/poppies.htm http://www.soulbluesmusic.com/dorothymooreinterview.htm http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Dorothy%20Moore.html
Movies:
Lullaby Of Love
I Wonder Why
Songs:
Lullabye Of Love I Wonder Why He’s Ready
He’s Got Real Love Do It With Soul He Means So Much To Me
There’s A Pain In My Heart My Love And I Don't Throw Our Love Away
Spellbound Sure Is Worth It Wonderful World Of Love
Singles : 1957 - The Kingdom of Love / That's What You Do To Me (Kapp 178) 1957 - The Prettiest Girl In School / Never You Mind (Kapp 199) 1958 - I Got A Job / Strollin' With My Baby (Kapp 213) 1959 - See You In September / Bless You My Love (Climax 102) 1959 - The Crossroads of Love / Whatever Happens (Climax 105) 1959 - Look Homeward Angel / Under 10 Flags (Paris 550) 1965 - My Barbara Ann / When You Loved Me (Ascot 2167) 1965 - My Barbara Ann (Re-release) / I Wish It Were Summer (Ascot 2173)
Unreleased : 1959 - A Boy And A Girl Were Meant To Fall In Love (Climax) 1959 - Eight Wonders Of The World (Climax)
Biography :
Mike Lazo, Gene Schacter, and Bobby Vinton formed a singing trio The Hilites in 1954 that performed at local records hops. Drafted into the Army Lazo and Schachter sang at U.S.O. shows while stationed together in Korea. Returning to civilian life in 1957 Lazo and Schachter joined forces with two Duquense University music majors, song writer Jim Drake (Lead Singer of the Four Larks) and saxophonist Tom Minito to form the Tempos. Singing rich harmonies the performed a local record hops where the came to attention of local artist manager/producer Jack Gold. Gold, who was managing Lou Christie at the time, persuaded David Kapp to sign them to his New York City based Kapp Records. Kapp released 3 singles by the Tempos.
Mike Lazo, Gene Schacter, and Bobby Vinton : The Hilites
Brill Building song writers Sid Wayne and Sherman Edwards wrote the song “See You in September” on a Friday of June 1959. They pitched the song to Jack Gold that afternoon. He brought the rights to it for $500 and called the Tempos that evening to fly New York. The Tempos recorded the song the next day in New York, the record was on Monday, the testing pressing was done on Thursday, and its was getting airplay on WNEW on Friday. It was released on the short lived Climax Records label. The record broke in San Francisco, hit the national charts in July, and climbed to #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 at the end of August.
The Tempos performed on American Bandstand on October 12, 1959. “See you in September” was their one national success. Climax released a follow-up single "The Crossroads of Love" / "What" later in 1959 that did not reach the charts. They continued to perform at Pittsburgh area dances, appear on local television dance programs, and record until 1965. They release the singles "Look Homeward Angel" / "Under 10 Flags" (Paris 1959), "My Barbara Ann" / "When You Loved Me" (Ascot 1965), and "My Barbara Ann (re-release) / "I Wish It Were Summer" (Ascot 1965).
The Genies (1) 1958 - Who's That Knocking? / The First Time (Shad 5002) 1959 - No More Knocking / On the Edge of Town (Hollywod 69) 1960 - There Goes That Train / Crazy Love (Warwick 573) 1960 - Just Like the Blue Bird / Twistin' Pneumonia (Warwick 607) 1961 - Crazy Feeling / Little Young Girl (Warwick 643)
Roy Hammond & The Genies (1) 1959 - Mama Blow Your Top / It's Getting Cold (Forum 701)
Unreleased : N/A - Where Did You Go? N/A - Chicken Necks N/A - Come Walk With Me N/A - S'cuse Me Lady
Biography :
This short-term group from Long Beach, Long Island recording career lasted three years, and five singles; they broke up a year after they started recording in 1958, but Warwick Records issued canned material til 1961. The original members: Roy Hammond, Bill Gains, Alexander Faison, and Fred Jones formed in 1956. They didn't record until Brooklynite Claude Johnson came aboard.
Johnson, the only member not from the Long Beach area, named them the Genies; he had sung with a Brooklyn group that included Eugene Pitt, who never sang with the Genies. Bob Shad, the owner of Shad Records saw them singing on a beach and invited them to audition for his label. The result was "Who's That Knockin'," recorded, June 1958; but Shad didn't release it until March 1959, nearly a year later.
It did well R&B but wallowed on the lower rungs of the pop chart at #71. Then without warning, second tenor Bill Gains ran off to Canada with a woman and has never been seen or heard from since. This occurred while the Genies were playing their first big engagement at New York's Apollo Theater; three days into the gig, and poof - Gains vanished.
The Genies answered their debut with "No More Knockin'" on Hollywood Records, then the Warwick label released three singles after the group became history. By the end of 1959 the Genies was a memory. Hammond cut a string of solo records as Roy C, his biggest was "Shotgun Wedding," a #14 R&B hit.
Roy C.Hammond Don & Juan
Claude hooked with Roland Trone and enjoyed a monster #7 Pop hit with "What's Your Name," as Don & Juan. Johnson also became a songwriter of note, composing the Genies' debut, the Don & Juan hit, and 57 other titles registered with B.M.I. ~ Andrew Hamilton, All Music Guide http://www.soulexpress.net/royc_discography.htm
1958 - After School Rock / Sentimental Baby (Dore 501)
Biography :
"After School Rock" c/w "Sentimental Baby", a master acquired in May 1958 from a New York song publisher named Joe "Happy" Goday. If 'After School Rock' sounded like middle-aged vision of rock 'n' roll, that's because it was conceived by men with ties to the past struggling to keep pace with the fast moving trends of the late 1950s.
Penned by Lawrence "88" Keys, a jazzy pianist/singer who'd made his first recordings in the early 1940s, 'After School Rock' almost certainly featured black session vocalists drawn from a pool of New York regulars collectively known as the Cues. The crude, indistinct recording quality suggests the songs may have been publisher's song demos issued as masters. (The Dore Story)
1955 - Gee, But I Hate To Go Home Alone / The Magic Carpet Man (Klick 1605 ) 1956 - I Look at You / Sleepy Head (Decca 29868 ) 1957 - Oh! Mr. Romeo / Dixieland Marchin' Band (Decca 30298)
Biography :
This pop vocal group were formed in Chicago by Joan Goldner. A Chicago native, Goldner began singing in church at age 7, studied voice with a member of the Chicago Lyric Opera. That was back in the era of the girl trios. Someone in Chicago was looking for a girls trio to manage, and the girls ended up with a record contract with Decca Records.
The Lassies on Decca with Jack Pleis and A&R man Paul Cohen.
The Lassies cut three records. They were the opening act for Liberace, they won the Arthur Godfrey Talent Contest and they were on the Godfrey Show for a while. The Lassies traveled around the country, sang with bands, did live TV shows.
Songs :
I Look at You Dixieland Marchin' Band Oh! Mr. Romeo
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