RARE PHOTO...The Belmonts

Rare photo of The Belmonts in its revival era (maybe in the 70's) with (L-R) Danny Elliot, Freddie Milano, Angelo D'Aleo and Warren Gradus (Guitar).

A photo difficult to find, click to enlarge.

 

 

"Constantina" by Bruce & The Heartbreaks

Bruce Hamby from Bruce & The Heartbreaks (check them out on this blog) has been so kind to send me a song for this blog that has never been heard before.

I hope you like it.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa883z9Zi_5-6Yul5UMe20A

REVIVAL YEARS...Bruce And The Heartbreaks.

Bruce And The Heartbreaks.

-Bring Back Those Oldies / A Way With Words. Modern Poets records-2005.

Bruce Hamby sang all vocal parts.

LISTEN....

Bruce has many other original songs like "Constantina" and he has written many others for different groups like "In Love With You" for the Boppers.

LISTEN ...

 

TOMMY WALTERS...Bardell records

Walter Surdak from Brooklyn know as Tommy Walters is present in the Jeff Kreiter doo wop guide with...

- Church Bells in the Park / Red 'N Yella' Beach Umbrella. Bardell records-1963.

LISTEN...

UNFINISHED WHITE DOO WOP

Another doo wop experiment perhaps unknown to many collectors is this Phil & The Catalinas 45 rpm in which the group does not finish singing the song why they begin fight among themselves.

A curious and funny recording, you can know more about this group visiting;
http://whitedoowopcollector.blogspot.com/2011/11/phil-catalinasolimpic-records.html

LISTEN...

THE DELFIS...Crystal Ball records

The Delfis were formed in the city of Upper Darby located in the county of Delaware in Pennsylvania, it was formed by an instrumental band, Tony Cotino, Gene Giello, Dan Hulton and John Moloko along with a vocal group, Frank Nerney, Tom Gummel, Gerry Totaro, Jim Walsh and Chub Hulton.

Aided by Frank Torpey and Jack Strong of The Contenders they recorded in 1963 at 45 rpm demo with the songs "My Darling / Hope, Prayer and a Dream" but it was never released. It was not until 1978 that Crystal Ball records released these two songs.

A few curiosities about this group they were originally called THE DEL FI'S for their county "DEL" and there are five the singers "FI". although in his acetate his name appears as DELPHIS and in Crystal Ball as DELFIS

His song "My Darling" is inspired by that of the Magnificent Four song "The Closer You Are" and "Hope" in the Academics song "Darla My Darling"

Jack Strong has been claiming that he wrote the song "Hope .." while Jimmy Walsh, original member of the group, claims that it was written by the group, but as you can see  in the Crystal Ball label appears as written by John Hill.

LISTEN...

RARE PHOTO ...The Jumpin' Tones

In 1963 The Jumpin'Tones from Raven records  participe in the theatre act, Other World ”The Planet Tarnarirum”, the boys were makeup with green skin, wigs etc and adopted names for the function as Zantron, Power Of Energie, Rator or Power Of Light.

Here in this color photo you can see the group characterized for the mentioned performance, a photo difficult to find.

Click to enlargue...

You can see my 2009 post about this group at;

 

http://whitedoowopcollector.blogspot.com/2009/05/jumpin-tonesi-had-dream.html

Never seen and heard before?

Since last Wednesday I uploaded this song to my YouTube channel, I have received several emails asking for information about this recording because nobody has been able to find any reference on the internet.

Unfortunately I have not been able to find anything either I can only say that it appears in the guide of Jeff Ktreiter.

Any information will be well received.

CHRIS PERRY.

-I Want to Know Where I Stand / 'Tain't so. Vibro records-1960.

LISTEN ...

1964 ARTICLE...The Dovells

The article I present on this occasion dates from May 1964 and is dedicated to the group The Dovells with several photographs that may be the first time to be seen.

Remember to enlarge or save to see it better.

 

 

LONNIE & THE LEGENDS...Impression records

Country & western band from Sylmar, California, near San Fernando formed by Lonnie, Nancy and Donna Grah

Present in the Complete Book of Doo Wop as...

LONNIE & THE LEGENDS.

-I Cried / Baby Without You. Impression records-1966.

As you can deduce this group does not have a doo wop sound (although the B side has some nice female choirs) and again it is an error of the mentioned doo wop music guide.

LISTEN....

DOO WOP MASHUP

Mashup Music;
A mashup is a creative work, usually in a form of a song, created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs.

Within doo wop music we have several examples of this musical technique, for those who are unaware of it. I publish two of them.

THE SKYLINE DRIVE.

-Tonight Could Be The Night / Little Darling. Revue records-1969.

JIMMY ANGEL.

-A Teenager In Love / Blue Moon. Laurie records-1978.

Anthony Scolaro...THE SERENES

Last May Anthony Scolaro of The Serenes from New York city died,  this is a name, a group that says nothing to anyone and that is why I take advantage of this post to pay tribute to those singers who were in a group, but who were not lucky enough to have a success and for this reason today to be recognized and surely many of those singers are unaware that many people in a year as far away as this 2020 enjoy their doo wop performances that they sang 60 years ago.

THE SERENES "Telephone, Telephone".

 

RARE PHOTO...The Tokens

Today, as you can see, the group I present is not rare and is well known by all music collectors, but I think this RCA original photo is rare to find in this size and image quality. Remember to click on it to enlarge it.

THE JAGUAR'S...Janet records

From the Complete Book of Doo wop...

-The Jaguars "I Could If I Would / Big Noise. Janet records-1959.

This group really is made up of country singers and brothers Bud and Willie G. Brewster (they recorded like the Brewster brothers).

In 1959, with the popularity of Rock & Roll sound, they decided to record an 45 rpm in this style on the record label Janet records in Manchester, KY, where they recorded the sides "I Could If I Would / Big Noise". side A has Bud as lead voice and on the other side they added a friend as lead voice Harold Harper. These songs were released under the name of The Jaguar's.

Of course they don't have a doo wop sound instead the side "I Could If I Would"  is a good Rock & Roll song.

LISTEN...

REVIVAL YEARS...Robert Klein aka Little Robert & The K's.

American comedian, singer, and actor Robert Klein from the Bronx in New York is present in the doo wop guides with...

-Fabulous 50's / Sex Impulse. Brut records 1973.

Songs extracted from LP "A Child Of The Fifties" Brut records.

The A side was released again on the Dice records label under the name Little Robert & The K's.

LISTEN...

Look down at Robert (second from left) singing with his group The Teen Tones on the Ted Mack's Amateur Hour TV show on Sept 10, 1957.

BORROWED DOO WOP

BORROWED MUSIC;

Take and use a little part of the melody or lyrics that appear in a previously published song.

In doo wop music we have several examples of songs with borrowed lyrics or melodies, perhaps the most famous being "I Wonder Why" by Dion & The Belmonts with parts taken from The Legends song "Now I'm Telling You" and The Keynotes "I Don't Know".

In this post I present another example of these songs surely not well known to collectors.

THE TEARDROPS "Bidge of Love" 1957.

THE REGENTS "Liar" 1961.

MUSIC VENDOR...july 1958

As you can see in this ocassion I do not present any article since it seemed more interesting to me to put the cover of the MUSIC VENDOR magazine from July 1958 where you can see the Elegants group.

Click to enlargue...

For me it is a nice cover with a rare photo of the Elegants maybe never seen before.

SMOKEY ARMEN & The Shooners

Smokey Armen is present in all the doo wop guides as...

SMOKEY ARMEN & The Shooners.

-"Say You Love Me / Baby What Am I Gonna Do". Peek-A-Boo records-1958.

Side A is a doo wop ballad with a group instead the other side is a rockbilly song without a group.

 

LISTEN...

 

In this record label there is another recording of the same year by Mickey Armen. I wonder if it is the same singer with another name or perhaps a brother of his, I do not know.

MICKEY ARMEN.

-"Cheating On Me / Tell My Why. Peek-A-Boo records-1958.

 LISTEN...

 

DOO WOP FLYER...The Capris

Rare flyer made for record stores announcing the Capris' latest record release for Old Town records in 1961 "Where I Fell in Love".

This flyer has a large size, I recommend you click on it to enlarge it to see it better.

DOO WOP MISTAKE...The Twilights

I recently discovered another bug present in my doo wop music guides "The Complete Doo Wop Book" and "Jeff Kreiter Vocal group record guide"

THE TWILIGHTS.

-It Couldn't Be True / Sumpin Else. Twilight records.-1962.

Currently this group is a rock band made up of four children between the ages of 10 and 12 who recorded these songs in 1967.

LISTEN...

SONNY DEE...Kapp records

From the Complete Book of Doo Wop...

SONNY DEE (Bronx N.Y.)

-Here I Stand / I'm Not The One For You. Kapp records-1961.

A side backing group are some members of the Regents with Al Reno (Kapp's recording artist)

LISTEN...

PICTURE SLEEVE...Artie Lewis

45 rpm picture sleeve of Artie Lewis from 1959 for Fling Record with the sides "Why Don't They Believe Us / Alone, All Alone". present in the Kreiter doo wop group guide with a value of $ 30 but the book not mentioned this sleeve.

Artie really doesn't have a doo wop sound in these songs.

LISTEN...

RARE PHOTO...The Vocal Lords

The photo that I present on this occasion is that of the Vocal Lords in Taurus records, a photo very difficult to see in this complete format and in these good conditions.

Click to enlarge.

Look at my 2009 publication about this group ...

http://whitedoowopcollector.blogspot.com/2009/11/vocal-lordsat-seventeen.html

November 1960 article...The Eligibles

This week's article is from November 1960 and is dedicated to the white group who recorded with Capitol records, The Eligibles who are present in the Jeff Kreiter's doo wop guide.

Remember save the image to read the article enlarging its size.

Look at my past post about this group in ...

http://whitedoowopcollector.blogspot.com/2010/03/eligibles-capitol-records.html

New on YouTube

Yesterday I uploaded a new song on my YouTube channel (I think it was not on YouTube) by a white group that  recorded in 1964 for the Rich-Rose label.

For my taste it is a good white doo wop ballad, you can listen to it by visiting ...

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa883z9Zi_5-6Yul5UMe20A

Surely it belongs to the same group that recorded on this same record label as Tommy Burk & the Counts, look at them here ...

http://whitedoowopcollector.blogspot.com/2009/08/tommy-burk-countsyoull-feel-it-too.html

EDDIE FONTAINE...X records

Eddie Reardon from New York city professionally known as Eddie Fontaine is present in the Jeff Kreiter vocal group record guide with...

-Boo-de-de-Boom / Turn The Light On.  X records-1956.

LISTEN...

In 1956 he participate in the movie "THE GIRL CAN'T HELP IT". See below to Eddie in a rare photo singing in that movie.

DOO WOP cassette

Without a doubt, among the doo wop collectors, the cassette format is the least attractive to them, but in this format, there have been some very attractive works such as the one that I present in this post, surely a work on cassette unknown by many doo wop collectors.

CASSETTE TAPE Galax-Z Records.

 Anthony & The Sophomores.

Click to enlargue.

Check out my post about this group at; http://whitedoowopcollector.blogspot.com/2010/04/anthony-sophomoresand-when-im-near-you.html

 

POSTCARD...Phil Moore & The Chords

Rare to find, advertising postcard of the Philadelphia group Phil Moore & The Chords that recorded in Time records.

Click to enlargue.

More photos and songs of them here; http://whitedoowopcollector.blogspot.com/2012/09/phil-moore-chordslittle-angel.html

JERRY LANDIS aka PAUL SIMON

Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Paul Simon of Simon & Garfunkel fame is present in the doo wop guides under the name...

JERRY LANDIS.

-I Wish I Weren't in Love / I'm Lonely. Canadian American records-1961.

-Lone Teen Ranger / Lisa. Amy records-1962.

LISTEN...

In 1959 Jerry recorded a demo song "Just To Be With You"  see here;

http://whitedoowopcollector.blogspot.com/2011/05/carol-king-jerry-landis-aka-cosines.html

In 1960, Jerry landis became  the Mystics lead singer with they he recorded three songs "  "I Began to Think of You"  /  "Let Me Steal Your Heart Away" and  "All Through the Night".

LISTEN...

THE 45's...The Continentals

According to doo wop music expert, Gerry Diez, this vinyl from the Continentals is one of the rarest  white vocal group recordings with a price of 3,000 dollars.

The Continentals And The Counts Of Rhythm.

-Hey Senorita  / Don't Leave Me. Muncie records - 1958.

LISTEN ...

This is the known story of this recording ...

In 1958, the doowop sound became more and more powerful and attracted the attention of the teenagers, and that is how five students from the Muncie Central High School in Indiana (Theotis Barnes, Phil Butts, Ralph Kersey, Ray Jimmerson and Elsworth Williams) decided to form a vocal group under the name The Continentals, after several weeks of rehearsals they brought together a band of school musicians (The Counts Of Rhythm; Jim Cox, Roy Alexander, and Bud Cole) and moved to Cincinnati to record a 45 rpm paid for themselves.

They recorded the Penguin´s song "Hey Senorita" and on the flip side "Don't Leave Me" the boys only had money to make 100 copies that were finally distributed locally in Indiana and its surroundings.
 

As you can read this is a private recording without any record label, but in Jeff Keiter's doo wop guide it appears under the label "MUNCIE" which is actually the group's hometown.

BUT...

 

 

Actually this is a black vocal group (see the above photo) maybe the confusion is due to the fact that their song "Don't Leave Me" has a white sound.

LISTEN...