Reasons to Love youTube No. 7 - Dion and the Belmonts

Dion and the Belmonts - I Wonder Why (1958)

A massive thanks to the Flip Top Flippar for bringing this beauty my way. This is a brilliant, rare clip from 1958 and shows white boy doo-wop at it's finest. They moves and routine might not be as dynamic as some of their black counterparts, but the choreography is still as tight as the vocals - which is tight. The only down side is the hard looking mama at the 1 min 30 mark who looks like she'd slit your throat with her papa's switchblade without batting an eyelid. Wonderful stuff.

Laid to rest while my PC was laid up

Unfortunately there's been a few deaths whilst I've been off-line. Two mjor ones in my world are Harvey Fuqua of the Moonglows and Hank Cochran.

I'm away from home this week so I've got no records with me. But my iPod will celebrate all three lives with the likes of;

Ten Commandments of Love, Sincerely and See Saw for Harvey.

Tired and Sleepy (Cochran Brothers), The Chair (George Strait) and Tootsie's Orchid Lounge for Hank.

Whilst writing this I've just found out that guitar legend Fred Carter has died. It gets worse and worse.

Johnny Maestro - RIP.

One of the greatest doo-wop singers, Johnny Maestro of the Crests has died of cancer. It's another sad day for rock 'n' roll fans, as this guy was one of the best. Personally, he was a guy that I hoped I would one day get to see in the UK.

His friend, the legendary Dion DiMucci wrote on Facebook: "My Dear Friend " JOHNNY MAESTRO" passed away today..... Last week we had wonderful & lovely conversations about our Lord. Johnny was a class act. He was truly a gentleman. :::...We will miss him. He sang "You'll Never Walk Alone" like an angel....
WE THANK YOU FOR THE BEAUTIFUL TRIP YOU TOOK US ON...LOVE & PEACE".

My Crests Top 5

1. Six Nights A Week
2. 16 Candles
3. Gee (But I'd Give The World)
4. What A Surprise
5. Isn't It Amazing

youTube Clip - Dell Vikings

The guy who compiled this must have had too much time on his hands. I'll bet time wasn't thing only thing he had on them by the end. Anyway, it's a really neat visual to a great rockin' doo-wopper from the legendary Dell Vikings.

Mellokings - The Herald Sessions

The Mellokings – The Herald Sessions
Acrobat ACMCD4301

Tracklist: Tonight Tonight I Promise Our Love is Beautiful Sassafrass Once On a Windy Day The Only Girl (I'll Ever Love) Kid Stuff Chapel on the HIll Chip Chip Valerie Starbright Baby Tell Me (Why Why Why) Do Baby Do Running to You Penny I Played the Part of a Fool Thrill Me (Not originally issued) Dear Mr. Jock Till There Were None Workout (Not originally issued) She's Real Cool Love at First Sight Chapel on the Hill (alt.) Chip Chip (alt. - not originally issued) Tonight Tonight (alt.) Love at First Sight (alt.)

I gotta confession to make – I actually like white doo-wop as much as black doo-wop. Before you going hanging me from street corner lamppost, have a think, and I’ll bet you love it too. You got Dion and the Belmonts to start with, then you got a whole tenement block full of groups like Vito and the Salutations and the Mellokings. Acrobat Records have just released a CD by the Mellokings and there is plenty on it for beginners. I’ve only borrowed it from a friend as I’ve got their stuff on Relic and to be honest, there’s not enough on the new one to need an upgrade. However, if you haven’t got anything by them, what can you expect?

First and foremost the band are famous for the beautiful 1957 ballad, Tonite Tonite which although revered in doo-wop circles, only reached numbers 77 and 95 on it’s original release and it’s1961 reissue.

The group formed in 1956 in Mount Vernon, New York and consisted of Bob Scholl (tenor), his younger brother, Jerry Scholl (high tenor), and Eddie Quinn (second tenor), Neil Arena (baritone) and Larry Esposito (bass). They signed for Al Silver, owner of Herald and Ember Records and recorded Tonite, Tonite at their first session together with the flip, Do Baby Do.

The follow-up single in September 1957, Chapel On The Hill was another lovely ballad while the flip, Sassafras was more of a novelty teen rock ‘n’ roller. Before the year was out Herald released a third single, the uptempo Baby Tell Me Why, Why, Why and the ballad The Only Girl. Despite promotional appearances and national exposure on the likes of American Bandstand and working an Irvin Feld 17 day tour featuring the Everly Brothers, the Crickets, the Rays, the Hollywood Flames, Eddie Cochran, and Jimmy Rodgers, they still couldn’t crack the charts.

The writing must have been on the wall that chart success would allude them after the glorious ballad Valerie failed to register the following March. She's Real Cool maintained the excellence, being an archetypal zoom-bappa-boom style doo-wopper. If I have to be negative here, I’d say that the instrumental breaks on most of their songs, leave a lot to be desired and can lose the momentum.

In the spring of 1958, the Mellokings became a four-piece when Neil Arena left. Mot long after, Larry Esposito also left, and the Mellokings replaced them with Louis Jannacone and Tony Pinto. This was the line-up that recorded Chip Chip in November 1958. Released in January 1959, Chip Chip is a great novelty that had hit record written all over it. The flip Running To You was a nice slowie that had more than a hint of Dion about it.

It was over a year before the next release, another lovely ballad, Our Love Is Beautiful backed by the neat Dear Mr. Jock. By the end of 1960 the group was back to being a quartet with Jerry Scholl, Bobby Scholl, Lou Jannacone, and Tony Pinto. Kid Stuff and I Promise from September ’60 both have their moments but if Valerie and Chip Chip weren’t going to hit, these certainly wouldn’t.

Late 1960 saw the issuing of their only album, The Mellokings Sing, which makes up the first half of this Acrobat CD. As well as containing the singles released to date, it also featured a couple of previously-unreleased numbers including the too-white and too-shite, Once On A Windy Day.

With doo-wop enjoying a second coming as early as 1961, the Mellokings could have been forgiven for thinking that they were finally in the right place as the right time. Penny is heavily stringed but the vocals are nice enough but it was their final Herald release in October where they hit their highest artistic heights since Tonite Tonite. Love At First Sight has everything a classic doo-wop record should have, relentless ooh-ah’s behind a lifting lead vocal. It’s a beauty and with Bobby Scholl sublime. Among the autographs he was signing at the time, the biggest was for a certain Uncle Sam, as he was drafted.

That’s the story as far as this CD goes. If you’ve got the Relic album you won’t need this, but if not, t’s a more than worthwhile item that should find a warm reception in any doo-woppers collection.

The Roomates - Lost on Belmont Avenue

The Roomates - Lost on Belmont Avenue
ACE CDCDH 1026

The Roomates are to Dion’s Belmonts what Darrel Higham is to Eddie Cochran. This is the English quartets fifth album and second for Ace Records, released a few months ago in celebration of their 20th Anniversary. They are steeped in the white vocal groups of the late 50’s, early 60’s such as the Mystics, the Elegants, Vito and the Salutations and especially the aforementioned Belmonts. Of the generous thirty tracks on offer, Steve and Mark Webb, Nick Kennedy and Glen Brentnall wrote no less than nineteen of them with the covers being well chosen, less obvious numbers.

The opener, Echoes of the Past gives Carlo and the boys a name check and it sets the scene for the whole album. They have the crystal clear vocals that the white-woppers specialised in and they have the same bounce and general happy feeling that their heroes employed. Throughout the album, they are as tight as a drum with clever backing vocals to enhance the strong leads (witness If You’ve Got A Girl).

Highlights of the ballads for me are Remember, She Won’t Cry and Wanderin’. In the rockin’ mode the standouts are Dance, Dance Girl and a great cover of the Searchers’ Wow Wow Baby. Surely Human Angel is Dion and the Belmonts, not the Roomates. There are a couple of songs that don’t cut the mustard like Internet Baby and I’m Still Countin’, but otherwise the songs and performances are top notch.

Put this on a crackly twelve song vinyl long player and people would swear that it was a long lost Laurie Records album. Great performances from a quality outfit.

Check out this version of The Shrine of St Cecilia, performed in a subway in true doo-wop style. Then check out their amazing version of Elvis and the Jordanaires version of I Want I Need You I Love You with Axel of The Downhomers in Germany, 2007.

The Clovers - Devils or Angels

R'n'b vocal group, the Clovers were one of the great groups of the 50's, whose influence far outweighed their chart success. They consisted of lead singer John "Buddy" Bailey, Harold Winley, Harold Lucas, Matthew McQuater and guitarist Bill Harris. They were formed in Washington and were soon signed to the small independent R & B label, Rainbow Records of New York. Their first release for Rainbow was a cover of the old pop standard "Yes Sir, That's My Baby", coupled with "When You Come Back To Me".

Although the song failed to garner much in the line of sales, it did find a fan in Washington deejay "Waxie Maxie" Silverman, who helped land them a deal with Atlantic Records. In February 1951 they their debut Atlantic disc (Atlantic 934), "Don't You Know I Love You"/ "Skylark". The top side was written by Atlantic boss Ahmet Ertegun, and is my favourite Clovers track. Plenty of their songs have been covered (and rightly so) but I find it strange that Don't You Know I Love You has gone through life relatively untouched. The single shot to number one on the R & B charts and sold over 300,000 copies. The follow-up "Fool Fool Fool" / "Needless" fared even better, also reaching number one but reported to have sold over half a million. The group were then joined by a former member of the Dominos, Charlie White.

Early in 1952 saw "One Mint Julep" / "Middle Of The Night", the top side benefiting from SAO favourite Henry Van Walls on piano. Their songs grew in stature with each release., incorporating strong and imaginative arrangements with catchy lyrics. They always seemed to stay on the blues side of rock 'n' roll with highlights among the next few releases including "Ting-A-Ling" and "Hey Miss Fannie". When Buddy Bailey was enlisted, Charlie White took over the lead role. "Good Lovin" continued the winning streak but 1953's "The Feeling Is So Good" / "Comin' On" became the first 45 of the Clovers to miss the charts since they'd joined Atlantic.

This was rectified at the beginning of the next year with "Little Mama" / "Lovey Dovey" a classic double sider. By the spring they were named as one of the top ten money makers by Billboard magazine and the Juke Box Operator's Association. They were signed to headline Alan Freeds Moondog Coronation Ball, which was held on May 1 1954 to a wild crowd of more than 10,000. They together with Fats Domino co-headlined the "Jubilee of Stars Under The Stars" for Freed at Ebbet's Field in Brooklyn in August. Further hits singles followed with "Your Cash Ain't Nothing But Trash" / "I've Got My Eyes On You" and "Blue Velvet" / "If You Love Me".

And what would we do now for a DVD of the Rhythm & Blues Top Ten Cavalcade, a six week cross country that saw the Clovers share the bill with the Moonglows, Joe Turner, and The Charms. "Love Bug" / "In The Morning Time" made surprisingly little noise on the charts as did another killer double sider, "Nip Sip" / "If I Could Be Loved By You". Their fortunes took another upturn when "Devil Or Angel" / "Hey Doll Baby" was released. They were slowly giving their sound a moe poppy flavour, as witnessed by their next 45, "Love Love Love" and the glorious "Your Tender Lips", another one of my favs. "From The Bottom Of My Heart" / "Bring Me Love" also did brisk business but their success was not to last much longer. For one release they even went back to the vaults and found a gem from 1953, the now standard, "Down In The Alley". When the group's contract with Atlantic expired, it was not renewed.

Their manager, Lou Krefetz, produced their next single and released it on his Popular label in 1958. Sales were disappointing though. They joined United Artists but the outlook seemed gloomy when the first release "That Ol' Black Magic" / "Rock & Roll Tango" kept their run of failures going. However, the follow-up, "Love Potion # 9" by Leiber and Stoller took off and climbed into the pop charts, peaking at # 23. It became the biggest seller in their illustrious history. It proved to be a one-off though and subsequent releases fared less well. Of the original members, only Harold Winley survives. Bill Harris died on December 10, 1988, Harold Lucas on January 6, 1994, Buddy Bailey in February 1994 and Billy Mitchell, who sang lead on "Love Potion # 9", on November 6, 2002.

Recommended listening:
The 2 Sequel CDs are your best bet if can track down copies.
The Clovers - Sequel RSACD 857
The Clovers Dance Party - Sequel RSACD 858

Rockin' Song of the Week - Number 45

The Globetrotters -Rainy Day Bells

This is a real oddity. When I first heard this track I was blown away by it's happy-go-lucky swing. It's a joyous, romping track that is everything that's wonderful about uptempo doo-wop. I didn't realise that the group, The Globetrotters really are the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. The sportsmen were enjoying world acclaim with sold out games and even a cartoon series, so to cash in, Don Kirshner (Monkees and Archies) and Jeff Barry were asked to produce an album. Among an album full of rubbish sits the wistful Rainy Day Bells, written as with most of the album by the legendary team of Neil Sedaka and Howie Greenfield. The Globetrotters including Meadowlark Lemon were joined by none other than Sammy Turner and some session singers including James "JR" Bailey. The quality of the song resulted in a single release which resulted in pretty good sales, eventually becoming a "beach music" cult number.