1953 - Kenny McMillan, Alfred Gaitwood, Joe Martin, Enoch Hale, Walter Lowry
Thanks to Liam
The Smoothtones (1) (Pittsburgh)
Personnel :
Alfred Gaitwood (Lead)
Enoch Hale (First Tenor)
Joe Martin (Second Tenor)
Walter Lowry (Baritone)
Kenny McMillan (Bass)
Discography :
1955 - Bring Back Your Love / No Doubt About It (Jem 412)
Biography :
The
Smoothtones surfaced in 1953 in Pittsburgh. The lead, Alfred Gaitwood,
was from Alabama and found himself in Pittsburgh with a U.S. Air Force
unit. Gaitwood rounded up Enoche Hale (First Tenor), Joe Martin (Second
Tenor), Walter Lowry (Baritone), and Kenny McMillian (Bass). Gaitwood
named the group the Smoothtones. Paul Ruffin was their manager.
L to R : Alfred Gaitwood, Walter Lowry, Paul Ruffin (Manager), Bill powel (DJ), Kenny McMillan, Jud Hunter & Joe Martin
Hale was drafted in 1954 and was replaced by Jud Hunter at First
Tenor. Through networking, Gaitwood met Lennie Martin, who ran the
operations at Jem Records . (Martin would later be instrumental in
forming Calico Records [Skyliners] and Robbie Records.) The Smoothtones
recorded two sides for Jem in June 1955. Interestingly, these were the
first black vocal group releases out of Pittsburgh. Early in 1956,
Gaitwood was transferred to another air force base. Jud Hunter then
brought Sylvester Brooks into the group at lead.
This altered group went back to Jem to record two more sides.
Supposedly, they recorded the Gaitwood-penned "It's Too Late Now." A
pressing of this disc has never been seen. Jud Hunter, in an interview
by Carl and Nancy Janusek, swore that this was released and that he saw
the recording on wax. (This cannot be confirmed — perhaps it was never
released.) It was later done by the Cufflinks on Dootone. Gaitwood was
with the group at that time. With Gaitwood gone, the cohesiveness that
once held the group together disappeared, and they disbanded in
September 1956.
Songs :
Bring Back Your Love No Doubt About It
