1955 - John Wilson , Lillian Leach , Harold Johnson & Norman Brown
The Mellows (1) (Bronx, New-York)
Personnel :
Lillian Leach (Lead)
John “Tiny” Wilson (First Tenor)
Harold Johnson (Second Tenor & Guitar)
Norman “Polecat” Brown (Bass)
Discography:
The Mellows (1)
Singles:
1954 - How Sentimental Can I Be / Nothin' To Do (Jay Dee 793)
1955 - Smoke From Your Cigarette / Pretty Baby, What's Your Name (Jay Dee 797)
1955 - I Was A Fool To Let You Go / I Still Care (Jay Dee 801)
1955 - Yesterday's Memories / Lovable Lily (Jay Dee 807)
1956 - Lucky Guy / My Darling (Celeste 3002)
1956 - I'm Yours / Sweet Lorraine (Celeste 3004)
Unreleased :
1958 - So Strange (Apollo)
1958 - Be Mine (Apollo)
Demos A cappella :
1956 - I Call To You (Celeste)
1956 - Sweet Lorraine (Celeste)
1956 - Lucky Guy (Celeste)
1956 - My Darling (Celeste)
1956 - I'm Yours (Celeste)
1956 - You're Gone (Celeste)
1956 - Ain't She Got Nerve (Celeste)
1956 - When The Lights Go On Again (Celeste)
1956 - I'm Gonna Pick Your Teeth With An Ice Pick (Celeste)
Lillian Lee & The Mellows (1)
1956 - You've Gone / Moon Of Silver (Candlelight 1011)
Carl Spencer & The Mellows (1)
1957 - Farewell, Farewell, Farewell / No More Loneliness (Candlelight 1012)
Biography :
The
original members of this 50s vocal harmony group from the Bronx, New
York, USA, were female lead Lillian Leach, first tenor Johnny ‘Tiny’
Wilson, second tenor Harold Johnson and bass Norman ‘Polecat’ Brown. The
Mellows never had a national R&B hit, but enjoyed a number of
regional hits on the east coast on the strength of the lead voice of
Leach, who possessed one of the warmest and most sensual voices in the
history of doo-wop. The three boys had met as teenagers at the Morris High School in the Bronx, New York, USA. They encountered Leach at a party in 1954 when she joined their harmonizing.
Joe Davis 1956 - Harold Johnson, John Wilson, Gary Morrison, Arthur Crier & Lillian Leach with manager' David Levitt
The revised blend was an instant hit, and the
sound it produced gave the quartet their name (having learned that
their original choice, the Mello-Tones, had already been employed
elsewhere). They signed a contract with veteran Joe Davis on his Jay Dee
label, releasing the Johnson penned ‘How Sentimental Can I Be?’. They
made their biggest impact with their second release, the exquisitely
romantic ‘Smoke From A Cigarette’, from early 1955. It achieved substantial local success, and during the neo-doo-wop renaissance of the early 60s became one of the most requested oldies. The next release, another remarkable ballad, ‘I Still Care’ (1955), received modest airplay. Its b-side featured another wonderful ballad, ‘I Was A Fool To Care’. The last release for Jay Dee was ‘Yesterday’s Memories’, another under appreciated masterpiece of its time.
1956 - Arthur Crier, John Wilson, Harold Johnson , Gary Morrison & Lillian Leach
In 1956, the Mellows moved to the Celeste label, and at this point
Norman Brown left and vocal group veterans Arthur Crier and Gary
Morrison were added. Commercial success at Celeste was not forthcoming,
even for the outstanding ‘My Darling’. The group left the company in
1957, and completed one more recording session for Apollo in 1958 (which
was left in the can) before disbanding. Johnson and Crier went on to
form the Halos, who backed Curtis Lee on ‘Pretty Little Angel Eyes’ and
enjoyed a hit under their own steam with ‘Nag’.
1955 - John Wilson , Lillian Leach , Alan Freed, Harold Johnson & Norman Brown
Lillian Leach And The Mellows probably attained greater fame after
the record collecting community rediscovered the group’s recordings
during the 60s and lionized them. A reunion of the Mellows took place in
1984 with three of the original members, and the group have continued
to peddle sweet R&B pop on the nostalgia circuit ever since.
http://www.uncamarvy.com/Mellows/mellows.html
Songs :
The Mellows (1)
How Sentimental Can I Be Nothin' To Do Smoke From Your Cigarette
I Was A Fool To Let You Go / I Still Care Yesterday's Memories / Lovable Lily
