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

The Trentons aka The Hi-Tones (2) aka The Shytones aka The Shy-Tones 

Posted on June 15 2009 by dion1

(top L to R) Frank Barrata, Bill Sangiovanni & Fred Alvarez. (bottom L to R) Al Scavuzzo, Ben Passantino & Rich Peluso

The Hi-Tones (2) (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
aka The Trentons aka The Shytones aka The Shy-Tones 

 Personnel : 

Graham Lee True (Lead)

Sal Covais (First tenor)

Albert Scavuzzo (Second tenor)

William Scarpa (Baritone)

Fred Alvarez (Bass)

Frank Barrata

Discography : 

The Shytones
1957 - Annette / White Bucks (Spot 14/15)
1957 - White Bucks / Bandstand Rock (Spot 14/15)
1957 - Annette / Bandstand Rock (Spot 15)

The Shy-Tones
1958 - A Lover's Quarrel / Just For You (Goodspin 401)

The Hi-Tones (2)
1958 - A Lovers Quarrel / Just For You (Fonsca 201)
1961 - No More Pain / I Don't Know Why (Fonsco 202)

The Trentons
1959 - All Alone / Star Bright (Inst.) (Shepherd 2204)

Biography :

The Shytones were one of many groups that grew up loving vocal harmony and singing on the street corners. They had a great sound, but too short of a career. The Shytones never made it big selling records, but they were celebrities in their own neighborhood, and at the local hops and shows . They cut just a few records, but with a group name change and a few different labels with the same songs. They were given the name Shy-Tones/Shytones because their lead singer suffered from "stage fright" and had great difficulty performing in from of an audience. This lead a promoter to comment (something like) "Are you guys the Hi-Tones or the Shy-Tones?" The name stuck and the name "Hi-Tones" was not used after that.

The Shy-Tones "A Lover's Quarrel" B/w "Just For You was Reissued" as "Lovers Quarrel" in April 1961 on Fonsca (# 201) with label credit to the Hi-Tones. A slight variation of the group had a release on the Spot label as the Shytones. The group was basically a Brooklyn (NY) group, with one member from Staten Island (NY). On this recording they were: Fred Alvarez, Frank Barrata, Ben Passanante, Rich Peluso, Bill Sangiovanni, Albert Scavuzzo , & Graham Lee True .

The Shytones aka The Hi-Tones (2) aka The Trentons aka The Shy-Tones 

Al Scavuzzo

The Shytones performed at many local hops and dances, and even got the chance to perform at one of Murray The K's big rock and roll show. They had some airplay on a couple of local stations, and were even a pick hit of the week on WINS. The group broke up when Al Scavuzzo tragically passed away on his 21st birthday.
http://www.colorradio.com/shytones.html

Songs :

The Shytones


Annette / Bandstand Rock                White Bucks

The Shy-Tones


A Lover's Quarrel                           Just For You

The Hi-Tones (2)


I Don't Know Why No More Pain

The Trentons

All Alone / Star Bright (Inst.)

...

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R

Posted on June 12 2009 by dion1

R

RACHELLS
RADIANTS (4)
*RAG DOLLS
*RAINBEAUS (1)
RAINBOWS (2)
*RAINBOWS (3) (RANDY & THE)
*RAINBOWS (4)
*RAINDROPS (4)
*RAINDROPS (5) (TONY & THE)
RAINDROPS (6)
RAINDROPS (8) (JACKIE & THE)
*RAJAHS
*RAMBLERS (2)
*RANDELLS (RICK & THE)
*RAN-DELLS
RAVENS
*RAVES (2) (JIMMY RICKS & THE)
*RAVONS (2)
*RAY ALLEN TRIO
*RAYBER VOICES
*RAY-O-VACS
RAYS (1)
*REDCOATS (STEVE ALAIMO & THE)
*REDWOODS
*REFLECTIONS (2)
REFLECTIONS (3)
*REFLECTIONS (4)
REGALS
REGENTS (3)
*RELATIVES (1) (RONNIE & THE)
*RENDEZVOUS
RENOWNS
RE-VELS
*REV-LONS
*RHYTHM ACES
*RHYTHM CADETS
*RHYTHM CASTERS
RHYTHM JESTERS
*RHYTHM MASTERS
*RIBBONS
*RICKEY & JENNELL
*RIFFS
*RINKY DINKS
RIP-CHORDS (1)
RIP CHORDS (2)
*RIPPLES
*RIVALS (1)
*RIVALS (4)
*RIVIERAS (1)
*RIVILEERS
RIVINGTONS
*ROAMERS
*ROBERT & JOHNNY
ROBINS (1)
*ROB-ROYS (NORMAN FOX & THE)
*ROCKABYES (BABY JANE & THE)
*ROCKETEERS (2)
*ROCKETONES
*ROCKETS (3)
*ROCKIN' CHAIRS
ROCKIN' KIDS
*ROCKS (LENNY & THE )
ROCKY FELLERS (2)
*ROGUES
*ROLLERS
*ROLLETTES
*ROMAINES
*ROMANCERS (1)
*ROMANCERS (6)
*ROMANS (1)
*ROMANS (3) (LITTLE CAESAR & THE)
*ROMEOS (1)
*ROMEOS (2)
*RON & BILL
*RONALD & RUBY
RONETTES
*ROOMATES
*ROOMATES (CATHY JEAN & THE)
*ROSEBUDS (1)
*ROSES
*ROSETTES
ROULETTES (2) (BILLY GALANT & THE)
*ROVERS
*ROYAL-AIRES
ROYAL COUNTS
*ROYAL DEBS
*ROYAL DEMONS
*ROYAL DRIFTERS
*ROYAL GALAXIES
ROYAL HOLIDAYS
*ROYAL JESTERS
ROYAL JOKERS
*ROYAL TEENS
*ROYALETTES
*ROYALS (1)
ROYALS (5) (RICHIE & THE)
*ROYALTONES
*RUE-TEENS
*RUNAROUNDS (1)
RUNAROUNDS (2)
*RUNAROUNDS (3) (RITCHIE & THE)

...

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The Jive Bombers

Posted on June 12 2009 by dion1

The Jive Bombers (Détroit, Michigan)

Personnel :

Clarence Palmer (Lead)

Earl Johnson (First Tenor)

Wiliam "Pee Wee" Tinney (Baritone)

Al Tinney (Bass)

Discography :

1952 - It's spring again / Pork Chop Boogie (Citation 1160)
1952 - Brown Boy / Pee Wee Boogie (Citation 1161)
1952 - Saturday night / Fish boy (Citation 1162)
1956 - Bad boy / When your hair has turned to silver (Savoy 1508)
1957 - If i had a talking picture / The blues don't mean a thing (Savoy 1513)
1957 - Cherry / You took my love (Savoy 1515)
1958 - Is this the end / Just around the corner (Savoy 1535)
1959 - Stardust / You give your love to me (Savoy 1560)
1963 - Anytime / Days of wine & roses (Mdl tn 020)

Biography :

Clarence Palmer first entered the music business in the mid-1930s with the Palmer Brothers (Dick, Ernest and Clarence), who resided in the small town of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. They were one of the first harmony trios to perform (and record) with big bands, including those of Count Basie and Cab Calloway. By 1949 Dick and Ernest retired, but Clarence couldn't kick the performing bug and formed a new group with members of Sonny Austin's Jive Bombers. They recorded two singles for Coral in 1949 as Al Sears and the Sparrows. The first of these was "Brown Boy", a song written and originally recorded (as "Brown Gal") by the second wife of Louis Armstrong, Lillian (Lil), in 1936. In late 1951, Palmer formed a new ensemble, Clarence Palmer and the Jive Bombers, who recorded for Lou Parker's Citation Records of Detroit. They released a new version of "Brown Boy", which (again) went unnoticed.

In 1956, the Jive Bombers consisted of Clarence Palmer, Earl Johnson and the brothers Al Tinney and William "Pee Wee" Tinney. Manager Cliff Martinez introduced the group to Herman Lubinsky of Savoy Records, for which they held their first session on November 30, 1956. Their first Savoy single was "Bad Boy" (Savoy 1508), a remake of "Brown Boy", which Palmer sang in a laid-back, stuttering style, a good-natured throwback to the sounds of the 1940s. It was welcomed as a pleasant diversion from rock 'n' roll by programme directors in the first weeks of 1957.

By mid-March, "Bad Boy" had reached # 36 on the pop charts and # 7 on the R&B charts. In spite of this success, the record was not issued in the UK. The flip was also quite interesting. "When Your Hair Has Turned To Silver" (with a lead vocal by Pee Wee Tinney) was not far removed from the sounds that Dave Bartholomew was producing in New Orleans at the time. Further Savoy singles, like "Cherry", featured Palmer sounding like a muted trumpet, but they did poor business. The old standard "Stardust" was the final Savoy single in 1959. Label credit went simply to "The Jive Bombers", instead of the usual Clarence "Bad Boy" Palmer and the Jive Bombers. Due to "Bad Boy's" success, the Jive Bombers stayed on the club scene through the late 1960's (with the inevitable personnel changes) before calling it quits. They had only one single released in the sixties, "Anytime"/"Days Of Wine And Roses", for the Middle Tone label in late 1963.

Clarence Palmer was a vocal performer for more than three decades. He had been singing "Bad Boy" for some twenty years before he was finally rewarded with a hit.

http://www.rockabilly.nl/references/messages/clarence_palmer.htm
http://www.colorradio.com/jivebombers.htm
http://home.earthlink.net/~v1tiger/palmers.html

My favorite song of the Jive Bombers :

"Bad Boy"

CD :

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The Shields (1)

Posted on June 11 2009 by dion1

The Shields (1)
Shields Touring Group :Clockwise from Top : James Warren, David Cobb, Horace Wooten and Charlie Wright

The Shields (1) (Los Angeles, California)

Personnel :

Frankie Ervin (Lead)

Jesse Belvin (First Tenor)

Mel Williams (Second Tenor)

Johnny "Guitar" Watson (Baritone)

Tommy "Buster" Williams (Bass)

Discography :

1958 - You Cheated / That's the Way It's Gonna Be (Tender 513/Dot 15805)
1958 - Nature Boy / I'm Sorry Now (Dot 15856/Tender 518)
1959 - Play The Game Fair / Fare Thee Well, My Love (Tender 521/Dot 15940)

Biography :

After West Coast label-owner/Producer Georges Matola approved the Slades version of "You Cheated" on Domino, he quickly structured a black group to cover the white version. Matola Joined Frankie Ervin with Jesse Belvin, Mel Williams, Buster Williams and Johnny "Guitar" Watson to record the disc in the Studio.

Jesse Belvin executed the high Falsetto tenor on "You Cheated". Makeshift groups were assembled by Mantola whenever the group was making TV appearances. He would assemble Ervin and two others and have them lip-Sync each song as the Shields while on tour.

The Shields (1)
Shields Touring Group : Charlie Wright , David Cobb, Horace "Pookie" Wooten and James Warren

Others who sang in these Makeshift groups included Tonny Allen, toncie Blackwell, Howard Gardner, Johnny Moore, Johnny White, Tenor Chuck Jackson, Charles Paterson, James Monroe Warren, Horace Pookie Wooten, Tommy Youngblood, and, from the Cadillacs, Bobby Phillips.

Frankie Ervin Jesse Belvin

Charles Wright Replaced Ervin as lead. Ervin had previously been with Johnny Moore's Three Blazers and later with the Spears. "You Cheated", which went to number 11 R&B and number 12 pop in 1958, was the group's only hit, and the song remains one of the most enduring legacies of the age of doo-wop.
Mitch Rosalsky (Encyclopedia of Rhythm & Blues)

1958 -The Shields : James Warren, Tommy Youngblood, Toncie Blacwell & Howard Gardner

Videos :

You Cheated

Songs:

You Cheated              That's the Way It's Gonna Be            Nature Boy


I'm Sorry Now                  Play The Game Fair          Fare Thee Well, My Love

...

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I

Posted on June 10 2009 by dion1

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Little John & The Unforgettables (2) aka The Untouchables (2)

Posted on June 10 2009 by dion1

top : Nelson Seda - Tony Tirado, Carlos Gonzalez, Louis Rosario, Larry Gerona

Little John & The Unforgettables (2) (Brooklyn, New York)
aka The Untouchables (2)

Personnel :

Nelson Seda (Lead)

Larry Gerona (First Tenor)

Tony Tirado (Second Tenor)

Louis "Lefty" Rosario (Baritone)

Carlos Gonzales (Bass)

Discography :

The Untouchables (2)
1962 - Little Mary / Funny What A Little Kiss Can Do (Alan K Records 6901)

Little John & The Unforgettables (2)
1962 - Little Mary / Funny What A Little Kiss Can Do (Alan K Records 6901)

Biography :

The group consisteded of 5 members all from Brooklyn NY. Record was released in 1960 but because of a conflict with another group with the same name it was re-released again under The Unforgettables. Group broke up a year later and Tony Tirado with John Taylor went on to record a song called The Frog under the name R J & The Carvells featuring T & C on the Rory label.

Songs :

Funny What A Little Kiss Can Do Little Mary

....

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The Locomotions

Posted on June 7 2009 by dion1

The Locomotions (Long Island, New-York)

Personnel :

Jack Kunz

Mike Phillips

Butch Poveromo

Paul Petruccelli

Fred Wessel

Discography :

1962 - Little Eva / Adios My love (Gone 5142)

Biography :

Our story begins... CHS sophomores in 1962 and singing together as The Gems, we stumbled into an opportunity when a Long Island producer, seeking to capitalize on Little Eva's hit, "The Locomotion," was looking for a young male group to record his novelty tribute song, "Little Eva," as The Locomotions. We recorded at O.D.O. Studios in Manhattan, with Butch singing lead on both the A and the B side, "Adios My Love." Our parents actually had to chip in a few hundred bucks to cover the session... a red flag should've gone up immediately, but what did we know? In those days, the industry suits were holding all the cards. The record was released on George Goldner's now-legendary Gone label, a division of Roulette Records. They were in such a hurry to get it out to radio that there was a grotesque editing error in "Adios," adding a beat right where the trombone solo begins, and they literally forgot to fade the track at the end... it just stopped! Thanks to editing software, I've fixed both on this version.

"Little Eva" won the competition for the night and for the week on Murray The K's 1010-WINS "Swingin' Soirée," beating some name artists. We know a lot of our Copiague friends called in to vote for us, but we couldn't discount the suspicion that, since Murray The K's compilation LPs were all on the Roulette label, someone just might have had his thumb on the scale! We had a pretty good idea how well it sold locally, if only based on sales at the record shop in the old Farmer's Market (bring back memories?), so we didn't take it well when they literally sent us each a "royalty" check for a dollar and change! I know that a couple of us refused to cash the checks, figuring we'd cost them more than that in bookkeeping time.

Jack Kunz

In addition to WINS, "Little Eva" got airplay (and won competitions) on WMCA. The group made a number of appearances, including Palisades Park and St. Michael's High School in Brooklyn, with the WMCA "Good Guys" who regularly hosted shows there. One of the more memorable St. Michael's shows we did was headlined by Johnny Mathis. The record vanished as quickly as it had appeared, but it's become a recurring footnote in the late Eva Boyd's recording history and is included as a tribute on the 1997 CD, "L-L-L-L-Little Eva - The Complete Dimension Recordings."

The Locomotions

Interestingly, many retrospectives on Little Eva's career (including the liner notes with the above-mentioned CD), credit the record and the group to Leon Huff, half of the famed Philadelphia writing/producing partnership with Kenny Gamble, reporting that he assembled the group using studio musicians. If that doesn't come as a big surprise to him, it sure does to us! There's no accounting for urban legends.

http://www.venturemusicgroup.com/pmp/chs.htm

Songs :

Little Eva Adios My Love

...

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The Magnificents

Posted on June 7 2009 by dion1

Thurman 'Ray' Ramsey, Fred Rakestraw, Johnny Keyes and Willie Myles

The Magnificents (Chicago)

Personnel :

Johnny Keyes (First Tenor)

Thurman 'Ray' Ramsey (Tenor)

Fred Rakestraw (Tenor)

Willie Myles (Bass)

Discography :

The Magnificents
Singles :
1956 - Up On The Mountain / Why Did She Go (Vee-Jay 183)
1956 - Caddy Bo / Hiccup (Vee-Jay 208)
1957 - Off The Mountain / Lost Lover (Vee-Jay 235)
1958 - Ozeta / Don't Leave Me (Vee-Jay 281)
1960 - Up On The Mountain / Let's Do The Cha Cha (Vee-Jay 367)
Unreleased :
N/A - Yes, She's My Baby (Vee-Jay)
N/A - Caddie Beau (Vee-Jay)
N/A - This Old Love Of Mine (Vee-Jay)
N/A - Hiccup (Vee-Jay)
N/A - Off The Mountain (Vee-Jay)
N/A - This Old Love Of Mine (Vee-Jay)
N/A - Rosebud (Vee-Jay)

L.C. Cooke bb the Magnificents
1958 - Do You Remember / Blue Tears (Checker 903)
1959 - Please Think Of Me / I'm Falling (Checker 925)

Biography :

Chicago teenagers Johnny Keyes, Ray Ramsey, Fred Rakeshaw, and Willie Myles formed a vocal group in 1954 and called themselves The Tams. At a local talent show they were befriended by noted Chicago radio personality The Magnificent Montague. As fellow d.j. Hal (the Kool Gent) Kent had a name association with a vocal group called The Kool Gents, Montague named the new group after himself and so The Magnificents were born. In January of 1956 the announcement was made in the trade press, and soon the new group had come in contact with Vee-Jay Records and a session was in the works.The song that was pitched was called "Up On The Mountain". By the spring the record was out on #183 (the flip is "Why Did She Go", and was an immediate smash.

In May the group does a Chicago television appearance on Bandstand Matinee,and the push helps the record sell big in Chicago. Next the record breaks out in Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio. The rest of the country is soon to follow. By the summer Vee-Jay has a monster hit on its hands as the song is number one in Chicago and Gary, Indiana, selling big in Canada, and soon is in the top fifteen sellers on the national R & B charts. The Magnificents start out on their first extensive tour of one nighters and are a big draw in Pittsburgh and Buffalo.

The Magnificents

L.C. Cooke, Johnny Keyes, Barbara Arrington, Fred Rakestraw and Willie Myles

In October the group does week long shows in New York at the Apollo Theater, and in Washington D.C. at the Howard. That November The Magnificents do a big show in their hometown of Chicago at the Trianon Ballroom. The bill includes The Kool Gents, Calvaes, Echoes, Shakey Horton, Harold Burrage, and Otis Rush. It is mc'd by Big Bill Hill and McKie Fitzhugh of radio station WOPA. By the end of the year Barbara Arrington had been added as lead singer and L.C. Cooke replaced Ray Ramsey.

The result was Vee-Jay #208 - "Caddy Bo"/"Hiccups" and was a dismal record that did not generate any excitement. The Magnificents played the WDIA Annual Goodwill Revue in Memphis at holiday time. The next release on Vee-Jay was #235 pairing "Off The Mountain" which would seem to be a logical follow up to their hit, and "Lost Lover" and again the group came up empty.At this time the group had become disillusioned with their treatment by those in the industry (especially Montague and Vee-Jay Records) and broke up. There was another Magnificents release on Vee-Jay #281 - "Don't Leave Me" and "Ozeta" in the spring of 1958.

The Magnificents

1958 - Jimmy Scruggs, Johnny Keyes, Fred Rakestraw with Dubs, Silhouettes & Drifters on tour

Somehow although the group was no more Baltimore charts showed "Don't Leave Me" as the number eight seller in that city. In 1960 Vee-Jay #367 was a re-release of "Up On The Mountain" with an apparently different un-named group on the flip on a song called "Let's Do The Cha Cha". There is one further mention of the Magnificents on an obscure early 60s release for Chess, most likely this has no relation to the Vee-Jay group. That's it then, the short and untimely story of The Magnificents, one of the great one hit wonders of the nineteen fifties vocal groups. The one hit though was so massive and memorable however, that it will be around whenever records of the R & B fifties are played. We should be thankful for small favors such as these !
http://www.uncamarvy.com/Magnificents/magnificents.html

...

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The Elegants aka The Crescents (1)

Posted on June 5 2009 by dion1

The Elegants aka The Crescents (1) (Staten Island, New York)

Personnel :

Viti Picone (Lead)

Arthur Venosa (Tenor)

Franck Tardogna (Second Tenor)

Carmen Romano (Baritone)

James Moschello (Bass)

Discography :

The Crescents (1)
1956 - Darling come back / My tears (Club 1011/Michele M 503/Victory 1001)

The Elegants
1958 - Little Star / Getting Dizzy (Apt 25005)
1958 - Please Believe Me / Goodnight (Apt 25017)
1958 - Rain Rain Go Away (Hull LP 1002)
1958 - Still Waiting (Hull (Unreleased))
1958 - True Love / Pay Day (Apt 25029)
1959 - Little Boy Blue / Get Well Soon (Hull 732)
1960 - Green Eyes (United Artists (Unreleased))
1960 - Bluffin (United Artists (Unreleased))
1960 - Let My Prayers Be With You / Speak Low (United Artists 230)
1961 - I've Seen Everything / Tiny cloud (ABC 10219)
1961 - Happiness / Spiral (United Artists 295)
1963 - Promises / The Young Years (Limelight 3013)
1963 - A Dream Can Come True / Dressin' Up (Photo 2662)
1965 - Barbabr Beware / A letter from Vietnam (Laurie 3283)
1965 - Brink Back Wendy / Wake up (Laurie 3298)
1974 - Lonesome Weekends / It's just a matter of time (Bim Bam Bom 121)
1980 - Woo Woo train / Maybe (Crystal ball 139)

Vito & The Elegants
1965 - Belinda / Lazy love (Instrumental) (Laurie 3324)

Vito Piccone & The Elegants
1963 - Path in the Wilderness / Get on the righf track (IPG 1016)

Biography :

Vito Picone and original member Carmen Romano met in the 1st grade at P.S. 39 in the South Beach Section of
Staten Island NY. Both had a young widowed mother and just one sibling and lived two blocks away from each other, it
was inevitable that the two would become friends immediately.

As they approached the 4th grade, the NYC Board of
Education started a music program and oddly enough Vito and Carmen were chosen as two of the four trombone
players. The other two were Vinny Licastri who became Vito's best friend (who would later die of leukemia at age 16,
the night The Elegants recorded "Little Star") and Ronnie Jones.

Vito, Carmen and Ronnie would form their first singing group in 1955 with a pretty trumpet player in the band named
Patricia Crocitto (daughter of the owner of a popular night club Crocitto's).
They fashioned their sound after the red hot vocal group "The Teenagers" because Patricia had the high Frankie
Lymon sounding voice and Vito could do the bass like Sherman Barns. They called themselves "Pat Cordel and The
Crescents".

Pat Cordel and The Crescents

After winning a singing contest, where the 1st prize was a recording contract, they recorded two songs "Darling Come
Back" written by Vito and "My Tears" written by the whole group.
One of the first white rock and roll artists to have a recording contract, they toured with such acts as The Willows, The
Fi-Tones, The Solitaires, etc. in mostly "Black" venues.
After their manager/Record Label Owner was tragically killed in Little Italy, they disbanded.
Pat became one of the June Taylor dancers (Jackie Gleason Show), Ronnie became a commercial artist. Vito and
Carmen decided that they enjoyed the entertainment world and would like to continue.

So back to their old hangout, the F.D.R Boardwalk in South Beach where at any given summer night you could find a
hundred or so teenagers including Bobby Darin or Johnny Maestro who's families had summer bungalows nearby.
They met Artie Venosa (co-wrote "Little Star" with Vito) who sang with various local groups and found he was also
interested in pursuing a singing career. He contacted Jimmy Moschello who enjoyed singing and introduced him to Vito
and Carmen.

The last piece of the puzzle was Frank Tardogno who attended New Dorp High School with Vito.Their first rehearsal
was magic, but now they needed a name. On his way to one of their rehearsal Vito passed a local tavern owned by his
other close friend Ben Sarullo (Head Coach at Monsignor Farrel High School) In the window was a cardboard placard
which read "Schenley, The Whiskey of Elegance".

He converted the word Elegance, suggested it to the other guys when he arrived, and the rest is history.

They knocked on the doors of their favorite record labels in Manhattan, giving live auditions, and were ecstatic when
Hull records the home of their idols "The Heartbeats" gave them a record deal.

The group was sub-let to ABC-Paramount and their first record "Little Star" was released on a subsidiary APT records.

The song sold 80,000 copies in New York with the first week, became #1 almost immediately not only in the U.S. but
internationally as well.

(Wiyh Frank Tardogna in the lead voice on : A Dream Can Come True & Dressin' Up (http://whitedoowopcollector.blogspot.com/))

The Elegants became only the second "white" vocal group to register a #1 record. (Preceded 6 months earlier by
Danny and The Juniors "At The Hop").
http://www.theelegants.net/index.html

CD :

MP3 :

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The playgirls (1)

Posted on June 5 2009 by dion1

The playgirls (1)

The Playgirls (1) (Los Angeles, California)
(updated by Hans-Joachim)

aka The Blossons
aka The Rollettes
aka The Dreamers (3)
aka The Angels (4)
aka The Girlfriends (3)
aka The Coeds (2)
Ref Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans

Personnel :

Fanita Wright Barrett (First tenor)

Darlene Wright (Love) (First tenor)

Nanette Williams Jackson (Second tenor)

Gloria Jones (Baritone)

Discography:

Singles:
1959 - Hey Sport / Young Love Swings The World (RCA Victor 47-7546)
1960 - Gee, But I'm Lonesome / Sugar Beat (RCA Victor 47-7719)

Unreleased
1960 - Who (RCA Victor)
1960 - I Ran To You (RCA Victor)

Biography:

The Blossoms' recordings for Capitol were quite a departure from the California R&B they were singing behind Richard Berry and Etta James. Their reputation to mutate their sound into other genres of music was being utilized to its fullest potential. Capitol Records, however, did not know how to promote them as primary artists. What made The Blossoms versatile also made them misunderstood by the major labels.

The playgirls (1) Clockwise from top: Darlene Wright (Love), Nanette Williams, Gloria Jones, Fanita Wright

A short stay at RCA under the name The Playgirls during 1959 and 1960 yielded two very unusual singles, “Hey Sport/Young Love Swings The World” and “ Sugarbeat/Gee But I'm Lonesome”. “Hey Sport” is straight out of a pop song book with an incongruous response by Darlene at the chorus, belting out a decidedly R&B “So what!” “Sugarbeat” was a minor chart item, featuring a pop chorus and skating rink organ. Again, Darlene saves the song from pop obscurity with her trademark “oh yeahs” in the verse. The beautiful “Gee, But I'm Lonesome” was penned by future Beach Boy Bruce Johnston, who nagged Gloria until she presented the song to the group.

John Clemente (Girl Groups: Fabulous Females That Rocked the World)
http://www.rockabilly.nl/references/messages/blossoms.htm
http://www.redbirdent.com/page2.htm
http://www.electricearl.com/dws/dreamers.html

Songs:


Hey Sport                     Young Love Swings The World


Gee, But I’m Lonesome                     Sugar Beat

…

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