1961 - Miss Fine / Dream A Little Dream (Wall 547)
1961 - Tears In My Eyes / A little Bit (Wall 548)
The Wildwoods (1)
1961 - When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano / Heart Of Mine (Caprice 101/102)
Biography :
Led by Fred Parris, the Five Satins were among the preeminent doo wop
groups of the era, yet their pop succes was essentially limited to just
two hits, the immortal "In The Still Of The Night" (1956) and "To The
Aisle" (1957). In 1960, after three years with Ember Record, The Five
Satins were signed by Cub, a pop subsidiary of the mighty M-G-M label
which was enjoying a hot spell on the charts. Though expectations were
high, M-G-M were unable to break the Group, and when the Five Satins
heard they were to be dropped by the label in 1961, Parris and his
cohorts went undercover, fetching up on Wall records, an obscure New
York label, as the New Yorkers.
"Miss Fine" appeared on the market at the same time as the Five
Satins final Cub release, "Golden Earrings". A somewhat sisillusioned
Parris reasoned that a name change might lend the group a fresh lease of
life - They also moonlighted as the Wildwoods on other Label, Caprice,
during this periode before reverting to their original name on some
later records. A little raged around the edges, "Miss Fine" sounded like
a demo released as a master. While the vocals and especially the song
are top notch, "Miss Fine" would have benefited commercialy from better
production values.
Songs :
The New Yorkers (1)
A Little Bit Tears In My Eyes
Miss Fine Dream A Little Dream
The Wildwoods (1)
Heart Of Mine When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano
1958 - She's Gone With The Wind / The Voice（Klik 7905）
Biography :
Fred Parris of 24 Sperry Street in New Haven, Connecticut, was
expelled in 1953 from a vocal group known as the Canaries. The avid ball
player (he once had a tryout with the Boston Braves) decided to form
his own group and labeled them the Scarlets. The quintet of Hillhouse
High School students included Sylvester Hopkins (first tenor), Nathaniel
Mosely, Jr. (second tenor), Albert Denby (baritone), and William L.
Powers (bass).
Since Fred wrote the songs the guys made him lead singer. The
rehearsed under the influence of THE 5 ROYALES, THE CLOVERS, THE
DOMINOES, and THE FIVE CROWNS. Fred was a particular fan of the Velvets
and THE FOUR FRESHMEN. As the group’s leader, Parris was saddled with
the responsibility of finding them a record label, but the 17-year-old
had little idea how to go about it. He traveled to New York without so
much as a tape in hopes of finding Red Robin Records (home of the
Velvets), which was operated out of a record shop at 301 West 125th
Street in Harlem.
First
he encountered Bob Shad, a record shop owner who also owned the Jax
label (Bobby Hall and the Kings). Shad sent Fred down the block where he
met Red Robin proprietor Bobby Robinson. When the Scarlets lead told
Robinson of his group he got the same response elicited from Shad, which
in effect was “go home and bring me a demo tape.” When Fred did return
with a tape of the self penned “Dear One,” Robinson still wasn’t
impressed, but his brother and partner Dan did like the group and
convinced Robinson to record them.
In early spring of 1954 the Scarlets were
given 15 minutes to cut “Dear One” and another ballad called “I’ve
Lost.” “Dear One” had a classic rhythm and blues harmony sound. Fred’s
Plaintive lead, shifting to falsetto riffing while the baritone and bass
took over, helped make the record a New York hit in the spring of 1954.
The flip, “I've Lost,” was another solid ballad with more than a hint
of the melody line from the 1948 Benny Goodman tune “Beyond the Sea.”
The group got better with each release as December’s “Love Doll” and
the later “True Love” demonstrated. Even though “True Love” was almost a
clone of “Dear One,” the harmonies had a more confident sound. Parris
had his first hit as a writer with the B side but not via the Scarlets.
The rocker, “Cry Baby,” was cut a year later by three moonlighting
nurses from Bellevue Hospital called THE BONNIE SISTERS, reaching a
healthy number 18 on the Pop charts. The New Haven quintet was called by
Uncle Sam in 1955 with the promise that they could stay together. Thus
assured, the Scarlets foresaw a great time entertaining troops and
officers. Instead, one member wound up in Alaska, One in Texas, and
other in Korea, and so on. After basic training in Texas the group
returned to New York on leave and cut one farewell single for Red Robin
called “Kiss Me.”
Fred was then stationed in Philadelphia and was able to return to New
Haven for weekends. He formed a new group that included Lou Peebles
(tenor), Ed Martin (baritone), Stanley Dortch (tenor), and Jim Freeman
(bass). Fred wanted a new name since none of these new members had been
in the Scarlets. He liked the idea of something soft and red like the
Velvets and the Scarlets. The result: the Five Satins.
