Wednesday, November 19, 2008

THE LINC-TONES aka DARRELL & THE OXFORDS aka THE TOKENS


In early 1956 Hank Mendress and Neil Sedaka were in the same grade in the Lincoln High School in Brooklyn when decided to form a vocal group they recruited others two schoolmates Eddie Rabkin and Cynthia Zolitin and took their name The Linc-Tones from the name of their high school.

The group got jobs at various community halls and local auditoriums as well as in the USO veteran shows.Cynthia's cousin Happy Gorday a manager in the Bill Building became their manager and send the group to Morty Craft of Melba Records for an audition.Craft signed them and recorded the group in the Beltone studios in New York City were they perfoming_I Love My Baby. (with eddie on Lead)_While I Dream. (with Sedaka on Lead)_Right Or Wrong. (writen by Neil Sedaka and Howie Greenfield with Cynthia on Lead)_Lover Lips. (again with Cynthia) and more songs as_Don't Go/Blue Moon. or_Come Back Joe.


Finally Mr. Craft released in 1956 the sides_I Love My Baby/While I Dream. on their Melba label but no before Goday convinced the group to come up with a better name,The Tokens(took from the phrase"Token Of My Affection").

LISTEN...



The recording got radio play but soon died and Neil Sedaka let the group to took their solo career and was replaced by Ian Kay later of The Accents(see in this blog) but when Eddie and Cynthia leave for college the group finally broke up.Hank Mendress soon form another group Darrell & The Oxfords(see in this blog).

Unreleased sides...








"Laura Lee" is a demo song recorded in 1956 .The next year Neil Sedaka re-recorded the song as his first release as a solo artist for Decca Records.


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