1954 - Laverne / Darlene (Girl of My Dreams) (Parrot 803 )
Biography :
Parrot Records was a Chicago-based label founded in 1952 by disc
jockey Al Benson. It specialized in blues, jazz, doo-wop, and gospel.
The Five Thrills were basically an aggregation of young men who lived
Thirty-first Street and began singing together in 1950, while they were
still students at Douglas Elementary School at Thirty-second and
Calumet.
Al Benson
The Five Thrills flashed onto the R&B scene in Chicago for a year
during 1953-54 and then disappeared forever. During that year, they
were the most frequently recorded group on Parrot. By early 1954,
Robinson had left the group and was replaced with Leon Pace . Two sides
from their last session (Parrot 800) were released under a new name :
"The Earls".
Robert Pruter "Doowop: the Chicago scene"
http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~campber/parrot.html
Songs :
The Five Thrills (1)
My Baby's Gone / Feel So Good Gloria / Wee Wee Baby
1960 - Rich Boy - Poor Boy / Please Be Mine (Shad 5018)
1961 - You Can Take My Girl / Fever (MGM 13010)
1964 - Mo Jo (Part 1) (Got My Mo Jo Working) / Mo Jo (Part 2) (Tribute 199)
1964 - What's On Your Mind / Tweet-Tweet (Tribute 201)
1964 - Don't Say Goodbye (instrumental) / Ecuador (Tribute 203)
1965 - Falling From Paradise* / Ecuador* (Tribute 216)
*credited to Bob D’Andrea & The Knockouts
Unreleased:
1960 - Please Be Mine (Allegro acetate)
N/A - Stormy Weather
N/A - Jungle Mambo
Album:
1964
-Go Ape With The Knockouts (Tribute LP 1202)Mo Jo Pt. 1 / Darling
Lorraine* / Tweet Tweet / Ecuador / Poor Boy - Rich Boy** / I Got A
Woman Pt. 1 / What’s On Your Mind / Give Me A Chance / Number One Girl /
Molly Malone / Don’t Say Goodbye / I Got A Woman Pt. 2
*re-recording, **re-recording of Rich Boy - Poor Boy
Biography:
The
Knockouts hailed from North Bergen and Bayonne, New Jersey and
consisted of Bob D'Andrea (vocals), Eddie Parente (guitar), Bob Collada
(piano) and Harry Venuta (drums). In 1959, their manager Chic Salerno
persuaded Bob Shad of Time/Brent Records, who'd just come off two hits
with "I've had it" by the Bell Notes and "It Was I" by Skip and Flip, to
sign his boys.
Aware
of their limitations as vocalists, The Knockouts hedged their bets by
placing "Darling Lorraine", which sounded like a bunch of leathery-faced
cowboys breaking into an impromptu doo-wop session around the camp
fire. Shad heavily hyped "Darling Lorraine" in New York area in the
autumn of '59 and the song ascended to #45 on the charts just before the
payola bandwagon came to a crashing halt amid a welter of
recriminations and investigations.
During the 60's, The Knockouts used to perform in Seaside, NJ at the
Parrot Club, Luciano's in Lodi, NJ, in Lyndhurst, NJ and also up at
Greenwood Lake, NY on weekends. Bob Catucci (aka Pierre LaSalle)
replaced Harry Venuta in 1960.
left Eddie Parente, right Bob D'Andrea; back: left. Bob Collada, right
Pierre LaSalle
Pierre was with the group in all the recordings that followed
Lorraine and stayed with them until the group started to decline in the
early mid sixties. Bob D’Adrea went on to form a comedy duo called Andre
and Cirell which still performs around the Jersey Shore.
Songs:
Darling Lorraine / Riot In Room 3C Rich Boy - Poor Boy / Please Be Mine
1955 - All My Love Belongs To You / Talk About Him Girlie (Baton 211)
1955 - Gone, Gone, Gone / Until The Real Thing Comes Along (Baton 215)
1956 - Disappointed Bride / Going Home To Stay (Baton 222)
1956 - He Drives Me Crazy / I Had A Guy (Baton 228)
1957 - Dancing In A Dream World / You Needn't Tell Me, I Know (J&S 1657)
1957 - You Say You Love Me / So Long Baby (J&S 1660)
1958 - I Want Your Love Tonight / Like Later Baby (J&S 1626/1627)
1958 - If I Had Known / There Are So Many Ways (J&S 10002/10003)
1959 - My Love Has Gone / You Or Me Have Got To Go (J&S 425/426)
1959 - There Is No Love At All / Goodbye, Baby (J&S 4571)
1960 - A Thousand Years From Today / I Feel So Good (J&S 995)
1961 - I Couldn't Let Him See Crying / You Weren't Home (J&S 1180/1181)
1963 - Dear Abby / (Instrumental) (Tuff 370)
1963 - I Understand Him / (Instrumental) (Tuff 373)
Biography :
The
group’s story begins in the mid-fifties, when a woman by the name of
Zell Sanders started her own production company. Zell was looking for an
R&B group and found the original Hearts, Hazel Crutchfield,
Forestine Barnes, Joyce West, and later Louise Harris singing together
at the Apollo Theatre. In 1954 few labels were willing to take a chance on a group of female singers who weren’t clones of the Andrews Sisters or McGuire Sisters, let alone one produced and managed by a woman, but Sanders’ tough attitude brought them to the attention of the small Baton Records label, and a studio recording of the very doo-wopish "Lonely Nights" was the result.
Rex Garvin, Hazel Anderson, Joyce West, Thaddus Mc Lean & Louise Harris
The song became a big hit on the R&B charts and is credited as
being one of the first true girl group tunes. The group had some local
success in New York with some follow-ups , but nothing came close to the
chart power of "Lonely Nights."After a series of mild items on baton, the Hearts were moved to
Zell’s own J&S Records, but the girls in the original group were
dumped when Sanders felt they weren’t being serious enough about being
recording stars.
Theresa Chatman, Anna Barnhill, Justine "Baby" Washington, Joyce Peterson & Rex Garvin
By 1957, the new group, which featured a young Baby Washington, in
addition to Anna Barnhill, Theresa Chatman and Joyce Peterson, began
recording. The first release "Dancing In A Dream World," kept the
Hearts’ schedule busy, but the chart was still barren. Over the next few years a dozen girls or more would filter in and out of the Hearts as Sanders picked who would be on what recording, hired and fired personnel at will, and created new group names to release her product. One such name was the Jaynetts, a combination of the J in J&S records, and Heart singer Lezli Valentine’s middle name, Anetta. In 1958 Sanders’ released "I Wanted To Be Free b/w Where Are You Tonight," to an indifferent audience.
Meanwhile, various configurations of the Hearts kept releasing singles through 1961 without much more than regional interest. Sanders encountered some financial problems in the early 1960s and despite the creation of new labels like Tuff and Zell’s, couldn’t keep her business afloat. Executives at Chess Records still thought Sanders had something going for her, though, and helped to bankroll her next venture, a revamped version of the Jaynetts.
(The Hearts) Marie Hood, Lezli Valentine, Mandy Hooper & friends Lezli Valentine & Marie Hood
In 1963, Sanders, producer Abner Spector and his wife Lona Stevens,
came together to create one of the most talked-about records of the
1960s. "Sally Go ‘Round The Roses," by The Jaynetts, a nursery rhyme
turned pop hit was recorded during several sessions over for more than a
week.
Justine 'Baby' Washington The Hearts, 1962, (top) Theresa Chatman, (Bottom) Marie Hood, Cindy Felder & Louise Muray
Estimates now put the cost of this recording at well over
$60,000, a huge cost for something that only lasted about 3 minutes and
for a producer who hadn’t had a bonafide hit since 1955.
1965 - My Barbara Ann / When You Loved Me (Ascot 2167)
1965 - My Barbara Ann (Re-release) / I Wish It Were Summer (Ascot 2173)
Unreleased :
1959 - A Boy And A Girl Were Meant To Fall In Love (Climax)
1959 - Eight Wonders Of The World (Climax)
Biography :
Mike
Lazo, Gene Schacter, and Bobby Vinton formed a singing trio The Hilites
in 1954 that performed at local records hops. Drafted into the Army
Lazo and Schachter sang at U.S.O. shows while stationed together in
Korea. Returning to civilian life in 1957 Lazo and Schachter joined
forces with two Duquense University music majors, song writer Jim Drake
(Lead Singer of the Four Larks)
and saxophonist Tom Minito to form the Tempos. Singing rich harmonies
the performed a local record hops where the came to attention of local
artist manager/producer Jack Gold. Gold, who was managing Lou Christie
at the time, persuaded David Kapp to sign them to his New York City
based Kapp Records. Kapp released 3 singles by the Tempos.
Mike Lazo, Gene Schacter, and Bobby Vinton : The Hilites
Brill Building song writers Sid Wayne and Sherman Edwards wrote the
song “See You in September” on a Friday of June 1959. They pitched the
song to Jack Gold that afternoon. He brought the rights to it for $500
and called the Tempos that evening to fly New York. The Tempos recorded
the song the next day in New York, the record was on Monday, the
testing pressing was done on Thursday, and its was getting airplay on
WNEW on Friday. It was released on the short lived Climax Records
label. The record broke in San Francisco, hit the national charts in
July, and climbed to #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 at the end of August.
The Tempos performed on American Bandstand on October 12, 1959. “See
you in September” was their one national success. Climax released a
follow-up single "The Crossroads of Love" / "What" later in 1959 that
did not reach the charts. They continued to perform at Pittsburgh area
dances, appear on local television dance programs, and record until
1965. They release the singles "Look Homeward Angel" / "Under 10 Flags"
(Paris 1959), "My Barbara Ann" / "When You Loved Me" (Ascot 1965), and
"My Barbara Ann (re-release) / "I Wish It Were Summer" (Ascot 1965).
(Top L-R) James "Sonny" Griffin, Billy Emery, (Bottom L-R) Leroy Griffin, James "Coco" Tyson
The Lyres (New Haven, Conn.)
aka The Rajahs aka The Nutmegs
Personnel :
Billy Emery (Lead)
Leroy Griffin (Bass)
"Sonny" Griffin (Second Tenor)
Jimmy "Coco" Tyson (Baritone)
Walter Singleterry (First Tenor)
Discography :
1953 - Ship of love / Play Boy (J&G 101)
Biography :
Hailing from New Haven, CT, the original Nutmegs -- lead Leroy
Griffin, Sonny Griffin (born James, he was Leroy's brother), Dieder
Cobb, and a second Leroy Griffin (yes, there were two men with the same
exact name) who later became Leroy Gomez -- all sang together with other
members -- Walter Singleterry, Bill Emery, and Gomez's brother Tommy
Griffin -- moving in and out of the lineup. The group performed on the
street corners of New Haven, especially Webster and Dixon Streets, where
Jimmy "Co Co" Tyson was asked to join the key lineup and soon they were
a quintet..
The Four Haven knights
The Nutmegs fragmented again and some of the members left to form a group of their own, the Lyres; the Gomez brothers formed the Four Haven Knights.
Now comprised of a lineup that included Bill Emery (lead), Walter
Singleterry (first tenor), Sonny Griffin (second tenor), Jimmy Tyson
(baritone), and Leroy Griffin (bass), the group met promoter Charlie
Johnson in 1953, who fell for their sound and decided to record two of
Leroy's songs, "Ship of Love" and "Playboy," for his small J&G label
after the group was passed over by the local Klik label .
The Nutmegs
The single failed to sell, however, and Johnson lacked the funds to
promote it properly. By 1954, the Nutmegs revised their hierarchy and
Leroy Griffin switched over to lead, with Sonny Griffin now filling in
as first tenor, Tyson (second tenor), Emery (baritone), and they added
yet another Leroy, Leroy McNeil, for the bass vocals. Leroy Griffin's
nephew Harold (Harry James, not the musician), would often sit in and
listen, little knowing the part he would come to play in the group.
1955 - Gee, But I Hate To Go Home Alone / The Magic Carpet Man (Klick 1605 )
1956 - I Look at You / Sleepy Head (Decca 29868 )
1957 - Oh! Mr. Romeo / Dixieland Marchin' Band (Decca 30298)
Biography :
This pop vocal group were formed in Chicago by Joan Goldner. A
Chicago native, Goldner began singing in church at age 7, studied voice
with a member of the Chicago Lyric Opera. That was back in the era of
the girl trios. Someone in Chicago was looking for a girls trio to
manage, and the girls ended up with a record contract with Decca
Records.
The Lassies on Decca with Jack Pleis and A&R man Paul Cohen.
The Lassies cut three records. They were the opening act for
Liberace, they won the Arthur Godfrey Talent Contest and they were on
the Godfrey Show for a while. The Lassies traveled around the country,
sang with bands, did live TV shows.
Songs :
I Look at You Dixieland Marchin' Band Oh! Mr. Romeo
1958 - Who's That Knocking? / The First Time (Shad 5002)
1959 - No More Knocking / On the Edge of Town (Hollywod 69)
1960 - There Goes That Train / Crazy Love (Warwick 573)
1960 - Just Like the Blue Bird / Twistin' Pneumonia (Warwick 607)
1961 - Crazy Feeling / Little Young Girl (Warwick 643)
Roy Hammond & The Genies (1)
1959 - Mama Blow Your Top / It's Getting Cold (Forum 701)
Unreleased :
N/A - Where Did You Go?
N/A - Chicken Necks
N/A - Come Walk With Me
N/A - S'cuse Me Lady
Biography :
This short-term group from Long Beach, Long Island recording career
lasted three years, and five singles; they broke up a year after they
started recording in 1958, but Warwick Records issued canned material
til 1961. The original members: Roy Hammond, Bill Gains, Alexander
Faison, and Fred Jones formed in 1956. They didn't record until
Brooklynite Claude Johnson came aboard.
Johnson, the only member not from the Long Beach area, named them the
Genies; he had sung with a Brooklyn group that included Eugene Pitt,
who never sang with the Genies. Bob Shad, the owner of Shad Records saw
them singing on a beach and invited them to audition for his label. The
result was "Who's That Knockin'," recorded, June 1958; but Shad didn't
release it until March 1959, nearly a year later.
It did well R&B but wallowed on the lower rungs of the pop chart
at #71. Then without warning, second tenor Bill Gains ran off to Canada
with a woman and has never been seen or heard from since. This occurred
while the Genies were playing their first big engagement at New York's
Apollo Theater; three days into the gig, and poof - Gains vanished.
The Genies answered their debut with "No More Knockin'" on Hollywood
Records, then the Warwick label released three singles after the group
became history. By the end of 1959 the Genies was a memory. Hammond cut
a string of solo records as Roy C, his biggest was "Shotgun Wedding," a
#14 R&B hit.
Roy
C.Hammond
Don & Juan
Claude hooked with Roland Trone and enjoyed a monster #7 Pop hit with
"What's Your Name," as Don & Juan. Johnson also became a songwriter
of note, composing the Genies' debut, the Don & Juan hit, and 57
other titles registered with B.M.I. ~ Andrew Hamilton, All Music Guide
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