Doo Wop - Rhythm & Blues - jcpiazza26@gmail.com

The Calvaes

Posted on December 9 2012 by dion1

Top: James Williams ,James Bailey; Bottom: Donald Coles, James Zeke Brown, Paul Morgan.

The Calvaes (Chicago)

Personnel :

James "Zeke" Brown (Lead)

James Bailey

Paul Morgan

Donald "Duck" Coles

Donald Handley

Discography :

The Calvaes
1956- Fine Girl / Mambo Fiesta (Cobra 5003)
1957 - Born With Rhythm / Lonely, Lonely Village (Cobra 5014)

Oscar Boyd & The Calvaes
1959 - Anna Macora / So bad (Checker 928)

Biography :

The Calvaes was a little young group out of the Dearborn Homes, on the Twenty-ninth and thirtieth blocks of state street. They came under the management of Ted Daniels, one of the top guys then working with groups. Cobra Records was started on Chicago's West Side in 1956 by Eli Toscano . Toscano chose to release four sides on the group. The first pairing was two jumps, "Fine Girl" and "Mambo Fiesta," in which the group sing well on routine material.

The Calvaes played the Jim Lounsbury Memorial Auditorium show in September 1956 and the Fitzhugh Thanksgiving show at the Trianon that year, sharing the stage with the other Cobra acts. They were able to play at two Sam Evans promotions: in September 1956, at a prestigious show at the Trianon, where they were on the bill with Ray Charles, Chuck Willis, J. B. Lenore, and Nate Nelson , and in February 1957, at a midnight show at the Central Park Theater, sharing the bill with Andre Williams, Jimmy Rogers, John Lee Hooker, Kool Gents, and Otis Rush .

In July, Cobra released a second pairing, again two jumps, "Born with Rhythm" and "Lonely Lonely Village," both sides written by Daniels. The Calvaes were able to linger for a couple more years, and they got a record out on Chess in 1958, "Anna Macora" backed by "So Bad." "Anna Macora" made the Cobra sides sound like masterpieces, and "So Bad," in which the artists were billed as "Oscar Boyd and the Calvaes" . Robert Pruter (Doo wop, The Chicago scene)

Songs :

The Calvaes


Born With Rhythm / Lonely, Lonely Village       Fine Girl / Mambo Fiesta

Oscar Boyd & The Calvaes


Anna Macora                                             So Bad

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The Senators (1)

Posted on December 8 2012 by dion1

The Senators (1) (Gary, IN)

Personnel :

Delroy Bridgeman (Lead)

Richard Bursua

Jack Friedland

Ronald Hedelius

Robert Hutson

Dean Croxton

Discography :
Singles :
1959 - Scheming / Tafu (Bristol 1916)
1959 - It Doesn't Matter / Julie (Abner 1031)
Unreleased :
1959 - Till Forever More (Vee Jay)

Biography :

Delroy Bridgeman first started singing in elementary school in the mid-50s, inspired by the earlier East Chicago group the Dream Kings, the Gary group the Spaniels, and the Harvey group the Dells. In high school in the late 50s, in the tenor section of the choral club, Delroy formed the Senators.

The Senators were a mixed-race group that recorded "Scheming" / "Tafu" (along with two unreleased tracks) for the Bristol record label out of Hammond, IN. The record got some local play in Chicago and the group even appeared on the Jim Lounsbury dance show. Although they were not supposed to be performing R&B material in the choral club, their choral club director Mr. Croxton became the group's manager and encouraged the group to enter a talent show in Gary, IN, competing for a recording contract for Vee Jay records.

The Senators won the talent show and ended up releasing a record "It doesn't matter" / "Julie" on Vee Jay's Abner subsidiary (they also recorded two more unreleased tracks for Vee Jay). The record received some local play and the group continued to do local shows. The group soon disbanded after the members graduated and entered college.

Songs :

Scheming / Tafu It Doesn't Matter

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The Four-Evers (1)

Posted on December 7 2012 by dion1

The Four-Evers (1) (Brooklyn, New York)

Personnel :

Steve Tudanger

John Cipriani

Nick Zagami

Joe DiBenedetto

Discography :

Singles :
1962 - You Belong To Me / Such A Good Night For Dreaming (Columbia 42303/Jason Scott 4)
1963 - It's Love / Lover, Come Back To Me (Smash 1853)
1964 - Please Be Mine / If I Were A Magician (Smash 1887)
1964 - Be My Girl / If I Were A Magician (Smash 1887)
1964 - Doo Bee Dum, (Say I Love You) / Everlasting (Smash 1921)
1965 - Out Of The Crowd / Stormy (Constellation 151)
1966 - You Never Had It So Good / What A Scene (Red Bird 10078)
1966 - The Girl I Want To Bring Home / A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening (Columbia 43886)
1978 - Dreamland / I'm Gonna Tell Your Mother (Crystall Ball 121)

Unreleased :
N/A - You're so fine (Crystall Ball)
N/A - Lover
N/A - White Christmas
N/A - Dancing on the Celling
N/A - Let It Be

Biography :

Early in 1957 three junior high school students from Brooklyn - Marty Jolton, John Cipriani and Steve Tudanger - formed Marty & the Joltineers. Soon they met Larry and Sal Ruggiero, and the Corsairs were founded.

Marty & the Joltineers

When Larry dropped out, the group changed its name to The Vocal Lords and recorded "At Seventeen", released first on the tiny Abel logo, and then on Taurus. The disc earned the group some local fame and a spot on Clay Cole's TV show. While at Taurus, they also did back-ups on releases by Donnie & the Delchords and the Fireflies, whose song "Good Friends" Steve also wrote. Meanwhile, in another neighbourhood, Joe DiBenedetto, Jimmy Gallagher, Tommy Saltzo and Nick Zagami formed the Paladians.

The Four-Evers (1)
The Vocal Lords

After releasing "I'd Climb The Highest Mountain" the outfit disbanded, with Jimmy joining the Passions, while Nick and Joe teamed up with John and Steve of the Vocal Lords. This new quartet renamed themselves the Four-Evers.

They landed a recording contract at Columbia Records in 1961 and a management deal with Al Kasha, who produced their single, "You Belong To Me". While at Columbia the Four-Evers also sang background on 45s by Bob Halley, Gene Montgomery and Billy Casher, alias Al Kasha himself.

In 1963 Kasha introduced the group to Bob Crewe, who took the guys under his wing and secured them a new deal with Smash Records. Crewe linked the group with songwriter Bob Gaudio of the Four Seasons, who produced their Smash debut, "Lover Come Back To Me".

With Dj Hal jackson

1964 proved to be the Four-Evers' year, with "Be My Girl" and "(Say I Love You) Doo Bee Dum" both reaching the national charts. Meanwhile the group continued working as studio singers, backing up Tracey Dey ("Teenage Cleopatra"), Bob's brother Tom Crewe ("Mighty Fine Girl"), Vinnie Monte ("Hey, Look At The Winter Snow"), Cathy Carroll ("I Don't Want To Give You Up"), Eddie Rambeau ("Concrete And Clay") and many others. Steve also had compositions recorded by the Dynamics and the Candy Girls, a group he managed. After further singles on Constellation, Red Bird and Columbia, the Four-Evers disbanded.
http://www.spectropop.com/remembers/SteveTudanger.htm

Songs :

Stormy The Girl I Wanna Bring Home Dreamland

Lover, Come Back To Me    You Belong To Me    Such A Good Night For Dreaming


It's love                    Be My Girl (Please, Be Mine)            If I Were A Magician


Doo Bee Dum                      Everlasting                         Out Of The Crowd

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The Arnells aka The Teenettes (3)

Posted on December 5 2012 by dion1

The Arnells (Elizabeth, NJ)
aka The Teenettes (3)

Personnel :

Judy Roberts (Lead)

Janice alexander

Marsha Roberts

Betty Jackson

Susan Robertson

Discography :

The Arnells
1963 - Heart Repair Shop / Take A Look (Roulette 4519)

The Teenettes (3)
1963 - Let Me Be The One / Bye Bye Baby (Sandy 250)

Biography :

The girls were all from Elizabeth high school (NJ.) and The lead singer was Judy Roberts . They recorded two singles under two different names, The Arnells on Roulette and The Teenettes on the litlle label Sandy.

Songs :

The Arnells

Take A Look Heart Repair Shop

The Teenettes (3)

Bye Bye Baby

...

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The Impressions (1)

Posted on December 4 2012 by dion1

The Impressions circa 1958 (top) J. Butler, S. Gooden, A. Brooks (bottom) R. Brooks, C. Mayfield

The Impressions (1) (Chicago)
(Part 1 : Early Years With Jerry Butler)

Personnel :

Jerry Butler (Lead/baritone)

Curtis Mayfield (Tenor)

Arthur Brooks (Tenor)

Richard Brooks (Tenor)

Sam Gooden (Baritone) 

Discography :

Jerry Butler & The Impressions (1)
1958 - For Your Precious Love / Sweet Was The Wine (Vee-Jay 280/Falcon 1013/Abner 1013)

The Impressions (1) featuring Jerry Butler
1958 - Come Back My Love / Love Me (Abner 1017)

The Impressions (1)
1958 - The Gift Of Love / At The County Fair (Abner 1023)

Biography :

The Impressions were actually made up of members of two groups: Arthur and Richard Brooks (tenors) and Sam Gooden (baritone) of the Roosters, and Jerry Butler (baritone) and Curtis Mayfield (tenor) of the Northern Jubilee Gospel Singers. The three Roosters splintered from their original quintet when they moved to Chicago from Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1957.

Clockwise from L - C.Mayfield, Vivian Carter (Vee Jay),S.Gooden, A. Brooks, R. Brooks, J.Butler

The Jubilees' Jerry and Curtis were Chicago residents who were traveling the gospel circuit and performing in the Traveling Souls Spiritualist Church, of which Mayfield's grandmother was a pastor. To help out with the family finances, both boys sang with secular groups on the side, Jerry with the Quails and Curtis as part of the Alphatones.

When the Roosters came on the scene, Jerry convinced Curtis to join, and soon they had both a sound and a manager named Eddie Thomas. During 1957 Thomas came up with an unusual gig for the teenagers: a downtown fashion show. Performing their usual set of rhythm and blues doo wop songs, the group also did an original with music by the Brooks brothers and lyrics by Butler titled "For Your Precious Love."

The Impressions (top) A. Brooks, S. Gooden and Fred Cash, (bottom) C. Mayfield and R. Brooks

It caught the attention of one Mrs. Vi Muzinski, who arranged an audition with Calvin Carter of Vee-Jay Records. They auditioned with "For Your Precious Love" right in the hallway and wound up recording for the label a few days later. (they changed the name of the Roosters to the Impressions. )

The single was released on Vee-Jay in May 1958. By July 28th "For Your Precious Love" was at number 11 Pop and number three R&B. Its flip side, the more traditional doo wop rocker "Sweet Was the Wine," became a street-corner vocal group favorite over the years. In September, their second single, "Come Back My Love," with a similarity to " Precious Love," came out and went to #28 R&B but never crossed into Pop. By the fall of 1958, Jerry Butler decided to go solo.

Three remaining Ewart Abner singles under the name the Impressions went nowhere, including "At the County Fair," the first recording with a Curtis Mayfield lead. Meanwhile, Fred Cash of Chattanooga, a Rooster before that group moved north, took Jerry's place in the Impressions.
American Singing Groups: From 1940 to Today by Jay Warner

Songs :


For Your Precious Love          Sweet Was The Wine        Come Back My Love


Love Me                                The Gift Of Love                   At The County Fair

...

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The Statics (2)

Posted on December 2 2012 by dion1

Ray Denney,   Dave Booker,   Frank Conner,   Gene Bunton

The Statics (2) (Brewer & Bangor, Maine)

Personnel :

Ray Denney

Dave Booker

Frank Conner

Gene Bunton

Discography :

Singles :
1958 - Girl In My Dreams / The Day You Left Me (Event 4279)

Unreleased :
1958 - White Cliffs Of Dover (Event)
1958 - Tell Me That You Love Me (Event)

Biography

The Statics Came From Bangor, Maine. The statics rolled, performing at schools, grange halls, etc. across Maine. In early 1958 They Recorded Their Only Single "Girl In My Dreams" / "The Day You Left Me" For The Event Label. During The Same Time The Guys Recorded some Demo Cuts Which Stayed Unreleased. In 1958, "Girl In My Dreams" did climb into the top ten in the Bangor/Brewer Aera… Another Record Deal With The Paris Label In 1959 Failed. Eventually they split up.

Statics opening the show and dance at Bangor's city hall auditorium March 1956

As with most groups/bands, the Statics had quite a few personnel changes. Others who sang with the group along the way include Jake Lawrence, Dave Morrison, Donny Prunty, Dick Wyman and Jim Richardson. (When Rock'n Roll Rocked Maine by Will Anderson)

Songs :

My Love White Cliffs Of Dover

...

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The Upbeats (1)

Posted on December 1 2012 by dion1

The Upbeats (1) (Philadelphia)

Personnel :

John MacGilivat

James MacGilivat

Pat De Witt

David Starkey

Discography :

1957 - I Don't Know / Never In My Life (Prep 119)
1958 - Will You Be Mine / My Last Frontier(Prep 131)
1958 - Just Like In The Movies / My Foolish Heart (Swan 4010)
1958 - The Night We Both Said Goodbaye / Oh What It Seems (Joy 223)
1959 - You Are The One I Care For / Keep Cool Crazy heart (Joy 227)
1959 - Satin Shoes / Teenie Weenie Bikini (Joy 229)
1959 - Unbelievable Love / To Me You're A Song (Joy 233)

Biography :

Joy records was founded in 1958 by Edward Joy, an impresario, artist manager and publisher who made himself at home in the famed Brill Building at 1619 Broadway. The Upbeats were no strangers to record buyers, or the charts, when they joined Joy Records in Late 1958.

John & James MacGilivaty, Pat De Witt and David Starkey had records released on Prep in 1957, made the charts with "Just Like In The Movies" on Swan on August 1958 and beat Brian Hyland to the bikini theme, but without success, when they released their third Joy single, Teenie Wenie Bibkini (Joy 229) in early 1959 . By this time the label had a British outlet and "Bikini" was the first of a dozen Joy Releases to gain a release on Pye International

Songs :

Just Like in the Movies

..

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The Dappers (2) aka The Four Buddies (1) aka The Buddies (2)

Posted on November 28 2012 by dion1

The Dappers (2) (New York)
aka The Four Buddies (1) aka The Buddies (2)

Personnel :

Larry Harrison (Lead)

Gregory Carroll (Tenor)

Leonard "Zeke" Puzey (Baritone)

Jerome Robinson (Bass)

Discography :

First Group
1956 - Unwanted Love / That's All, That's All, That's All (Groove 4G-0156)
Second Group
1956 - Bop Bop Bu / How I Need You Baby (Rainbow 373)

Biography :

After the Four Buddies split, Gregory Carroll signed on with the Orioles in the spring of 1953. In 1955, Carroll reunited with fellow Four Buddies alum Larry Harrison to form the Dappers, recruiting baritone Zeke Puzey and bass Jerome Robinson to complete the lineup.

The Four Buddies with Larry Harrison & Gregory Carroll

In early 1956, the quartet signed to RCA to cut a single, "Unwanted Love," but the Dappers split even before the record was released on the label's Groove subsidiary. Carroll quickly set about assembling a new Dappers lineup, first enlisting bass/baritone Al Showell and then luring soprano Pat Williams and alto Joy Wright from the Sweethearts.

Puzey also returned to duty in time for the Dappers' first session for the Rainbow label. "Bop Bop Bu" hit retail in late 1956, but Rainbow's financial problems conspired to squash any planned promotion and the record went nowhere.

Paste Up Picture :Harrison, Carroll, Puzey

The Dappers nevertheless toured across the East Coast, even making a handful of television appearances before Wright's pregnancy forced her to resign.
http://www.uncamarvy.com/Dappers/dappers.html

Songs :

First Group

That's All, That's All, That's All Unwanted Love

Second Group

Bop Bop Bu How I Need You Baby

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The Kounts

Posted on November 25 2012 by dion1

Ed Peine, Jack Michael, Wes Knebel, Tom Driskill

The Kounts (Fort Worth, Tx.)

Personnel :

Ed Peine

Jack Michael

Wes Knebel

Tom Driskill

Discography :

The Kounts
1959 - I Couldn't Stay Away From You / Please Please Come Back (Vamalco 504)

Royce Porter & The Kounts
1958 - Good Time / Beach Of Love (Mercury 71314)

Royce Porter (bb The Kounts)
1958 - Yes I do / Our perfect romance (D Look 1001)
1958 - Lookin' / I Still Belong To You (D Look 1026)

Biography :

In the summer of 1957 "Yes I do", a song with strong Presley influences, was recorded in Fort Worth by Royce Porter and and a local group, renamed the Kounts, performing back up vocals. The Kounts are Ed Peine, Jack Michael, Wes Knebel and Tom Driskill. Royce Porter use the group on three singles for the Mercury & his sub-label Look. but only one is credited with the Kounts. Though panned in Billboard ""Yes I do" did develop into some type of minor hit.

The Kounts became a de facto Jordanaires and they and Porter got around just a bit off the 45's short success. The group cut one nice single on the Vamalco label, an Independent Record Labels from Houston, TX.

Songs :

The Kounts


Please Please Come Back             I Couldn't Stay Away From You

Royce Porter & The Kounts


Beach Of Love                       Our perfect romance                 Good Time

Yes I Do Lookin' I Still Belong To You

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The Mystics (3) aka The Dealers

Posted on November 21 2012 by dion1

The Mystics (3) (Cincinnati)
aka The Dealers

Personnel :

Claude Johnson

Doc Morris

Melvin Thomas

Don Thomas

Discography :

The Mystics (3)
Singles :
1962 - Mash Potatoes With Me / The Hoppy Hop (King 5678)
1963 - The Jumpin' Bean / Just For Your Love (King 5735)
Unreleased :
1962 - Humpty Dumpty (Had A Great Fall) (King)
1962 - Stars In The Sky (King)

The Dealers
1965 - You Got It / (We're So) Glad That We Made It (Big Bunny 507)

Biography :

The Mystics on King Record were : Claude Johnson, Doc Morris, Melvin Thomas, and Don Thomas (he's the one who later joined the Drifters - his real name was Charles Thomas, but he changed it to Don so as not to be confused with the Charlie Thomas who'd been in the Drifters for many years).

After two singles for king they became the Dealers and have a last one with Big Bunny Records.
Thanks to Marv Goldberg

Songs :

The Mystics (3)


Just For Your Love                       The Hoppy Hop


Humpty Dumpty                           Stars In The Sky

Mash Potatoes With Me The Jumpin' Bean

The Dealers

You Got It

...

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