1962 - The Tiger's Wide Awake (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) / Hitch Hikin (Amy 840 )
Biography :
The Chord-A-Roys are a vocal group from Brooklyn fronted by Mike Regal with Robert Walden, Shelly Weiss and John Christiano. The group cut one single for JDS Records. The group broke up soon after and Shelly Weiss joined Mike Lasman, Allan Senzan and Ian Kaye & formed the Dreamers / the Accents.
In 1962, Mike Regal became lead singer for another group, The Romeos. The Romeos recorded the answer song to the classic Tokens tune "The Lion Sleep Tonight".
The Runarounds (1) (Brooklyn, New York) aka The Emotions (1)aka The Moments aka Four Dreams
Personnel :
Joe Favale (Lead)
Tony Maltese (Tenor)
Larry Cusimano (Second Tenor)
Joe Nigro (Baritone)
Dom Collura (Bass)
Discography :
1961 - The Nearest Thing To Heaven / Lovers Lane (Pio 107)
Biography :
The Emotions was formed in 1958 by Joe Favale and Tony Maltese. Recently discharged from the Navy Joe began singing with a group from lower Manhattan called The Moments. After a couple of years of performing but having no luck getting a record contract they disbanded. At the same time Tony Maltese's group, The Runarounds decided to call it quits.
The Moments
One night while singing Doo-Wop harmonies together in Maple Lanes bowling alley in Brooklyn they decided to join forces and start a new group. They enlisted the services of Dom Colurra, Larry Cusamano and Joe Nigro. They called themselves The Runarounds, and acquired a personal manager named Henry Boye.
Tony Maltese's first Runarounds
Henry was responsible for the group's first recording contract with Pio records. In August 1961 their first record of the aforementioned songs was released — and promptly flopped. A year later they changed their name to The Emotions.
The Claremonts (Bronx, New-York) aka The Tonettes (1)
Personnel :
Diana Sanchez
Sylvia Sanchez
Josie Allen
Discography :
The Claremonts 1957 - Why keep Me Dreaming / Angel Of Romance (Apollo 3628)
The Tonettes (1) Singles: 1958 - Oh What A Baby / Howie (Doe 101/ABC 9905) 1958 - Uh-Oh / He Loves Me Not, He Loves Me (Doe 103) Unreleased : 1958 - Rockabye baby (Doe)
Vince Castro bb The Tonettes (1) 1958 - Bong Bong / You're My Girl (Doe 102/Apt 25007) 1958 - Too Proud To Cry / Cause I Love You (Apt 25025) 1960 - You're My Girl / Bongo Twist (Apt 25047)
Biography :
Near the East Tremont section of the Bronx, New York, is a street named Claremont Parkway. It begins at Crotona Park and ends about seven blocks away at Claremont Park. It is a little South of Belmont Avenue (which gave us Dion & The Belmonts) and a little North of Morrisania which gave us The Mellows, Lillian Leach, Dean Barlow, and others . So - this has been fertile ground for vocal group harmony throughout the years. In 1957 on Claremont Parkway were two sisters, Diana and Sylvia Sanchez, who liked to harmonize and blend their voices on tunes of the day. Their good friend Josephine (Josie) Allen often joined them as the threesome enjoyed making music and copying sounds they heard on the radio.
It was a day like many others that the two sisters were hitting some notes when they were heard by a television repair man named Lou Ezzo who was somewhat impressed and told them that they should pursue their talent further. Offering his services, he soon put them in touch with those at Apollo Records, one of New York's oldest and best known independent labels that for the last few years had built up an impressive roster of R & B performers.
The three girls showed their stuff to Apollo and including the song writing ability of Diana Sanchez soon found themselves getting ready to experience their very first recording date. Along with top session musicians such as Sammy Lowe, Sam "The Man" Taylor, Mickey Baker, and David "Panama" Francis, the girls worked out the songs for the very first record for them. The songs were "Keep Me Dreaming" and "Angel Of Romance" on Apollo # 517, which was released in November of 1957. An interesting sidelight is the fact that songwriting credit on the songs is also given to the TV repair man !
The Claremonts were now managed by one Charles Merenstein who just happened to be the son in law of Bess Berman head of Apollo Records. At the beginning of 1958 he launched his own label called Doe Records and readied a new side by The Claremonts whom he now renamed The Tonettes. He reasoned that the new name had a "snappier" sound that teenagers would better relate to. That was also the reason that he recorded the group on his new label thinking that the Apollo Records label was too historically aligned with the basic sound of R & B. And so in February of 1958 came "Oh What A Baby" backed with "Howie" on Doe # 101.
It took off up and down the East Coast and had that certain something that made it a favorite at record hops and dances everywhere. Soon Doe Records realized the extent of the appeal of the record and leased the master to ABC-Paramount (released on # 9905) which gave the record access to nationwide distribution. "Oh What A Baby" was a good seller and a mainstay on radio playlists throughout the spring.
Vince Castro & The Tonettes
In the meantime there was another player in the musical history of the group. Across Claremont Parkway from the Sanchez sisters lived another young person with dreams of musical stardom. His name was Vince Castro and he sometimes shared notes with the sisters. And so he was given a shot to add his voice and style to the music of the day and Charles Merenstein set the session for May. The Tonettes backed up Castro on the song "Bong Bong (I Love You Madly)" with "You're My Girl" on Doe Records # 102. Once again the 'A' side took off in sales and airplay and Doe leased the side to another ABC-Paramount subsidiary label Apt Records on # 25007. And so in the spring and summer of 1958 the joyous sounds of the neighbors on Claremont Parkway shook the city with two great records, and they both (together and as solo acts) performed at a number of shows and radio dances in the Northeast.
Vince Castro followed up his solid hit with another session that produced two songs that he wrote himself - "Cause I Love You" and "Too Proud To Beg" released on Apt # 25025. This time out the record did not crack the charts. Not much more was heard from The Tonettes or Vince Castro, but in the early sixties to try and make something out of the Twist craze, Apt Records re-released # 25007 as "The Bongo Twist" and coupled with the original flip side released it on # 25047. http://home.earthlink.net/~v1tiger/tonettes.html
The Four Dots : Marvin Brown, Fletcher Williams, Melvin Peters and Kenneth Miller
The Four Dots (1) (Pittsburgh, PA) aka The Four Troys
Personnel :
Kenny Jackson (First Tenor)
Melvin Peters (Second Tenor)
Manning Rosemont (Baritone)
Marvin Brown (Bass)
Discography :
The Four Dots (1) 1956 - Rita / He Man Looking For A She Girl (Bullseye 103)
Fletcher Williams & The Four Dots (1) 1956 - Peace Of Mind / Kiss Me Sugar Plum (Bullseye 104)
The Four Troys Singles : 1959 - In The Moonlight / Suddenly You Want To Dance (Freedom 44013) Unreleased 1959 - Weeping Willow (Freedom)
Fletcher Williams 1957 - Mary Lou / Stop Look And Love Me (Bullseye 1001)
Biography :
They Started as the Mellows around 1950, in the Hill and Homewood sections of Pittsburgh, PA. The original group did not have Marvin Brown included in it......because they hadn't found him yet. When they did, it was Fletcher Williams, Edgar Lee, Melvin Peters, Kenneth Miller and Marvin Brown . They changed their name to the five Mellows, and sang much of the standard fare of the R+B groups in the early and mid 50's.
The Five Mellows : Edgar Lee, Melvin Peters, Fletcher Williams, Kenneth Miller and Marvin Brown
They changed their name again,this time to the Four Dots, Edgar Lee left (and some additional swapping of members), and had one recording session in early 1956 with Bullseye records. They recorded four songs,"Rita","He Man Looking For A She Girl","Peace Of Mind","Kiss Me Sugar Plum." The first two were released as Bullseye 103. It was played locally in the Pittsburgh area, but didn't get play nationally. The second release pair the last two, Peace Of Mind", and "Kiss Me Sugar Plum." Same result. The story has some twists.
A different group from California, called the Four Dots, was signed to a Liberty records subsidiary, Freedom, in 1959. This group had Jewel Akens, Jerry Stone and Eddie Cochran as members, and released two 45's. That label also signed the Marvin Brown based Four Dots. You can't have two of the same named artists on a label, so the "Original Four Dots" became the Four Troys. They issued "In The Moonlight" and "Suddenly You Want To Dance" on Freedom 44013 in 1959. Melvin Peters also worked with the Del Vikings and Marcels. In the early 1960's, he joined Chuck Jackson and the Motown group The Originals. Then it was back home as a Headliner. He spent the seventies working with Solid Gold, Flashback, and the Katch. Now he's with a Cleveland group called Mellow Class.
(L to R) - J.B.Bingham, Walter (Simtec) Simmons, Mathew Whitfield, Ronnie Simmons ( guitar).
The Vermacharms (Chicago)
Personnel :
J.B.Bingham
Walter Simmons
Mathew Whitfield
Ronnie Simmons
Biography :
J.B.Bingham was born on the 1st of September I945 in Chicago. As a teenager JB cut his teeth singing lead vocals and playing guitar with several neighbourhood groups. One group in particular under the unlikely name of “The Vermacharms” also featured Walter (Simtec ) Simmons, his brother Ronnie Simmons, Mathew Whitfield and JB J.B. Bingham . In 1970, J.B.Bingham and his group "Five Flights Up" had a hit with the song "Do What You Wanna Do"
The Jaynells 1963 -I'll Stay Home / Down Home (Inst.) (Cameo 286/Diamond 153) 1984 - Out Of A Million Girls / At The End Of A Sunset (Angela 101) 1984 - Portrait of Love / Hollywood Actor (Angela 102)
The Gleems 1963 - Sandra Baby / You Are The One (Parkway 893)
Biography :
When the four instrumentalists in the Jays merged their talents with the four vocalists in the Cornells in 1961, they logically called themselves the Jaynells. For the singers - Vic Spina, Cornell McDaniels, Phil Nigro and Pierre Massey - being a self-contained band meant a better shot at success. They Got that chance on October 28, 1963 when "I'll Stay At Home (New Year's Eve)", written bu George Davis and John Taylor of the Creators, and "Sandra Baby" were recorded under the supervision of Ben Archilla.
Phil Nigro, Pierre Massey, Cornell McDaniels and Vic Spina
Ben Archilla was an independent producer, he did not work for Cameo Parkway. If he really asked them "do you want to see the record released" he could've put it out independently. He shopped the master around until someone showed interest, and the Kolsky brothers bought it and issued it on Diamond records. Cameo records came in once the record started to take off, and bought the master from Joe Kolsky, along with the Jaynells contract. This immediately took the Diamond 45 off the market and by this point Cameo realized they were too late in getting their version of the disc out for the Christmas/New Years season, and decided to scrap re-releasing it. The group recorded a second 45 for Cameo, which was issued on their Parkway label, but when the 45 was released, their name was changed to the Gleems (which the band did not know about and was not happy about). In fact, the original tape box for the follow up single has the name the Jaynells on it, crossed out, with The Gleems written on top of it. Four songs from 1963' session were released in 1984 on the Angela label.
1959 - The Genie / Feeling Of Her Kiss (Sultan 1) 1960 - Angel In Disguise / Stool Pigeon (Al Brite 1650/1651)
Biography :
From 1957-1960 Edward Jehamy, Fred Trabulsi, Theodore Barber, James Ramsey and Joseph Cavanna are The Inspirations from Brooklyn who recorded a single called "The Genie" /"Feeling Of Her Kiss" . The Group have a second single for Al Brite Record .
Eddie Jehamy wrote "The Genie" and sang lead on the flip side " Feeling Of Her Kiss". In 1960 Joseph Cavanna joined The Classmates and recorded "Graduation" backed up with "Teenage Twister."
The Dootones (2) (Los Angeles, CA) aka The Creators (2)
Personnel :
Gentry Bradley (Bass / Baritone)
Gerald Middleton (Tenor)
Hillary Conedy
Royal Dillard
Discography :
The Creators (2) 1961 - I've Had You / Drafted, Volunteered, Enlisted (Dootoo 463) 1962 - Too Far To Turn Around / Hello There, Mister Gravedigger (Dore 635)
The Dootones (2) Singles : 1962 - Strange Love Affair / The Day You Said Goodbye (Dooto 470) 1962 - Sailor Boy / Down The Road (The Dootones 1) (Dooto 471) Unreleased : 1962 - If You Were My Darling (Dooto) (Unreleased)
Biography :
Formed in the Compton area of Los Angeles in 1960, The Creators rehearsed one of Perry's love ballads, "I've had you" and sent a tape of it to Dootsie Williams. Williams called the guys and had them come down to sessions man Austin McCoy's studio at 135th and Avalon. The Group cut "I've Had You" b/w "Drafted, Volunteered, Enlisted".
Dootsie Williams
The record sold pretty well around L.A and the Creators played the Pacific Ballroom in San Diego, The Moulin Rouge and Palladium on Sunset Boulevard, The Long Beach Arena, and The El Monte Legion Stadium where masquerading as The Penguins we backed Cleve Duncan. In September 1962, a neighbourhood entrepreneur named Danny Merlin operating from his home on Western Avenue, Los Angeles, introduced the quintet to Bedell who signed them on the strength of 'Too Far To Turn Around'.
Top Lt to Rt . Gentry Bradley , Thomas Harris Bottom Lt. To Rt. Donald Neal, Charles Perry, Gerald Middlelton
This featured Charles Perry and Hillary Conedy (who replace Donald Neal) handling the lead and falsetto parts respectively, supported by Gentry Bradley, Tom Harris and Gerald Middleton - all five being named on the contract. After the single failed to chart, Charles Perry then broke away to record a solo single for the obscure Melic label owned by songwriter Jessie Mae Robinson.
The Ivories (2) ((Manhattan, New York) aka The Ivoleers
Personnel :
Ella Lee Lewis Jr. (Lead)
Johnny Earl Jackson (Baritone/Bass)
Richard Lewis (First Tenor)
Moses Brown (Baritone)
"Blinky" (SecondTenor)
Discography :
The Ivories (2) 1957 - Me And You / I'm In Love (Mercury 71239)
The Ivoleers 1959 - Lovers' Quarrel / Come With Me (Buzz 101)
Biography :
When the Ivories / Love Notes disbanded in the Summer of 1957, Johnny Earl Jackson, who was part of the original Ivories who recorded on Jaguar Records "Alone" and "Baby Send A Letter", formed a new group. Since the Ivories were no longer in existence (having become the Love Notes), he recycled the name. The New Ivories group consisted of his girlfriend, Ella Lee Lewis Jr. (lead), her brother, Richard Lewis (first tenor), Moses Brown (baritone), a second tenor named "Blinky" and Johnny Earl Jackson (baritone/bass).
They recorded "Me And You" and "I'm In Love" released by Mercury Recordsin November 1957. Moses Brown left the Ivories and was replaced by a baritone named "Chink." , They changed their name by to the Ivoleers and recorded "Lovers' Quarrel" and "Come With Me" for Bobby Smith's Buzz label in early 1959. http://www.uncamarvy.com/Ivories/ivories.html
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