1962 - In Between Tears / Beneath The Sun (Mad 23)
Willie Logan & The Plaids (3)
1963 - Say That You Care / You Conquered Me (Jerry-O 103)
Biography :
The
Equalos were brothers O. C. Logan and Willie Logan, Arthur Ford, and
Dave Hoskin. Their first release was on Mad in 1960. They recorded
"Yodelin" and "Patty-Patty." The Equalos' single on Mad 1296 failed to
generate any response. Their next single arrives three years later, as
The Equallos with an additional "l" in the name. "Beneath The Sun" b/w
"In Between Tears," was released in 1962. Going baroque did not generate
any sales, and in 1962 the group signed with George Leaner's One-derful
label. Much to the Equallos' dismay, however, he never put anything out
on them. In 1963 the Equallos recorded as Willie Logan and the Plaids,
making a two-sided neo-doowop single called "You Conquered Me" b/w "Say
that You Care," which appeared on Jerry Murray's Jerry O label. The two
thinly-produced sides with their exotic warbling (a bit off-key besides)
sounded dated next to the soul sounds that were emerging.
1953 - This Is The Real Thing Now / Crying For My Baby (Decatur 3001)
1973 - Miracle Of Love / Proud Of You (Vintage 1010)
1974 - Tonight Must Live On /Crying For My Baby (Firefly 330)
1974 - You Will Always Find Me True / This Is The Real Thing Now (Firefly 332)
Unreleased :
1953 - Tonight Must Live On (Decatur)
1953 - You Will Always Find Me True (Decatur)
The Four Dukes (1)
Singles :
1953 - Crying In The Chapel / I Done Done It (Duke 116)
Unreleased :
1953 - Can't I Have You (Duke)
1953 - No Other Love (Duke)
1953 - I Gotta Holler (Duke)
1953 - Only A Hag Could Be Such A Drag (Duke)
1953 - I Wonder Can This Be Love (Duke)
1953 - Confusion Juice (Duke)
1953 - Come On Back To Daddy (Duke)
The Heralds
Singles :
1954 - Eternal Love / Gonna Love You Every Day (Herald 435)
Unreleased :
1954- You'll Always Find Me True (Herald)
1954 - Till My Baby Falls In Love (Herald)
1954 - Freeze (Herald)
1954 - Why Can't I Have You (Herald)
1954 - Confucius (Herald)
1954 - Confucius (Old Town)
1954 - Why Can't I Have You (Old Town)
Biography :
Billy
Dawn Smith was an aspiring singer and composer who grew up on the
streets of Brooklyn in a section known as Fort Green. In the early
nineteen fifties Smith put together a vocal group that consisted of
himself, his brother Tom, and two friends Donny Myles and Sonny Benton .
Billy dropped his last name in naming the foursome and was now known as
The Billy Dawn Quartette. One of the sometime members of the group was
pianist and vocalist Al Browne who in later years become famous for his
work for many record labels in New York, especially Hull Records. While
the vocal group worked on their harmony and presence, they also worked
hard on coming up with original material. In the spring of 1952, they
made their way to Harlem to see Lexy "Flap" Hanford, a well known
entertainment entrepreneur in the neighborhood. He thought enough of
their talent to send them to an acquaintance of his named David Levitt
who owned a small independent record label called Decatur Records. After
meeting with Levitt and some more work on their songs, they went into a
small recording studio and the result was two songs "This Is The Real
Thing Now" and "Crying For My Baby" which was released by the label on
#3001. The first copies were listed as by The Dawn Quartette, but that
was soon changed to The Billy Dawn Quartette.They release Three discs
all under three names : Billy Dawn Quartet, Four Dukes and Heralds.
1958 - Tell It To Me Baby / Walking At Your Will (Stomper Time 1160)
1958 - Walkin' Alone / Rag Mop (Stomper Time 1163)
The Four Kings (3)
1963 - Farmer John / Round And Round (Moc 651)
1963 - Early In The Morning / I Want To Be There (Moc 655)
The Canes
1962 - Why Should I Suffer With The Blues / I'll Never Give Her Up (My Friend) (Stax 123)
Biography :
1942, Memphis, Tennessee, USA. A significant songwriter for Joe
Cuoghi"s (and then Willie Mitchell"s) Hi Records, especially for (and
sometimes with) his wife, Ann Peebles, Bryant was also a superb soul
stylist, although most of his own recordings for Hi were cut long before
Al Green, in particular, gave the label the commercial soul base it
needed for continued survival. One of 10 children, Bryant"s father
(Donald Snr.) featured in the gospel quartet the Four Stars Of Harmony,
and in 1955, Don Jnr. and four of his brothers formed their own gospel
group, the Five Bryant Brothers, which soon became "secularized" as the
doo-wopping Quails.
Four Stars Of Harmony
At Booker T. Washington High School, Bryant joined a group variously
called the Canes and the Four Canes, named after their "manager", local
Radio WLOK DJ, D. Cane Cole. or their live gigs the Canes dressed in
striped jackets and straw hats and carried walking canes. Don"s brother
James was also in the group, along with Lee Jones and William Walker,
reputed to be the later Goldwax, Checker and Pawn soulman, (Wee) Willie
Walker. A group called the Canes were taken to Stax Records by D. Cane
Cole in early 1962 where they cut "Why Should I Suffer With The Blues",
but they have since been identified as probably being the Largoes, led
by Lorece Thompson.
Willie
Mitchell
FEventually, Bryant split from Cole and changed the group"s name to
the Four Kings. The new quartet became Willie Mitchell"s singing group
at the band leader"s live gigs at Memphis clubs. Bryant himself was
still underage, and, to enable him to work, Mitchell became his legal
guardian.Mitchell was also
producer for the Home of The Blues label, whose featured artists
included the ex-King group the Five Royales. They recorded Bryant"s
first commercial composition, "Is There Someone Else On Your Mind".
Meanwhile, the Four Kings cut "Crawl Parts 1 & 2" with the Willie
Mitchell Band for Hi, before the group dissolved. Bryant went solo in
1964, making his debut with a storming version of Chris Kenner"s "I Like
It Like That".
1959 - Someday / Fool In Love (Satellite 100/Mercury 71526)
Unreleased :
1958 - Did You (Sun)
1958 - Good Gracious (Fire) (Sun)
Carla Thomas bb The Veltones(Uncredited)
1960 - Gee Whiz (Look At His Eyes) / For You (Satellite 102/Atlantic 2086)
The Vel Tones (3)
1966 - I Do / Darling (Goldwax 301)
Biography :
Before its glory days as Stax, the label was called Satellite —
founded in 1957, by Jim Stewart in his wife’s uncle’s garage in Memphis.
Stewart was a fiddle player and so his tastes naturally leaned toward
country music, which is what he originally sought to record and release
on Satellite, along with rockabilly and pop tunes. A year after starting
out, Stewart got a much-needed financial boost from his sister Estelle
Axton, who mortgaged her house to buy a console tape recorder, and in so
doing, became a financial partner in Satellite. In 1959, she helped the
burgeoning label out of the garage and into a better facility in
Brunswick, Tenn. (about 20 miles northeast of Memphis).
It
was during Satellite’s sabbatical in Brunswick that Stewart became
interested in R&B music. Producer, songwriter and guitarist Lincoln
Wayne “Chips” Moman helped turn him on to some of the local groups, one
of which was a black vocal quintet that called themselves the Veltones
(sometimes written Vel Tones). The group, composed of Samuel Jones,
Alvin Standard, Kenneth Patterson, George Powell and Jimmy Ellis, had
been singing in Memphis since 1952, taking their inspiration from
doo-wop. Stewart enjoyed the Veltones’ smooth sound and offered to
record and release a single for the group on Satellite.
Carla Thomas & Jim Stewart
On a handful of occasions in the spring of 1959, the Veltones trucked
on out to Brunswick to record a pair of songs. Chips Moman would serve
as the guitarist on the session, along with bassist Jimbo Hale and
drummer Jerry “Satch” Arnold. Moman and Arnold also wrote the song
selected for the A-side, ‘Fool in Love,’ which features Chips’ ghostly,
twangy lead guitar — a peculiar sound on a ’50s R&B recording. The
B-side was the more traditionally sounding ballad ‘Someday,’ with
songwriting credit given to the group. Although it wasn’t the first
record released on the label, ‘Fool in Love’/‘Someday’ was released in
the summer of 1959 as Satellite 100 . As it turned out, the reboot was
appropriate. Of course, the Veltones record would be the first by a
black group on a label that would soon become world famous for R&B
music. In addition, the single marked the first time Stewart and Axton
made any money from their record label. Since Satellite could only
manage to distribute copies regionally, Mercury Records contacted
Stewart with an offer to take the record national. Mercury paid
Satellite between $400-500 for the rights and re-released the record in
September 1959. However, the record flopped and no one saw any more
money from ‘Fool in Love.’ The Veltones are also the backing vocal group
on 'Gee Whiz' by Carla Thomas (some people say the Del-Rios) . That
hit brought the fledgling record company to preeminence as Stax
Records. In 1966 The Veltones would cut two sides for Goldwax Records.
although by the time of this single there had been some personnel
changes.
Singles : 1963 - Oh Baby / Fine Fine Girl (Atlantic 2207) 1964 - Lonely Nights / Has It Happened To You Yet (Lu-Pine 124/Lu-Pine 1020) 1966 - (I'm A Fool) I Must Love You / Love, Love, Love (Big Wheel 321/322) 1966 - Standing On Guard / I Can't Help It (Big Wheel 1967) 1967 - Love Look In Her Eyes / In Time For The Blues ((Big Wheel 1971) 1967 - Good Good Feeling / Love You Like You Never Been Loved (Big Wheel 1972)
Unreleased :
1964 - Love The Way You Walk (Lu-Pine)
1964 - Stick By You (Lu-Pine)
Biography :
The Falcons were during their history two groups with the first group
having two eras. Coming together in the mid 50's, with a mixed race
line-up of Bob Manardo, Eddie Floyd, Ton Shelter and Arnett Robinson,
with Willie Schofield joining soon after. Eddie Floyds uncle Robert West
became the groups manager. Bob Manardo was soon drafted and Tom Shelter decided to enlist himself. West held auditions which in turn lead to Joe Stubbs joining the ranks along with guitarist Lance Finnie, Mack Rice following not too long after replacing Arnett Robinson.
Without going into too much detail this was essentially the first era of the group, the second, after changes to the line up lead to Wilson Pickett joining the group to provide vocals. Not long after signing for Atlantic and after just one session and one solitary release 1962, the group split, most of the group did have solo careers by this time as well as their time with the group.
This left West with just a name, a name he had no intention of seeing become history. Early 1963 West saw a group play in Cleveland, The Fabulous Playboys, coincidentally one he managed.
After seeing their performances and eager to keeping the name the
Falcons alive West asked the Fabulous Playboys to take over the name,
something they eventually agreed to seeing a better financial future
with the name The Falcons, the line-up of the second group being Sonny
Monroe, James Gibson, Johnny Alvin & Alton "Bart" Hollowell.
Top : Willie Graham - Middle : Ira Foley & Randolph Bryant - Bottom : Donald Woods
The Bel-Aires (3) (Los Angeles)
aka The Vel-Aires
aka The Rhythm Masters
Personnel :
Donald Woods (Lead)
Randolph Bryant (Tenor)
Willie Graham (Second Tenor)
Ira Foley (Bass)
Discography :
The Bel-Aires (3)
1955 - This Paradise / Let's Party Awhile (Flip 303)
1955 - White Port And Lemon Juice / This Is Goodbye (Flip 304)
Donald Woods & The Vel-Aires
1955 - Death Of An Angel / Man From Utopia (Flip 306)
1955 - Stay With Me Always / My Very Own (Flip 309)
1956 - Heaven In My Arms / Mighty Joe (Flip 312)
The Rhythm Masters
1956 - Baby We Two / Patricia (Flip 314)
Biography :
Donald "Buster" Woods originally recorded with The Medallions, from
Los Angeles, California. The Medallion's group leader was Vernon Green,
but when Woods split from Green he took three of the Medallions with him
to form The Bel-Aires, who were known as the Vel-Aires when they
weren't backing Woods. In 1954, Flip Records, a small, Hollywood based
label, that specialized in Doo-Wop, recorded two Singles by The
Bel-Aires, "This is Paradise," backed with "Let's Party Awhile," (Flip
#303) and "White Port & Lemon Juice," backed with "This Is Goodbye,"
(Flip #304).
Darryl Perault (Jivers & Rhythm Masters)
In June,
Flip issued the group's third record, but by then their name had been
changed to the "Vel-Aires." It's probable that this was due to the
existence of another West Coast Bel-Aires, this one a black and white
duo that had covered Marvin & Johnny's "Tick Tock" on Crown in
1954. Flip Records recorded two other Singles by Donald Wood & The
Vel-Aires. In 1955, Donald Woods had left to try a solo career. Willie,
Randolph, and Ira got a replacement tenor: Darryl Perault (who would go
on to sing with the Jivers) and, on December 10, 1955, they recorded "Baby We Two" and "Patricia" for Flip as the "Rhythm Masters".
1961 - My Love Will Never Die / No One Knows (Alanna 189)
The Enchantments (1) (featuring Leroy )
1962 - Lonely Heart / Popeye (The Dance To Do) (Romac 1001)
Biography :
This group began as the El Dupreys from Pittsburgh. They were always
the opening act for big name groups coming to the area. They split up
and later reformed as the Excitements. Ronald Hill had a medical
condition that initially forced him to leave the Excitements. When the
group was traveling, Hill stayed home. Therefore on the road the group
was a quartet. When they were about to record for Alanna, they asked
Hill to join them for the recording — which he did.
Elroy & The Excitements
Following
their audition, they learned that Alanna management loved them and
signed them to record. They cut two discs for Alanna, the first of which
was released in the fall of 1960. Following these two recordings, Elroy
and the Excitements kept busy with live appearances but did no further
recording. Eventually they were released from their contract with
Alanna. After leaving Alanna, they auditioned for Motown but met with no
success. They then became Leroy and the Enchantments and recorded for
Romac.
Bob Mack
Bob
Mack founded his own record label Romac Records in 1962. He scored a
regional hit with the release of Leroy and the Enchantments single
"Lonely Heart" that was written by Johnny Jack
1962 - A Winner Never Quits / Finally (Lummtone 109)
1962 - A Winner Never Quits / Johnny I'm Sorry (Lummtone 109)
1962 - Johnny I'm Sorry / You Got Your Magnet On Me (Lummtone 110)
1963 - Lost My Love In The Big City / Finally (Lummtone 112)
1963 - Your Lovely Ways / Finding A Sweetheart (Lummtone 113)
1965 - Street Scene / You Found Yourself Another Fool (Valiant 752)
The Daniels
1963 - Big City / Finally (Lantam 01)
The Bagdads
Singles :
1968 - Livin' In Fear / Let's Talk About the Bad Times (Double Shot 128)
1968 - Bring Back Those Doo-Wopps / Green Power 1968 (Double Shot 133)
1969 - Love Has Two Faces / Jelly (Double Shot 140)
1970 - Keep Those Mini Skirts Up / Let's Talk About the Bad Times (Double Shot 151)
Unreleased:
1969 - Push Me Baby (Double Shot)
Biography :
Oscar McDonald and Jimmy Smith attended high school together in
Beaumont, Texas. Jimmy, on occasion, laments the fact that he came in
second place in several talent contests in Texas to Johnny Nash, of "I
Can See Clearly Now" fame. Darryl Lewis, Kenny Sinclair and William
Devase attended high school in southern California. Darryl and Kenny
were original members of the Six Teens, of "A Casual Look" fame, along
with Darryl's cousin Trudy Williams. After leaving the Six Teens, Kenny
hooked up with William to sing in various groups while in high school.
The Elgins (1960)
Cappie, as Darryl is affectionately called by close friends, reunited
with Kenny, his brother Carl, and William. He brought Jimmy into the
group to sing lead. This quintet recorded "Lonely Hearts Club" b/w "Bad
Man" for the Titan label in 1960 under the name of the Elements. They
also recorded "My Illness" as the Elements for Titan, but this was to go
unreleased at the time. Soon thereafter, Carl left the group to devote
more time to pursuing an acting career. Jimmy brought Oscar McDonald
into the group and the Elgins were born. Along with a change in
personnel was a label change to Flip. This was a return to familiar shores. Flip had been the recording
home for the Six Teens. Jimmy Smith had also recorded "I Cry And Cry
Every Night" b/w "Night Time" for Flip in 1959 backed by the Lockettes.
The Elgins recording on Flip of "Uncle Sam’s Man" b/w "Casey Cop" was
released in 1960 and established the group on the west coast. The
success of "Uncle Sam’s Man" certainly caught the attention of George
Brown at Titan records.
The Bagdads (1968)
Rembering that he still had an unreleased recording by the group
(prior to the name change) still in the vaults, Brown decided to
capitalize on their recent success and issued "My Illness" b/w "Extra
Extra" in 1961 under the name Elgins rather than the Elements . 1962
saw the record reissued with the title of "My Illness" changed to
"Heartaches Heartbreak", a somewhat less somber name for the tune. 1962
saw yet another label change for the group, this time to Lummie
Fowler's Lummtone label. Their first release, Lummtone 109 was "Finally"
b/w "A Winner Never Quits". Barbara Lewis, who had replaced Devase in
the group at the time, is heard on "Finally", behind the lead of Darryl
Lewis. Their next release, also in '62 was "Johnny I'm Sorry" b/w "A
Winner Never Quits", and was also issued as Lummtone 109. "Johnny I'm
Sorry" took on new life when it was issued again as Lummtone 110 this
time b/w "You Got Your Magnet On Me Baby".
The Elgins (2003)
Devase was back in the group for their next outing on Lummtone which
was "I Left My Heart In The Big City" b/w "Finally", which was
resurrected from their previous release. This record was also released
on the Lantam label as by the Daniels. The Elgins final recording for
Lummtone in 1963 was "Your Lovely Ways" b/w "Finding A Sweetheart". In
1965, the Elgins released a more POP sounding record "Street Scene" b/w
"You Found Yourself Another Fool" for the Valiant label. Sinclair,
Devase and McDonald recorded again between 1968-1970 as the Bagdads,
putting out four singles, most notable of which was "Bring Back Those
Doo-Wops" b/w "Green Power" for the Double Shot label.
Seated : Jerry Crutchfield . Standing : Gerald Nelson, Jan Crutchfield and Olin Bryant.
The Escorts (2) (Paducah, Kentucky)
aka The Country Gentlemen (2)
Personnel :
Jerry Crutchfield (Lead)
Gerald Nelson (Tenor)
Jan Crutchfield (Baritone)
Olin Bryant (Bass)
Discography :
The Country Gentlemen (2)
1956 - A Rose And A Baby Ruth / Why Did You Go (RCA Victor 47-6673)
1956 - My Heart's Desire / Right Around The Corner (RCA Victor EP 47-6764)
George Hamilton IV & The Country Gentlemen (2)
1956 - A Rose And A Baby Ruth / If You Don't Know (George Hamilton IV) (Colonial 420)
The Escorts (2)
Singles :
1957 - Arrow Two Hearts / Misty Eyes (OJ 1010)
1960 - I Will Be Home Again / Leaky Heart And His Red Go-Kart (Scarlet 4005)
1961 - Snow Dreams / Misty Eyes (De'voice 777)
Unreleased :
1957 - Tragedy (OJ)
Bobby Chandler & The Escorts (2)
1958 - Winter Time / Junior Prom (OJ 1012)
Biography :
Gerald Nelson, the tenor, is a senior 8t Murray Stats College. Jerry
Crutchfield , who sings the lead, is another Murray senior, Jan
Crutchfield , baritone, is a senior at Tilghman High School in Paducah
and Olin Bryant, is a sophomore in the University of Kentucky College of
Engineering. Jerry and Jan Crutchfield are brothers. All four are
natives of Paducah, hey started singing together since 1952. In those
early days, they were Gospel singers, and were known at various times as
the "Melody Masters" and the "Jubilaires." Gospel singing wasn't
productive in the money department, but it was good experience. Later,
when they left. Paducah and enrolled, at Murray, Jerry Crutchfield,
Gerald Nelson and Olin Bryant branched out into popular singing, and
worked with Jimmy Cooper in a quartet called the "Four Winds." They also
started working parttime when Radio Station WCBL opened in Benton. On
the side, however, they continued to sing with the original quartet. In
1955, the Four Winds won the annual gospel-quartet-singing competition.
1955 - The Four Winds From left, Jimmy Cooper, Jerry Crutchfield, Gerald Nelson, Olin Bryant
Jerry
Crutchfield began to get in touch with recording companies about an
audition. The break came in 1956, after one of his periodic visits,
Jerry Crutchfield was told by a man at Victor's office in Nashville that
the group should work out a distinctive style of singing. They had a
style, the Victor spokesman said, but it was too similar to that of the
"Four Freshmen," a current top quartet. There might be a demand for
change-of-pace singing group, one with a style that sort of combines
rock'n'roll with straight harmony, they were told. With that
encouragement, the four altered their style once again. In August 1956,
they made four test recordings for Victor; and a contract followed
almost immediately. The contract calls for a minimum of four records in
six months.
George Hamilton IV
The
first record offered "A Rose and A Baby Ruth" on one side and "Why Did
You Go?", written by Jerry Crutchfield, on the other. "A Rose and A Baby
Ruth" was Issued 2 month after the first press by George Hamilton IV
and The group on Colonial # 420 (pressed by RCA). The second record
combines "My Heart's Desire" and "Right Around The Corner." The name
Country Gentlemen almost proved a disastrous stumbling block. When their
first record was released, many radio disc jockeys didn't give it a
play because, judging from the name, they thought the group was a
hillbilly outfit. RCA issued two singles by them before they were
renamed "The Escorts" early in 1957.
1957 - The Escorts : Gerald Nelson, Jerry and Jan Crutchfield, and Olin Bryant
In
1957, The Escorts Won the Arthur Godfrey "Talent Scouts' award Monday
on Channel 11 and has been appearing many week on the Godfrey show. With
these appearances the group sign a recording contract with OJ records.
OJ RECORDS was the manufacturing arm of Old Judge Music Publishing whose
offices were locate at 1018 North Watkins Street in Memphis,
Tennessee. The label seems to have begun operations sometime in 1956 or
1957 under the supervision of Bill Biggs and C. J. (Red) Matthews. The
Escorts had two release on O.J., "Misty Eyes"/"Arrow Two Heart" (OJ
1010), there's also Bobby Chandler & The Escorts: "Winter
Time"/"Junior Prom" (OJ 1012).
Bobby Chandler Gerald Nelson
The Escorts had records issued on Scarlett "I Will Be Home Again" b/w
"Leaky Heart And His Red Go-Kart" and on the De'Voice label "Snow
Dreams" b/w "Misty Eyes". Gerald Nelson had co-written the song
'Tragedy' with Fred Burch and had recorded the original version with The
Escorts. Nelson brought this song to the attention of Scotty Moore who
decided that it suited the vocal stylings of Thomas Wayne.
With Scotty playing the guitar fills and Bill Black on bass plus vocal
backing by The De-Lons , the song was recorded along with 'Saturday
Date' at Hi's Royalty Studio and released on Fernwood 109 in September
1958.
At Station WCBL, in Benton, Seated is Jerry Crutchfield and standing are Gerald Nelson, Jan Crutchfield and Olin Bryant.
At first 'Saturday Date' was plugged as the main side but in the
spring of 1959, a disc jockey in Kentucky played the flip 'Tragedy' and
the disc took off. It eventually peaked at #5 on the national charts and
sold over a million copies along the way. Gerald & Fred were
songwriters and they wrote many songs for Elvis including "The Love
Machine", "Great Shakin' Fever" for Dorsey Burnette, "That's All Right
With Me" for Ral Donner.
