1958 - School Girl / To The Aisle (Cinemasound 92057)
Biography :
Vocal & instrumental group from Toledo. In 1958 The Winstons recorded in a garage studio on Oswald Street two songs : "School Girl" and "To The Aisle". The single was released by Cinemasound Records in Toledo.
Two Pretty good renditions of these songs that were previously done by Fats Domino (School Girl) and The Five Satins (To The Aisle)
First Group The Majestics (2) 1960 - Hard Times / Teenage Gossip (Contour 501)
Second Group Johnny Mitchell & The Majestic’s 1961 - Shoppin' And Hoppin’/ So I Can Forget (Chex 1000) 1961 - Give Me A Cigarette / Shoppin' And Hoppin' (Chex 1000) 1962 - Give Me A Cigarette / So I Can Forget (Chex 1004)
The Majestics (2) 1962 - Unhappy And Blue / Treat Me Like You Want To Be Treated (Chex 1004) 1962 - Lonely Heart / Gwendolyn (Chex 1006) 1963 - Baby / Teach Me How To Limbo (Chex 1009) 1964 - Hello Love / The Further You Look, The Less You See (V.I.P 25010)
Biography :
The Majestics, like many groups of the era have a complicated history. The late Johnny Mitchell was the lead singer on their "Shoppin' And Hoppin’" and "So I Can Forget" released in 1961 as Chex 1000. There are two pressings available on this ballad: according to producer and singer Tony Ewing, the first was called "So I Can Forget" and the title was changed to "Give Me A Cigarette" for some forgotten reason. "So I Can Forget" generated enough local response to encourage Ewing to develop his tiny new record company. According to former Contour Cyril Clarke, who sang with the Majestics on their first record, "Hard Times" / "Teenage Gossip" in 1960 for Robert West’s Contour label, the original Majestics consisted of Johnny Mitchell, C. Autry "Breeze" Hatcher, Alvin English and Cyril Clarke.
Yet by the time the Majestics recorded for Chex about a year and a half later, only Johnny Mitchell remained. The rest of the group consisted of Thomas Mealy (Lead and Tenor), Maurice Fagin (Lead), Pedro Mancha (Baritone) and Warren Harris (Bass). The Majestics’ second Chex 45 was "Unhappy And Blue" with Maurice Fagin on lead backed with "Treat Me Like You Want To Be Treated." Locally distributed in the spring of 1962 as Chex 1004, it failed to make much noise for the young group. They did much better with "Lonely Heart" / "Gwendolyn" also released in 1962 as Chex 1006. Thomas Mealy sang the lead on most of the Majestic releases for Chex, and "Lonely Heart" was distributed national at that time by Jerry Blaine’s Cosnat-Jubilee operation.
Tony Ewing
The Majestics last record for Chex was "Baby" / "Teach Me How To Limbo" wich came out in early 1963 as Chex 1009 . "Baby" was the final wax by the Majestics for Chex. In 1964 The Majestics Warren Harris & Maurice Fagin came to Motown and with Richard Street and Saundra Fagin signed to the V.I.P label Their first single was to be "Hello Love" but the single was canned and Motown discovered there was a group based out of East LA called The Majestics, so Motown's Majestics became The Monitors and "Say You" was their first single in 1965. http://doowopheaven.blogspot.fr/2015/07/the-monitors-3.html
Songs :
The Majestics (2)
Hard Times Teenage Gossip
Johnny Mitchell & The Majestic’s
Shoppin' And Hoppin’ So I Can Forget (Give Me A Cigarette)
The Majestics (2)
Unhappy And Blue Treat Me Like You Want To Be Treated
The vocal group known as The Four Deuces was formed in the town of Salinas, California in the mid fifties. The lead singer named Luther McDaniels got together with a group of army buddies from Fort Ord composed by James Dunbar (first tenor), Orvis Lee Teamer (baritone) and Henry Shufford (bass) . After concentrating on some gospel songs, the group decided to turn to straight rhythm & blues. McDaniel had been working on a tune called "WPLJ" which was about a favorite beverage of some of the guys. The concoction of White Port and Lemon Juice was popular with the guys and was a personal favorite in the area. By now the quartet was looking for a possible record deal and they were told to try the Berkely-San Francisco area. They came in contact with Ray Dobard who operated Music City Records. They soon got into the recording studio with the Johnny Hartman combo and after many takes, a good version of McDaniel's tune "W-P-L-J" was cut along with a strange flip side called "Here Lies My Love" by Roy Hawkins on Music City # 790. The record soon blasted out of West in February of 1956 and got big play on radio stations across the country.
Lord Luther
Besides the home territory of San Francisco Bay area, the record was especially strong in Philadelphia. The group began to make appearances on the West Coast and had planned a trip East but that was soon put on hold. The Four Deuces capitalizing on their success recorded a commercial for Italian Swiss Colony, a famous wine producer using the white port of the tune to sell that company's product. The song was everywhere on radio from the original record to the radio commercials touting the wine. later in the year the Four Deuces were back in the Music City recording studio and in late August Music City released "Down It Went" and "The Goose Is Gone" on # 796. Tenor James Dunbar was replaced with Walter Simpson and bass Henry Shufford was replaced by Buel Moore. This time the like positioned "Down It Went" did not become a big success. The Four Deuces soon broke up as the army buddies went their seperate ways and followed their own personal dreams.
Luther McDaniel continued to record into the nineteen sixties for independent labels in California and later on for Imperial Records and his own label called Lusan. None of the recordings had much success and McDaniel left the music business and in later years reportedly owned his own night spot in Salinas. He and his group may have been a one hit wonder, but that one hit was a memorable one complete with a top rock radio station in New York changing its call letters to WPLJ. And of course there was always that classic cover version by Frank Zappa. "W-P-L-J" is one of the signature tunes of that bygone era in the nineteen fifties when the R & B vocal group was the voice of a generation. http://www.uncamarvy.com/4Deuces/4deuces.html http://home.earthlink.net/~v1tiger/deuces.html
(L to R) Clarence Thomas, Drew "Skippy" Thompson, Shelton Laster, George Val Poitier and Major Branch
The Dreamtones (1) (Springfield, Massachusetts) aka The Centuries (2) ref The Mint Juleps
Personnel :
Major Branch (Lead)
George Val Poitier (Bass)
Shelton Laster (Baritone)
Clarence Thomas (Second Tenor)
Drew "Skippy" Thompson (First Tenor)
Milton White (Piano)
Discography :
The Dreamtones (1) 1958 - Stand Behind Me / Love In The Afternoon (Klik 8505) 1959 - Praying For A Miracle / Jelly Bean (Express 501) 1959 - A Lover's Answer / Mean Man (Astra 551)
The Mitlo Sisters bb The Dreamtones (1) 1958 - Lonely Sea / Let Me Tell You (Klik 8405)
The Centuries (2) 1963 - Crying For You / Oh Darling (The Jaytones) (Times Square 5) 1963 - Betty / Ride Away (The Revlons) (Times Square 15)
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The Mint Juleps Singles : 1956 - Bells Of Love / Vip-A-Dip (Herald 481) Unreleased : 1956 - Ginny Doll 1959 - Queen Of Love
Biography :
The Dreamtones Hailed from Springfield, Massachusetts culling members from the Mint Juleps as well as several Gospel Groups . They Featured the Lead of Major Branch with George Val Poitier (Actor Sidney's cousin), Shelton Laster, Clarence Thomas, Skippy Thompson and Milton White on Piano. Before joining the Dreamtones, George Val Poitier & Clarence Thomas had been with The Mint Juleps on Herald. The other members were Alvin Clark on lead, William Terrell and Emra Clemmons . The mint Juleps recorded "Bells Of Love" and "Vip-A-Dip" released on Herald 481 and did two unreleased songs "Ginny Doll" and "Queen Of Love". There were so many different groups vying for airplay in 1956, and if your first single didn’t sell, your other tunes may well be scrapped.
The individual members of the Dreamtones met at a local club and began to harmonize. Milton's mother had a rooming house where many of the touring R&B groups of the day would stay while passing through Springfield. In 1957, the group went to New Haven and signed and recorded with Marty Kugell's Klik label. The Dreamtones backed up the Mitlo Sisters on their Klik recording of "Oh Lonely Sea" before Klik released their first single with "Stand Behind Me" and "Love In The Afternoon".
The group also had releases on Express in 1959: "Praying For A Miracle" b/w "Jelly Bean". NY's Express label, which was a sister label of Fargo Records. The Final Dreamtones release was "A Lover's Answer" b/w "Mean Man" for Astra in 1959 though they can also be heard providing jungle hoots behind Joe Therrien on his very rare Sentinel release, "Siam". In the early 1960s, previously unreleased Klik master were sold to Slim Rose; Slim released them on his Times Square label and renamed the group the Centuries.
Songs
The Dreamtones (1)
Stand Behind Me Love In The Afternoon Praying For A Miracle
1960 - It Wasn't So Long Before (Graduation is Here) / Sometimes (Artflow 145)
Biography:
The Four Townsmen, a four-part harmony, doo-wop quartet from Canonsburg (home of Perry Como, Bobby Vinton, and the Four Coins), formed in 1959. The charter members were Chuck Marshall (lead), Pete Kouklakis (tenor), Bob Kraushaar (baritone), and Lou Gadani (bass). The Canon-McMillan High guys began like all the other hometown bands, performing locally for the talent shows, school dances and record hops. They finally felt that they had enough material (albeit mainly covers) to expand their dates, and impressed Terry Lee enough (he was spinning at Canonsburg's WARO then) to land a date on his show. TFT eventually ran across Odell Bailey, a local bird dog with a pretty good track record, and handed him a demo tape.
Bailey liked what he heard, and arranged for The Four Townsmen to record their first original song "It Wasn't So Long Before (Graduation is Here)" co-written by Marshall and friend Alan Mark, b/w "Sometimes (When I'm All Alone)." They released the 45 in 1960, on the Artflow label, #145. And hey, both tunes got some radio love. They were spun fairly heavily on KDKA, and the group grew a regional fan base. "Graduation" was even reissued in 1963, and got play in some out-of-town markets. A career, even if at first blush short-lived, had begun. They opened for other smooth acts like Bobby Vee at the South Park Fairgrounds, Paul Anka, The Lettermen, and Brian Hyland. They got a week of two-show performances daily at Atlantic City's Steel Pier.
Though their live performances kept them in demand, there were to be no more recordings. In 1963, the times conspired to pull the curtain down on Act One of The Four Townsmen. Gadani went off to college, and then joined the Peace Corps. Kouklakis enrolled at trade school and Kraushaar joined the Army. So the group called it quits (not that there was much of it left, unless Marshall decided to gig as The Townsman). http://oldmonmusic.blogspot.fr/2009/05/four-townsmen.html
1956 - The Fordham Baldies, Vinny Duke, Joe Zinzi, Jackie Serra & Dion Dimucci
Dion & The Fordham Baldies
Personnel :
Dion DiMucci
Discography :
1957 - Rooftop Serenade (Unreleased)
Biography :
The Fordham Baldies were a very real gang from the mid -1950s that centered around the Little Italy section of the Bronx (East 187th Street , Belmont Avenue, Arthur Avenue area). They boasted Dion DiMucci of Dion and the Belmonts as a member, and contrary to their representation in the movie (The Wanderers), they were not actually bald, but took their name from the bald eagle. According to Dion, The Fordham Baldies in a way were his first singing group, They would back up him singing and guitar playing in his Bronx Neighborhood, Schoolyard Parties, their Clubroom Dances.
Dion
Dion recorded "Rooftop Serenade" on a Pentron tape recorder that his landlady owned. He got so much use outta it, he think his dad bought it for him. The way the guitar is so upfront, he can't believe a real studio woulda let him get away with that. The guys behind him were just a couple of guys from the poolroom. Then he took the tape to Allegro Studio in the basement of 1650 Broadway, and they made an acetate. You can only play that thing just so many times before it's unplayable, and that's why it sounds like it does. The tape must have been recorded over years back. Anyway, he used that acetate to get his first record deal.
The Deans (2) (Brooklyn, New York) aka The Four Playboys / The Four Deans

Personnel :

Joe Macaluso (Tenor)

Tom Cori (Baritone)

Fred Khoury (Bass)


Discography :


The Deans (2)
Singles : 1960 - My Heart Is Low / I'll Love You Forever (Mohawk 114) 1960 - Humpty Dumpty / Le Chiam (Goodluck) (Mohawk 119) 1961 - It's You / I Don't Want To Wait (Just For Saturday Night) (Mohawk 126) 1961 - Little White Gardenia / I Don't Want To Wait (Just For Saturday Night) (Laurie 3114) 1963 - I'm Gonna Love You / Don't Let Her Cry Tonight (Tin Pan Alley 316) 1963 - Pretty Nola / Ricky Rocky Poo-Poo-Poo (Honeywell Jackson) (Tin Pan Alley 319) Unreleased : 1960 - Walk With Me (Mohawk) 1960 - Carol (Mohawk) 1960 - Little Girl (Mohawk) 1960 - Come On (Mohawk)

The Four Deans (The Four Playboys) 1992 (Recorded 58) - So Very Wrong / Mr Echo (Park Ave.7)

Biography :
The Deans formed in 1956-1957 and went on to record for Mohawk records. Originally, calling themselves The Four Playboys : Ralph Maffei (Lead) , Tom Cori (Baritone), Fred Khoury (Bass)and Joe Macaluso (Tenor) and eventualy lead on all recordings, when Ralph Maffei left the group to get married. The 3-man group liked Dean Martin and for awhile called themselves the Dino’s, eventually settling on the Deans. They auditioned live in 1960 for Irv Spice.
The Four Playboys
Irv Spice owner of Mohawk Records, was a musician who engulfed most of his productions with strings and full orchestration. He is probably best known releasing Dion & The Belmonts and The Dimensions’ first discs, two groups who went on to national fame. Mohawk Records and it’s subsidiaries Wizz, Abel, dragon, Dee and Hawk have been involved in many recordings both released and unreleased.
The Deans
Irv Spice quickly signed them to a contract, their outstanding "Blend and Sound" made them sound like a 5-man group. The group started recording at Dick Charles Studios, and cut three singles from 1960 to 1961 before joining Laurie records for one single: "Little White Gardenia" b/w "I Don't Want To Wait (Just For Saturday Night)". Despite two other records on the Tin Pan Alley Labels in 1963, they never achieved great success.
In the early 1990, Park Avenue released "So Very Much" and "Mr. Echo" recorded in 1958 by the original group, the Four Playboys, with Ralph Maffei on lead. The single was released under the name of The Four Deans .
Songs :
The Deans (2)
My Heart Is Low I'll Love You Forever Humpty Dumpty
Le Chiam It's You I Don't Want To Wait
Little White Gardenia I'm Gonna Love You Don't Let Her Cry Tonight
1956 - Cherie / Little Mama (Aladdin 3329) 1956 - Ray Pearl / Dear Little One (Aladdin 3347)
Biography :
Los Angeles-based R&B vocal group the Jivers formed in 1955--according to Marv Goldberg's profile in the November 2001 issue of Discoveries, founder Daryll Perrault (baritone) previously teamed in an unnamed quartet that briefly collaborated with Jesse Belvin before backing Al Smith on four sides for Combo as one of several Smith support staffs credited as the Savoys.
Darryl Perrault then teamed with fellow Centennial High students Peter Bryant (tenor), Douglas Brown (tenor), John Saulter (Lead) and Charles Farmer (bass) to form the Jivers--after signing to Aladdin, the group cut four songs at Capitol Studios in June 1956, with their debut single "Cherie" hitting stores a month later. The follow-up, "Ray Pearl," appeared in October, like its predecessor failing to generate any notice--with bookings scarce and their Aladdin deal expiring, the Jivers dissolved in 1957. Perrault resurfaced briefly in 1965, teaming with brother Larry to record "Oldie But Goodie" for Ray Charles' Tangerine label.
Paul Lewis (The Mighty Swamba) & The Swans (3) 1954 - Wedding Bells Oh Wedding Bells / Little Senorita (Fortune 813)
The Swans (3) 1955 - Mister Cool Breeze / I'll Forever Love You (Fortune 822)
Biography :
Fortune Records was formed by composer-lyricist Devora Brown and her husband Jack in 1946 in Detroit. Jack and Devora decided to establish their own record company with the main purpose to record Devora's songs. In the beginning, they operated out of their home, then they rented a place on Linwood Avenue in Detroit. Their first record was "Jane" by Russ Titus. It was a hit in Detroit. The elusive national hit record was "Jealous Love" by The Davis Sisters in 1952. Two years later "Adios My Desert Love" and "The Wind" by Nolan Strong & The Diablos was a triumph in Black vocal group harmony.
The Swans with disc jockey Lady B (Fran Belcher) (L to R) Earl Fontain, Tommy Jones, Lady B, Byron Thomas and Henry Goodwin
Fortune released records by Rhythm & Blues artists Blues Legend John Lee Hooker, Nolan Strong & The Diablos, Andre Williams, Nathaniel Mayer and many others. In addition, the label featured product by Rockabilly, Country and Gospel artists. Fortune's Biggest National Hit was "Village Of Love" by Nathaniel Mayer. Released in May, 1962, the record reached #22 on the Billboard Pop Chart.
In November 1954, a group of Four Fellows From Toledo named the Swans and constituted by Tommy Jones, Byron Thomas, Earl Fontain and Henry Goodwin signed a recording contract with Fortune Records. The Swans were managed by Paul lewis, a reverend prophet from Toledo. Lead singer Tommy Jones wrote two songs "Wedding Bells Oh Wedding Bells " and "Little Senorita ". Paul lewis recorded the two songs backed by the group. The single was released in December 1954 by Paul Lewis (The Mighty Swamba) & The Swans. Finally, early 1955, the Swans recorded their single "Mister Cool Breeze" b/w "I'll Forever Love You", both wrote by Tommy Jones.
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