Personnel :
Jim Stephens (Lead)
Marv Rosenberg
Richard Clasky
Sheldom Briar
Biography :
A soft pop group from Los Angeles, The Safaris trekked through four names and three labels before reaching their one hit-status. The Original group was formed in 1959 and called themselves the mystics. When the East Coast Mystics hit that spring, Sandy Weisman, Marv Rosenberg and Richard Clasky became the Enchanters (5). Marv was a student at Fairfax High School and Richard was from Hamilton high. They met at a party and launched the Enchanters as a vehicule for their mutual interest in songwriting. After one single on Orbit Record that sounded like an early Cathy Young andthe Innocents, The Trio added Faiffax high student Sheldon Briar and became The Dories on Dore. Their Solo single, "II Love Him So" stood still.
Sandy, The Dories' female lead, decided marriage was more fun than singing, so the boys replaced her with San Fernando vocalist Jim Stephens, who had graduated Van Nuys High School. Jim's innocent-sounding lead fit right into the group's quiet style of vocalizing. In Late 1959 the Dories met a trumpet player who was starting his own label with a friend, at which point the Dories became the Angels (5).
The Label was Tawny Records and the friends was soon-to-be-legendary producer Lou Adler. The Trumpet player was named Herb Albert. While all were looking for material for the Angels to record, Marv was lying on his girlfriend's bed suffering an anxiety attack brought on by her ultimatum of "me or our music". Lying alone in the room, listening the loud ticking of her clock and water dripping in the bathroom, he began to formulate the song 'Image Of A Girl".
Herp Albert didn't like the song and opted instead for "A lover's Poem (to her)", which wasrecorded with Darlene Love & the Blossoms backing the Angels, with Albert on trumpet. The record never left the gate, but Adler and Alpert salvaged the instrumental track and in 1959 had the Untouchables record "Poor Boys Nedds A Preacher" over it (Madison records). The Angels managed to do a variety of san Bernardino records hop and came the attention of Eldo Records.
In April 1960 "Image Of A Girl", with its clock intro sound (made by hitting two ends of wooden block),was released by the newly christened Safaris and on June 6th charted on Billboard's hot 100. Whenit reached number six on August 1st, the California quartet became an "overnight" sensation. In Australia, "Image" made it to number 26, and in Japan, to number One. The group performed mostly in California and played with the Drifters, the Turbans, the Medaillons, the Olympics, the Penguins and the Platters, and appeared on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" when it was done in California.
Songs :
The Enchanters (5)
The Dories (1)
The Safaris