Jesse Belvin
The Sheiks (2) (Los Angeles, CA)
Personnel :
Jesse Belvin
Mel Williams
Harold Lewis
Discography :
1955 - So Fine / Sentimental Heart (Federal 12237)
Biography :
Johnny Otis was an American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, and talent scout. He was a seminal influence on American R&B and rock and roll. He discovered numerous artists early in their careers who went on to become highly successful in their own right. One day while fooling around in his garage studio, Johnny Otis had Jesse Belvin, Mel Williams, and Harold Lewis record a song he had composed titled “So Fine.”
Johnny
Otis
Otis released the recording under the group name he gave
them on the spot, the Sheiks. It did not sell well, so he recorded it
again with Mel Williams alone, but that version did not sell either.
Five years later, the song became a hit on an East Coast label forthe
Fiestas, a Newark, New Jersey, quartet. The Fiestas' cover version was
far more commercially successful than the Sheiks' original (which failed
to chart), being a #3 rhythm & blues and #11 pop hit in 1959.
Following the success of the cover version, the Sheiks' record was
re-released on Federal in 1959, strangely as by the Checkers and again
without any chart action.
Songs :
So Fine Sentimental Heart