1958 - Please Don't Go / Believe in Me (Bullseye 1017)
1962 - The Beat of My Heart / Laid Off (Bargain 5004)
Bunny Sigler & The Cardells (2)
1959 - Square From Nowhere / Laddy Daddy (Bee 1013)
The Whirlwinds (2)
1963 - After The Party / Heartbeat (Phillips)
The Exceptions
1965 - Down by the Ocean / Pancho's Villa (Inst.) (Pro 1/ Cameo 378)
Biography :
Along with the original Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes, the
Dreamlovers, and others, the Cordells were one of Philadelphia's
pioneering R&B groups. The members were Jimmy Ellis, (lead), Earl
Young (bass), Val Walker, and Russell Boston, all from the Broad &
Lehigh area of North Philly. They recorded "Please Don't Go" b/w
"Believe in Me," for Bullseye Records in 1958 and didn't get the
opportunity again until 1959 when they Backed Bunny Sigler on "Square
From Nowhere" b/w "Laddy Daddy" as the Cardells. Bunny Sigler was a
champion swimmer, having won the city Championship representing Bok
School in South Phully. Walter "Bunny" Sigler will become a pop and
R&B songwriter and record producer who has done extensive work with
the team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and who was instrumental in
creating the "Philly Sound" in the early 1970s. He is nicknamed "Mr.
Emotion."
Bunny Sigler
Return
to Jimmy Ellis and his fellows. The Group didn't get the opportunity
again until 1961 when "The Beat of My Heart"/"Laid Off," fell on Bargain
Records, this time using their original name, The Cordells. Neither
side was more than a local play and while the group kept busy doing
local gigs and built a little reputation around town, nothing really
happened for them. The Philly singers became the Whirlwinds and recorded
in 1963, this time for Phillips Records. "Heartbeat" b/w "After the
Party" stiffed. They added Charles Hynes and tried it as The Exceptions.
Pro 1 Records released the first Exceptions' single, "Down by the
Ocean" b/w "Pancho's Villa," in 1965. It was originally scheduled for
Phil Gaber's P & L label, but the deal never consummated. The record
created a stir locally so Cameo Records snagged it for national
distribution, but it never took off. Switching to Cameo's subsidiary,
Parkway Records. By
the late 1960's Jimmy Ellis and the Exceptions had moved from doo wop
into soul music. The signed with the Groovy Grooves label and had two
releases. Groovey Groves issued two of their shelved singles in 1972 to
piggyback on the Trammps' Buddah recordings. Ellis and Young, two
ex-Exceptions, were now Trammps, comprised at that time of members from
the Exceptions and the Volcanoes. In addition, Young became a sought
after session musician and recorded with Ron Baker and Norman Harris as
Baker, Harris, & Young.
