1955 - Olivier Sidney, Georges Winfield , Leroy Jones , Olivier Sidney & Fred Harris
The Chateaus (1) (Newport News, Va)
Personnel :
Edwin Hall (Lead)
Georges Winfield (First Tenor)
Olivier Sidney (Second Tenor)
Leroy Jones (Falsetto)
Theodore Jones (Bass)
Discography :
The Chateaus (1)
Singles :
1956 - Darling Je Vous Aime Beaucoup / Let Me Tell You Baby (Epic 5-9163)
1958 - Satisfied / Brown Eyes (Warner Bros 5023)
1958 - The Masquerade Is Over / If I Didn't Care (Warner Bros 5043)
1959 - Ladder Of Love / You'll Reap What You Sow (Warner Bros 5071)
Unreleased
1956 - Somebody's Beating My Time (Epic)
1956 - Take Me Back (Epic)
1956 - You Won't Get That Chance Again (Epic)
1956 - Ladder Of Love (Epic)
1956 - Two Lovers (Epic)
1956 - You Baby (Epic)
1956 - That's Why I Dream (Epic)
1958 - Happiness (Warner Bros)
1958 - Hear Me Now (Warner Bros)
1958 - Hey, Hey Boy (Warner Bros)
1958 - Do It Right (Warner Bros)
The Bobbettes bb The Chateaus (1)
1963 - Close Your Eyes / Somebody Bad Stole De Wedding Bell(Bobbettes) (Diamond 142)
Biography :
Newport News, VA-based R&B vocal group the Chateaus formed in
1952 -- according to Marv Goldberg's profile in the December 1976 issue
of Yesterday's Memories -- first tenor Fred Harris, second tenor Oliver
Sidney, falsetto Leroy Jones, bass Charles Sidney, and baritone/pianist
George Winfield originally dubbed themselves "the Flamingos", but later
abandoned the moniker upon learning of the Chicago-based group of the
same name. After posting a newspaper advertisement seeking ideas for a
new name, the quintet selected the Chateaus, emerging as a fixture of a
thriving Newport News scene that also included the Five Keys, the
Avalons and the Leaders. In early 1956, while the group was making plans
to travel to New York City in search of a record deal, Harris was
drafted into the military, necessitating the addition of tenor Edwin
Hall.
Weeks later, the Chateaus headed for Manhattan, signing to Columbia's
Epic subsidiary and releasing their debut single "Darling Je Vous Aime
Beaucoup" (a song first popularized by supper club chanteuse Hildegard)
in April. The record did not sell, however, and although the group cut
another session for Epic, the label shelved the tapes and released the
Chateaus from their contract. The quintet returned to Virginia and began
searching for a new deal. They were still looking as of 1958, by which
time Harris completed his military duty and returned home to serve as
the Chateaus' road manager. Finally, in the fall of 1958, the group
signed to Warner Bros. and released its sophomore effort "Satisfied."
Early 1960 - Leroy Jones , Georges Winfield , Olivier Sidney, Theodore Jones & Edwin Hall
"The
Masquerade Is Over" followed in early 1959, and like its predecessor,
earned little notice from radio or retail. When their third Warner
release "Ladder of Love" met the same fate, Charles Sidney left the
group to move to New Jersey, and with new bass Theodore "Pepper" Jones,
the Chateaus spent the next several years under the radar, resurfacing
in 1963 backing the Bobbettes on their Diamond label single "Close Your
Eyes." Despite the long layoff, the group was still under contract at
Warner as well, and in early 1964 cut a never-released session for the
label. the Chateaus split soon after, but in 1973 Rudy West recruited
Oliver Sidney, Hall, Jones, and Winfield to form a new version of his
old group the Five Keys.
http://www.uncamarvy.com/Chateaus/chateaus.html
Songs :
The Chateaus (1)
Darling Je Vous Aime Beaucoup If I Didn't Care
The Masquerade Is Over Ladder Of Love
Satisfied / Brown Eyes Ladder Of Love / You'll Reap What You Sow
