The Jive Bombers (Detroit, Michigan)
Personnel :
Clarence Palmer (Lead)
Earl Johnson (First Tenor)
Wiliam "Pee Wee" Tinney (Baritone)
Al Tinney (Bass)
Discography :
1952 - It's spring again / Pork Chop Boogie (Citation 1160)
1952 - Brown Boy / Pee Wee Boogie (Citation 1161)
1952 - Saturday night / Fish boy (Citation 1162)
1956 - Bad boy / When your hair has turned to silver (Savoy 1508)
1957 - If i had a talking picture / The blues don't mean a thing (Savoy 1513)
1957 - Cherry / You took my love (Savoy 1515)
1958 - Is this the end / Just around the corner (Savoy 1535)
1959 - Stardust / You give your love to me (Savoy 1560)
1963 - Anytime / Days of wine & roses (Mdl tn 020)
Biography :
Clarence
Palmer first entered the music business in the mid-1930s with the
Palmer Brothers (Dick, Ernest and Clarence), who resided in the small
town of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. They were one of the first harmony
trios to perform (and record) with big bands, including those of Count
Basie and Cab Calloway. By 1949 Dick and Ernest retired, but Clarence
couldn't kick the performing bug and formed a new group with members of
Sonny Austin's Jive Bombers. They recorded two singles for Coral in 1949
as Al Sears and the Sparrows. The first of these was "Brown Boy", a
song written and originally recorded (as "Brown Gal") by the second wife
of Louis Armstrong, Lillian (Lil), in 1936. In late 1951, Palmer formed
a new ensemble, Clarence Palmer and the Jive Bombers, who recorded for
Lou Parker's Citation Records of Detroit. They released a new version of
"Brown Boy", which (again) went unnoticed.
In
1956, the Jive Bombers consisted of Clarence Palmer, Earl Johnson and
the brothers Al Tinney and William "Pee Wee" Tinney. Manager Cliff
Martinez introduced the group to Herman Lubinsky of Savoy Records, for
which they held their first session on November 30, 1956. Their first
Savoy single was "Bad Boy" (Savoy 1508), a remake of "Brown Boy", which
Palmer sang in a laid-back, stuttering style, a good-natured throwback
to the sounds of the 1940s. It was welcomed as a pleasant diversion from
rock 'n' roll by programme directors in the first weeks of 1957. By mid-March, "Bad Boy" had reached # 36 on the pop charts and # 7 on
the R&B charts. In spite of this success, the record was not issued
in the UK. The flip was also quite interesting. "When Your Hair Has
Turned To Silver" (with a lead vocal by Pee Wee Tinney) was not far
removed from the sounds that Dave Bartholomew was producing in New
Orleans at the time. Further Savoy singles, like "Cherry", featured
Palmer sounding like a muted trumpet, but they did poor business. The
old standard "Stardust" was the final Savoy single in 1959.
Label credit
went simply to "The Jive Bombers", instead of the usual Clarence "Bad
Boy" Palmer and the Jive Bombers. Due to "Bad Boy's" success, the Jive
Bombers stayed on the club scene through the late 1960's (with the
inevitable personnel changes) before calling it quits. They had only one
single released in the sixties, "Anytime"/"Days Of Wine And Roses", for
the Middle Tone label in late 1963. Clarence Palmer was a vocal performer for more than three decades. He
had been singing "Bad Boy" for some twenty years before he was finally
rewarded with a hit.