In 1952, Carl Hogan joined several friends in Harlem to form the doo-wop group, The Valentines.
Originally called The Dreamers, the quartet was expanded with the
addition of lead tenor Richard Barrett. Hogan would leave the group in
late 1954 before a session at Old Town Records, after a fight with the
rest of the group. Carl Hogan during his absence from the Valentines
(Before returning in 1956) had recorded with Charles Sampson (from the
Velvets) as "Charles And Carl" for Red Robin, for The Velvets on Fury and went on to sing with The Miracles on Fury.
1952 - Carl Hogan (left) with The Freamers (Pre Valentines)
The
Miracles were led by Carl. The other members of this New York group
were John Brisbane (Tenor), Jerry Moore (Tenor), Leon Briggs (brother of
Raymond Briggs from The Valentines) who sang for The Velvets on Fury
and Irvin Lee Gail (Bass). The single "I Love You So" / "Your Love (Is
All I Need)" came out around 1957 and will be the only single from the
group.
L/R: Richie Soriano, Sammy Marotta, Adolfo Altreche, Tommy Pellechia and Rudy Jackson kneeling
Rudy & The Tradewinds (2) (Brooklyn, New York)
aka Jimmy & The Slanders
Personnel :
Rudy Jackson (Lead)
Tommy Pellechia (Baritone/Second Tenor)
Sammy Marotta (Bass/Baritone)
Richie Soriano (First & Second Tenor)
Adolfo Altreche (Bass)
Discography :
Rudy & The Tradewinds (2)
1962 - Unemployed / Careless Love (Angletone 543)
Jimmy & The Slanders
1962 - Rock'in Santa / Respectable (by The Chants) (U.W.R.4243)
Biography :
Rudy From The Tradewinds was Rudy Jackson & was Jimmy Soul's
brother in law (If You Wanna Be Happy for the Rest of Your Life) and so
before Jimmy went to Motown, he was a member of The group. They were
called Little Sugar and the Slanders. Rudy and Jimmy lived on St John's
Place, between 5th and 6th Ave, in Brooklyn. At this time the group was
composed by jimmy Soul, Rudy Jackson , Tommy Pellechia, Sammy Marotta
& Adolfo Altreche. Richie Soriano was not part of the group then.
They did local gigs for the area's gangsters. Jimmy Soul was the main
lead. After one meager paying gig, Jimmy Soul ran off with the money;
the next thing they knew he was in Detroit.
Rudy
& The Tradewinds
Jimmy Soul
In 1959/60, They changed their name then to Rudy and the Tradewinds,
Richie Soriano joined the group, and Rudy took lead singer. The members:
one black, three Italians, one Puerto Rican, in the order below. Rudy
Jackson (Lead), Thomas Pellechia (Baritone/Second Tenor), Sammy Marotta
(Bass/Baritone), Richie Soriano (First & Second Tenor) and Adolfo
Altreche (Bass). In 1959, Sammy, Richie, Adolpho, and Tommy grew up on
Sackett Street, between 4th and 5th Ave, in Brooklyn. In
1962, Sammy Marotta worked in downtown Manhattan with two guys who sang
in a group called the Del Satins. From there, they were invited to
audition for Jim Gribble in 1650 Broadway. He referred the group to
Angeltone Records. They recorded "Careless Love" & "Unemployed".
Both sides were done in one long afternoon session. They sang at the
Apollo, Palisade Park with Cousin Bruce, the Savoy, and Lenox Hill.The
group broke up about 1964. They weren't going anywhere. Surprisingly in
1962, U.W.R. (United Wolrd Records) in New York released "Rock'in Santa"
by Jimmy & The Slanders (A Soul Production) b/w « Respectable" by
The Chants. Tt's probably a recording of the Slanders before jimmy
leaves it.
1961 - Come Home Soon / I'm Sold (On You) (Gowen 1401/Lost Nite 195)
Unreleased :
1961 - Let's Try It Again (Gowen)
1961 - I'm Calling (Gowen)
The Four Intruders
1961 - My Baby / This Is My Song (Gowen 1404)
1979 - Goodnight / Sweet Girl (King Tut 179)
Biography :
The
Intruders were the first group to score hits with the
songwriting/production team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and they
played a major role in the rise of Philadelphia soul. The guys were
originally formed as a doo wop group in 1960, and sang around
Philadelphia for several years. The
original line-up of The Intruders was formed in 1960 by Sam "Little
Sonny" Brown, Eugene "Bird" Daughtry, Phillip "Phil" Terry and Robert
"Big Sonny" Edwards. The quartet began performing in a style that owed
equally to doo-wop and gospel. In 1961 they released "Coming Home Soon"
b/w "I'm Sold on You" on Gowen. The following year, as "The Four
Intruders," they released "This Is My Son" b/w "My Baby." In the late
1970' an old acetate of the Intruders doing "Goodnight" & "Sweet
Girl" was found and released on the King Tut label.
1956 - Later, Later Baby / You Lied To Me (Sound 129)
1956 - Cha Cha Toni / Dream My Darling, Dream (Sound 135)
1956 - So In Love / It Happened To Me (Teen 122)
1958 - False Alarm / When You Come Back To Me (Chess 1708)
The Revels
1959 - Dead man Stroll / Talking To My Heart (Norgolde 103)
1959 - Midnight Stroll / Talking To My Heart (Norgolde 103)
1959 - Foo Man Choo / Tweedlee Dee (Norgolde 104)
1959 - Money Is All I Need / Injun Joe (Norgolde 106)
1960 - The Greatness Of Love / Gates Of Heaven (Norgolde 218)
1960 - Please / Two Little Monkeys (Andie 5077)
1961 - Oh How I Love You / I Met My Lost Love (Palette 5074)
1964 - Down Town / Dollar Sign (Kapp 621)
Biography :
In 1954, West Philadelphia High School students John Kelly (lead
vocalist), John Grant, John Jones, Henry Colclugh and Bill Jackson
formed the vocal group, originally performing under the moniker the
Re-Vels Quartette. Their live appearances made the combo a well-attended
attraction in Northern Philadelphia, which enticed Atlas Records in
1955 and Sound Records in the following year to record singles with the
group.[1] Credited to the shortened name the Re-Vels, the singles
released in the two years included "So in Love", "You Lied to Me", and
"Cha-Cha Toni", the latter of which was a big regional hit in
Philadelphia and some other eastern cities but never charted nationally.
In
1958, the Re-Vels signed with Chess Records and released "False Alarm",
perhaps their most accomplished record thus far. However, success still
alluded the group, prompting Chess Records, which was still in the
midst of a prosperous string of releases from Chuck Berry and the
Moonglows, to cut the Re-Vels from their roster.A small record label
established by Harold Nussbaum (also known as Hal Norton) and William
Goldstein called Norgolde Records signed the group, now without a hyphen
in their moniker. Jackson's self-penned novelty song "Dead Man's
Stroll", paired with "Talking to My Heart", was selected to be recorded
and distributed for the Halloween market in 1959.
Author Richard Aquilla described the single as a teen favorite with
"a spooky sound, replete with midnight tolls and wailing
ghosts".Released in September 1959, "Dead Man's Stroll" began being
played across the United States leading to an appearance on Dick Clark's
American Bandstand at the end of the month. Clark, however, objected to
the song's title, forcing the Revels to alter it to "Midnight Stroll"
to avoid losing the much-needed television exposure. The song peaked at
number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early November and remained on the
charts until December 1959.
The
Revels followed-up "Midnight Stroll" with "Foo Man Choo" in 1960, which
also attempted to inflict more chills on its listeners. However, the
release could not reach the height of popularity as its predecessor and
failed to chart. The group released other singles in the 1960s before
disbanding in 1962. Jackson, having composed the majority of the Revels'
original material, continued in the music industry as a songwriter. He
joined Cameo-Parkway Records in 1963 and had a hand in penning the
Tymes' hit song "So Much in Love". In addition, Jackson co-wrote "Here
She Comes", "The Magic of Our Summer Love", and "You Little Trustmaker",
and produced the group's recordings in 1963 and 1964.
1960 - The big triangle / Until the next time (Capitol 4427)
The Royal Galaxies
1960 - Trouble on a Double Date / Over and Done With (Capitol 4488)
1960 - Zoom Golly Golly (Capitol) (Unreleased)
1960 - Cinderella Blue (Capitol) (Unreleased)
Biography :
Just months after returning from military duty, Capitol Records
contacted Al Hazan to see if he knew any group that might be worth
recording. Al said he did - that he had such a group already, along with
some material.
Actually, Al had no group ready - he literally ran across the street
where two female friends lived. He asked if they wanted to record some
of his songs and the girls were all for it. Al wrote "The Big Triangle"
and made a demonstration record with the girls.
They took the demo to the people at Capitol, who loved the idea and
signed Al and the girls to a recording contract, naming the group "The
Galaxies." "The Big Triangle" did well enough on the charts to warrant a
follow-up record.
Al and the girls returned in November, 1960 to Capitol Records' with
Tom Morgan, Al's producer, to record four more songs (three of them
written by Hazan), although only two were released. "Zoom Golly Golly,"
and the song "Cinderella Blue" were not released.
Because of a conflict with another singing group, Capitol changed the
name of the group from "The Galaxies" to "The Royal Galaxies, featuring
Al Hazan." The group continued appearing in various cities around the
U.S., doing TV interviews and special concert appearances to promote
their two records.
L to R Joe Palmiere, Jim Marshall, Chuck Townsed, Frankie Jay, John Kimkle - front :Bill Chippich.
The Caravelles (2) (Pittsburgh, Pa)
Personnel :
Chuck Townsed
Jim Marshall
Bill Chippich
John Kinkle (Guitar)
Joe Palmiere
Fran “Jay” Sinkovich
Discography :
Singles :
1962 - One Little Kiss / Twistin’ Marie (Joey 6208)
1963 - Fallin For You / Shake Baby (Joey 6208)
Unreleased :
1962 - Chapel In The Moonlight (Joey)
Biography :
Group formed in the late 50’s by Chuck Townsed, Jim Marshall and Bill
Chippich from the Garfield and Bloomfield sections of Pittsburgh.
Singing in various social halls and soon add three new members John
Kinkle as guitarist,Joe Palmiere and Fran “Jay” Sinkovich. In 1961 the
group signed Dick Romano as their manager who send the group to Joe
Tomino owner of Joey Records, he signed the group and this have a
recording session at Gateway Recording studio in Pittsburgh where
recorded five songs. In October of 1962 the Joey’s label released "One Little Kiss" and
the original side "Twistin’ Marie". The record was very popular locally
and the group have many life perfomances in Pittsburgh and out in the
suburban area. In May 1963 Joey’s released_Fallin For You/Shake Baby.
Two original tunes but without any success. Around 1964 The Caravelles
broke up and Jim Marshall,Bill Chippich and Fran “Jay” form in 1965 the
Soul Survivors (Decca Records).
The Incas from Washington D.C. were organised in late 1956 and stayed
together until 1959. The group was lead by Bob E. Lee, with Eddie
Belton singing first tenor, Jose williams second tenor and two members
of the original Ontarios,
Clayton Roberts and Maurice Watkins singing Bass & Baritone ,
respectively. Before the Incas, Jose Willams from Washington recorded
several titles with the Aztecs from Cincinnati, Ohio, under the name of Jose & The Aztecs
who have one release in 1956, "Tonight" b/w "Rose" on the now defunct
Echo label out of Cincinnati, Ohio. The Incas patterned themselves after
the Dells and strove for a beautifully polished sound with can be
evidenced on their recordings. The Incas will unfortunately not have a
disc released before 1976 by the label Monogram.
The
start of the 4 Bel-Aires was at the Mt. Zion United Methodist Church,
in Georgetown, D.C. There, in 1955, bass Vernon Ricks and baritone
Robert "Slick" Russell started harmonizing on R&B songs when they
worked in the kitchen on Sunday mornings. They were eventually joined by
first tenor Alfred "Nookie" Robinson (whose name is usually shown,
incorrectly, as "Albert"). Finally, when they sounded like they had a
shot at fame and fortune, Vernon brought in his cousin, second tenor
Warren Ricks, and the 4 Bel-Aires were born. Although there were only
four singers, a fifth member was guitarist Mike Jackson. The guys ranged
in age from 13 (Warren) to 21 (Alfred). There was a local Saturday evening radio program in D.C. called
Teenarama (on WOOK, 1340 AM; this was before it moved to TV in 1963). A
couple of teenagers (Calvin Hackett and Marjorie Bowman) acted as DJs,
spinning hit records and inviting local groups to perform. Sometime
around late 1957, the invitation was extended to the 4 Bel-Aires (who
sang their arrangement of the Mello-Moods' "Where Are You"). Their
singing impressed the "adult" member of Teenarama, Al "Big Boy"
Jefferson, a DJ who had a nightly WOOK show, broadcast from the front
window of Waxie Maxie Silverman's Quality Music store (located around
the corner from the Howard Theater). In 1962, Ben Smith sold all his
X-Tra masters to Slim Rose of Times Square Records. That's the reason
that "Where Are You" and "Tell Me Why" appeared on Times Square in
November 1963 (although the group was listed as the "Belairs").
1960 - Beatnik Girl / Oh, How I Love You So (Bluejay 1000)
1960 - Once In Awhile (The Chimes) / Oh How I Love You So (Tag 444)
Unreleased :
N/A - In My Lonely Room
N/A - Jeanette, Jeanette
Biography :
The
Del Satins started out as The Jokers, with Joey Amato singing lead.
Joey went on to other things in the music business, and later came back
as their guitar player.
The Del Satins : Tommy Ferrara, Richie Greene, Stanley Ziska, Freddy Ferrara & Leslie Cauchi (Joey Amato on guitar)
In 1960, Joey Amato Cut four song with Fred and Tom Ferrara's younger
brother, Joe. Two songs are released on Bluejay records under the name
of the Bi-Tones.
1958 - Nosy Neighbors / Why Are You Tearing Us Apart (Riki 140)
1958 - The Letter / Rockin' Swingin' Man (ABC 9909)
Biography :
The Larktones' complete ouput were two singles in 1958: the first on
Rik and the second, 'The Letter'/'Rockin', Swingin' Man', surprisingly
on ABC-Paramount (9909). Leroy Parrish sang Lead with the Larktones
originated out of projects of Rockaway Queens NY. The main group from
Rockaways was Leroy Parrish, Lou Courtney, Jimmy Tyler and Chambers.
1955 - I Won't Be Back / You Broke My Heart (Post 2003)
1955 - Drunk, Drunk, Drunk / Are You Forgetting Me (Imperial 5335)
Wee Willie Wayne bb The Kidds (1)(Uncredited)
1955 - I Remember / Travelin' Mood (Solo) (Imperial 5355)
Biography :
Vocal group from New Orleans, The Group consisted of Walter Lewis,
Willie Hannah, Carl Ledbetter and Wardell Brown. Their tracks were from a
session of eight songs (IM-755 to IM-762) recorded by The Pelicans in
Los Angeles on August 20 1954 . Tracks were released variously as by the
Pelicans or as by The Kidds but they were the same group.
Songs :
The Kidds (1)
You Broke My Heart / I Won't Be Back Drunk, Drunk, Drunk / Are You Forgetting Me
1956 - I Love You The Most / Let's Do The Razzle Dazzle (Abco 105)
Leon Arnold
1961 - But, Goodbye / Here's To The Girl (Wes 7751)
Biography :
Chicago doo wop quintet the Rip-Chords formed in 1954 -- according to
Marv Goldberg's profile in the April 1979 issue of Goldmine -- lead
tenor/songwriter Leon Arnold, first tenor George Vinyard, second tenor
David Hargrove, alto John Gillespie, and bass Lester Martin first
performed as the Five Knights of Rhythm. Upon signing with Ted Daniels, a
local impresario who also guided the careers of the Calvaes and the
Five Thrills, the Five Knights of Rhythm cut a record deal with the
Vee-Jay label, in the summer of 1955 cutting a split session with the El
Dorados; in truth, however, Vee-Jay was most interested in Arnold's
compositional prowess, and while the label never released the group's
session, it later issued as an El Dorados cover of Arnold's "Forever
Loving You." (His "Lights Are Low" subsequently appeared on another El
Dorados disc as well.)
The experience upset the Knights so much that they rechristened
themselves the Rip-Chords before signing to the local independent label
Abco to issue their official debut single "Let's Do the Razzle Dazzle"
in 1956 -- when the record barely registered on Chicago radio, the group
dissolved. Arnold resurfaced in 1961 with a solo single on the tiny Wes
label before quitting the music business for good.
