Jackie & the Starlites at The Apollo Theatre.
Jackie & The Starlites (4) (New York)
Personnel :
Jackie Rue "Jackie La Rue" (Lead)
John Felix (Baritone)
Alton Jones (Tenor)
George Lassu (Second Tenor)
William ‘Billy’ Montgomery (Bass)
Discography:
Biography:
In September of 1960, one of the greatest, and certainly the most over the top of all doo wop crying records – Valerie b/w Way Up In The Sky (Fury) by the Starlites was unleashed on the world. While Valerie didn’t make the national charts, it was a good size hit in New York and other east coast cities, and it obviously made a big impression on those who heard it as it would eventually be covered by Frank Zappa & the Mothers, played on the radio by Lou Reed (when he guest DJ’s on WPIX-FM in 1979), and became the favorite record of punk haberdasher Malcom McClaren who had it on the jukebox at Let It Rock (the King’s Row shop that eventually became Sex, the store where the Sex Pistols were formed). Jackie Rue tortured vocal delivery, in which he breaks down into a hysterical, wailing, sobbing, grieving, fit, delivers the ultimate in teenage pathos.
When they appeared at the Uptown Theater in Philadelphia later that year, Jackie and the Starlites went from being the opening act on the first night to headliners by the second, elevated to the top billed over such hard workin’, crowd pleasing, hit makers as Ike & Tina Turner and James Brown & his Famous Flames. It has been said that Jackie and the Starlites were the only act James Brown ever refused to follow. Jackie La Rue originally started singing with an outfit called the Five Wings in the early 1950s, and cut a pair of singles with the group for King Records in 1955 before breaking up that year. Two of their members went on to form the Dubs, but La Rue wasn't heard from again in music until 1960, when the Starlites coalesced, consisting of Jackie Rue, as he was then known, Alton Thomas, John Felix, and Billy Montgomery. Fury Records was run by Harlem record store owner/producer/hustler Bobby Robinson (who also ran Fire, Red Robin, Enjoy, Everlast and a few other labels, why isn’t he in the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame? , a guy who produced more good records than any other New Yorker, including classics by Wilbert Harrison, Lee Dorsey, Elmore James, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Tarheel Slim, Wild Jimmy Spruill and dozens of fine vocal groups (the Rainbows, the Teenchords, the Kodaks, the Channels, the Charts, et al).
At The Apollo Theatre
The Starlites, re-christened Jackie and the Starlites as Valerie picked up momentum, recorded three more singles for Fury– "Ain’t Cha Ever Comin’ Home" b/w "Silver Lining", "I Found Out Too Late" b/w "I’m Comin’ Home", both pretty much in the style of Valerie, and their final disc under Robinson’s tutelage, which may be the most unhinged of all– "They Laughed At Me" b/w "You Put One Over On Me". They Laughed At Me, issued as Fire & Fury 1000, was released as Robinson was experiencing financial difficulties (both labels would go into receivership soon after They Laughed At Me was released) and is extremely rare. But oh, what a majestic and unique performance. This time, Jackie Rue laughs his way through his tale of rejection, cackling like a constipated hyena on methadrine, Jackie sounds like his esophagus is turning inside out. It ranks close to the top of the pantheon of sides as Phil Schaap might say if we were talkin’ jazz. There is no other record quite like it, and I think we can safely say at this point in time, there never will be.
No More Heart Sha Pobo Baby