CONSOLES (1) (BOBBY & THE)

  

Bobby Pedrick Jr  

Bobby & The Consoles (1) (New York)

 

Personnel :

Bobby Pedrick Jr (Robert John) (Lead)

Adolph Morris ???

Henry H. Tobias ???

Discography :

1963 - My Jelly Bean / Nita, I Need You So (Diamond 141)

 

Biography :

Robert John (Robert John Pedrick, Jr) was born in Brooklyn, New York. Bobby Pedrick's recordings dented the Top 100 sporadically over four decades. Armed with a distinctively high tenor voice, he already scored his first hit at the ripe old age of twelve. His debut single, "White Bucks and Saddle Shoes", on the Bigtop label from New York City, entered the Billboard charts in November 1958 and peaked at # 74. In the UK it was released on London HLX 8740 and covered by the Vernons Girls on the Parlophone label (R 4497). The follow-up, "Pajama Party"/"Betty Blue Eyes" (Bigtop 3008), also sold reasonably well, but not enough to make the Hot 100. Bobby recorded without success on Shell in 1960 and Duel in 1962.

   
Bobby Pedrick Jr                                                                                                    

In 1963, during his teen years Pedrick fronted a local New York group called Bobby & The Consoles . The group notched up a hit on the U.S. East Coast in the early 60s with ‘My Jelly Bean’, but the hit failed to bounce into the national charts. By 1965, he had changed his name as Robert John and signed with MGM records for two ill fated singles. In 1967, he signed a contract with Columbia records and released a string of singles with help from writing partner Mike Gately.

Songs :

   

My Jelly Bean                           Nita, I Need You So

PHARAOHS (3) - FOUR IMPERIALS (1)

 

The Four Imperials (1)  (Higland Park, Michigan)

aka The Pharaohs (3) 

 

Personnel :

Lynn Best (Lead)

Frank Amodeo (Bass)

Bob Manzagol (Baritone)

Jim Hartrick (Tenor)

 

Discography :

The Pharaohs (3)

1957 - Walking Sad / Come On Baby (Fascination 101/Skylor 101)

The Four Imperials (1)

1958 - Lazy Bonnie / Let's Make A Scene (Lorelei 4444/Dot 15737)

1958 - My Girl / Teen Age Fool (Chant 10067)

1959 - Valley Of Tears / Time Out (Dial 101)

1959 - Santa's Got A Coupe DeVille / Seven Lonely Days (Twirl 2005)

Pee Wee Crayton with Esther & The Four Imperials (1)

1958 - Give Me One More Chance / Look Up & Live (not them) (Fox 102)

Biography :

Four guys from Higland Park in Detroit started harmonizing on the street corners in the mid 50's they were Lynn Best (Lead), Frank Amodeo (Bass), Bob Manzagol (Baritone) and Leroy Casey (Tenor), they were all graduates of Highland Park High School in Michigan.  They called themselves The Pharaohs and recorded for Fascination Records in 1957 : "Walking Sad" b/w "Come On Baby."

The Pharaohs (3) around 1958

In 1958 Leroy left the group and the rest adde Jim Hartrick and changed their name to The Four Imperials and recorded in the Detroit label Lorelei "Lazy Bonnie" b/w "Let's Make A Scene." The record became popular and the group make many appearances throughout the midwest including one with Ricky Nelson at the Michigan State Fair.

The Pharaohs (3)

They Make a personal appearance at the Mount Clemens Bandstand teen-agers dance at the VFW Hall.The group soon snapped up by Fox Records manager George Braxton and the Four Imperials backed Pee Wee Crayton on  "Give Me One More"

After Fox records, Braxton started several subsidiaries : Brax, Dial, Chant, and Teen Life. The Four Imperials recorded for Braxton's Chant Records "My Girl" b/w "Teenage Fool" and "Valley Of Tears" b/w "Time Out" on Dial. The last recording of the group were for Twirl Records in 1959 "Seven lonely Nights" b/w "Santa's Got A Coupe DeVille" .  

 

      Lynn Best (left)  Bob Manzagol (top center) , Frank Amodeo (right)  Jim Hartrick(bottom center)

After that they broke up. Ed Wingate took Lynn Best into the studio to do a single for Golden World that was never issued. This was probably around '64 because one of the tunes, "I Want Your Love to Be Mine" is one of the best Beatles knock-offs. Frank Amodeo joined up with Byron Taylor and recorded as The Two-Tones.

Songs :

The Pharaohs (3)

Walking Sad / Come On Baby

The Four Imperials (1)

   

Lazy Bonnie / Let's Make A Scene           Valley Of Tears / Time Out      

Santa's Got A Coupe DeVille / Seven Lonely Days

SOLDIER BOYS

 

Don Covay

The Soldier Boys (Washington D.C) 

Personnel :

Don Covay (Lead)

John Hammond

Joe Richardson

 

Discography :

1962 - I'm Your Soldier Boy / You Picked Me (Scepter 1230)

 

Biography :

Born Donald James Randolph, March 24, 1936, Orangeburg, South Carolina , The youngster Don Covay moved north to Washington D.C. shortly after his Baptist Minister father passed away in the mid-forties. His family kept close to their religious roots, and soon formed a Gospel group called The Cherry Keys that performed locally. While still in High School, he was invited to join The Rainbows, a hot DC doo-wop group that had recorded for Bobby Robinson. After cutting a few sides on Pilgrim that went nowhere, the group broke-up.

Don Covay (Bottom right) with the Rainbows

While still a member of the group, Covay found work as a chauffeur to LITTLE RICHARD, and through this association, Atlantic Records delivered Don’s debut single (`Bip Bop Bip’) in summer ’57, under the pseudonym of Pretty Boy.  At some point, he put together a group called the Satisfiers (personnel unknown) and recorded at least four masters: "You Broke My Heart," "Hold My Hand," "Shake That Thing," and "The Telephone Is Ringing." These were all lumped into the bootleg "Rainbows" LP that came out on "Pilgrim" in the 80s. In 1962, with John Hammond and Joe Richardson, he cut "I'm Your Soldier Boy" b/w "You Picked Me"  becoming one of Florence Greenberg's Soldier Boys on Scepter. A one-off single for Epic would follow, without much luck. He then signed to Cameo, scoring another minor chart hit with "The Popeye Waddle," a novelty record inspired by New Orleans' "popeye" dance craze.  Of course, Don Covay went on to have a string of Soul hits in the 60s and 70s, with his group, the Goodtimers.  In 1969, Covay would start up another project, The Jefferson Lemon Blues Band. Along with John Hammond and Joe Richardson (whom Covay had worked with in The Soldier Boys), he created a very cool concept album called The House Of Blue Lights.

http://redkelly.blogspot.fr/2015/02/don-covay-goodtimers-its-in-wind.html

Songs:

I'm Your Soldier Boy / You Picked Me

CLEO-PATRETTES

 

Erma Franklin

 The Cleo-Patrettes (Detroit)

Personnel :

Erma Franklin (Lead)

Discography :

1953 - Say Would You Babe / No Other Love (JVB 23)

Biography :

R&B/Soul Musician. Born Erma Venice Franklin in Shelby, Mississippi, she was the sister of singers Carolyn and Aretha Franklin, and the daughter of Rev. C.L. Franklin. As a child she moved to Memphis, Detroit, and Buffalo, where at 5 she began singing in her father's church choir with sisters Aretha and Carolyn, and during high school performed with a vocal group called the Cleo-Patrettes, which won a state talent contest and recorded for the small Detroit label JVB. The Cleo-Patrettes broke up after high school, and Franklin toured with her father's gospel group for two years; she subsequently had chances to record for Chess and to join Motown's early roster, but wound up following her father's wishes that she attend college before trying a singing career.

  

                                                                                                    Erma Franklin

 In 1961 she auditioned for the Epic Record Label and moved to New York to record her debut album, "Her Name Is Erma" which came out in 1962 and featured jazz, pop, and R&B tunes. One of her songs on that album, 'Abracadabra' was written by Van McCoy who would later have a success with the hit, 'The Hustle.' She soon became tired of the hassles with Epic and waited out of her contract, and spent 1961 to 1966 touring with Lloyd Price's show. Next she joined the Atlantic Record Label and her career suddenly took off more then it had before, later signing with producer/songwriter Bert Berns of Shout Records in 1967

Songs :

  

No Other Love                        Say Would You Babe

FABULOUS KOOL KATS (RUBEN SIGGERS & HIS)

 

Rueben Siggers (Piano), Ephraim Siggers (Far right)

Ruben Siggers & His Fabulous Kool Kats (Beckley, West Virginia)

 

Personnel :

Rueben Siggers (Piano & Vocals)

Ephraim Siggers (Vocals & Trumpet)

Billy Jo Mimms (Sax & Vocals)

Bernard Byars (Vocals)

Discography :

1958 - Those Love Me Blues / Please Pretty Baby (Spinks 600)

Biography :

Vocal group from Beckley, West Virginia composed by Rueben Siggers (Piano & Vocals), Ephraim Siggers (Vocals & Trumpet), Billy Jo Mimms (Sax & Vocals), Bernard Byars (Vocals) (in the photo). The musician members of the group were Robert Mosley (Drums), William Tyler (Guiatrist) & Bill Scott (Sax).

   

The Group recorded "Those Love Me Blues" b/w "Please Pretty Baby" for the local Spinks records in Ronceverte, West Virginia owned by Garland Spinks

Songs :

(updated by Hans-Joachim)

  

Those Love Me Blues                   Please Pretty Baby