Dueling Doo-Wops, Vol. 2

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 Dell Rat Ron's back to 

 join me as I spin more 

 of the greatest doo-wop 

 records of the 50s & 60s. 


 Ron, I see you're 

 starting with the 

 White Rose City's 

 own Quin-Tones! 


 "Faith is taking the first step 
 even when you don't see the whole 
 staircase." Martin Luther King, Jr. 


 THE QUIN-TONES 

 That's right, Shady.  
 Let's pick up the story 
 of the Quin-Tones where 
 we left off in Volume 1.  
 Despite the lackluster 
 performance of their 
 first record, "Ding Dong," 
 the R&B vocal group from 
 York, Pennsylvania made 
 a good impression and 
 were able to tour. They 
 also got busy writing 
 their next song, "Down 
 the Aisle of Love," and 
 went back into the 
 studio and recorded it.  
 The single was released 
 on Red Top, a Philadelphia label, and a hyphen appeared in 
 the group's name, making them, from that point on, the 
 Quin-Tones. 

 "Down The Aisle of Love" hit the street in June of 1958 
 and became a big national hit, penetrating the top 20 on 
 the pop side and going all the way to #5 on the black 
 singles chart.  Contributing significantly to the success of 
 the record was the opening hook, the familiar melody from 
 "Here Comes The Bride."  Is it any wonder that "Down 
 the Aisle" has been a popular wedding song ever since? 

"Down the Aisle of Love" - Quin-Tones (September 1958, 
highest chart position #18/#5 R&B ) 



 Demand for the Quin-Tones hit record was so great that 
 the small indie label Red Top couldn't keep up with orders. 
 An agreement was reached to have the record released on 
 Hunt, a larger Philadelphia label, and to have it distributed 
 nationally by ABC Paramount. "Down the Aisle of Love" 
 eventually sold nearly a millon copies and became the 
 Quin-Tones signature song.  The B side, "Please Dear," 
 which featured Sissie Holmes on lead, also received a lot 
 of airplay. 

"Please Dear" - Quin-Tones (October 1958, uncharted) 




 Ron, let me grab 
 the microphone and 
 introduce three acts 
 that were loved in 
 York, Philly, and in 
 another important 
 doo-wop mecca, 
 Pittsburgh! 



 SCOTT ENGLISH 

From the 1950s through the mid 60s the greater Pittsburgh area was a doo-wop lover's paradise. One of the all time greatest radio hits in the Pittsburgh metro market is the 1964 Scott English record "High on a Hill." English, a Brooklyn born songwriter and producer, co-wrote "Help Me Girl," my favorite Animals hit, along with "Bend Me, Shape Me," a hit for the American Breed. He also helped compose Barry Manilow's 1974 hit "Mandy." To the thousands of kids who danced to his mid 60s doo-wop classic in high school gymnasiums all over Western Pennsylvania, Scott English will always be
king of the hill.

"High on a Hill" - Scott English (March 1964, highest 
chart position #77) 




 GEORGE GOODMAN 
 AND HIS HEADLINERS 

Here's another of Pittsburgh's favorite oldies and another
mid 60s doo-wop record that fought valiantly in a losing battle against the British Invasion. It was also a Geator Golden, spun by Philadelphia broadcast icon Jerry Blavat
on his Discophonic Scene dance party and at his Jersey nightclub Memories in Margate. Recorded late in 1964 and released early the following year on Pittsburgh's Val Record label, here is a sweet ballad that Heinz oldies enthusiasts
call the greatest slow dance record ever made, the stuff
of which dreams are made..."Let Me Love You" by George Goodman and His Headliners.

"Let Me Love You" - George Goodman and His Headliners 
(January 1965, uncharted) 




 BERTHA TILLMAN 

Another artist who was enormously popular in Pittsburgh was R&B vocalist Bertha Tillman, a native of San Diego who was discovered while working as a department store saleswoman. Along with her backing group, the Jackals, who also recorded as Hank Blackman and the Killers, Bertha waxed a powerful, gospel-tinged slow jam entitled "Oh My Angel." The record, an early 60s ballad with a decidedly 50s feel, was played often by York radio legend Doc Daugherty and by boss jock Jerry Blavat in the Delaware Valley. Like many of the greats Bertha Tillman died young. She left us far too soon at the age of 50. Her early demise notwithstanding, Bertha Tillman achieved immortality by giving us one of the most gripping, soul-stirring doo-wop ballads ever made.

"Oh My Angel" - Bertha Tillman (June 1962, highest chart 
position #61) 




 SKIP AND FLIP 

Bertha Tillman recorded on the Brent label, a subsidiary of Time Records. It's the same label that released records by Skip and Flip. Skip was Clyde Battin. Flip was award winning songwriter, producer and singer Gary S. Paxton.  Recording as the Hollywood Argyles, Paxton had a #1 charting novelty hit in 1960 with "Alley-Oop."  Paxton formed his own record company, Garpax, and at Halloween 1962 produced a second novelty hit, "Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" Pickett.  Paxton also produced hits for other artists including Tommy Roe's "Sweet Pea" and "Along Comes Mary" and "Cherish" for the Association.  In 1959, paired with Battin as Skip and Flip, Paxton wrote "It was I." The duo recorded and released it and achieved their first hit, just missing the top 10.

"It Was I" - Skip and Flip (September 1959, highest 
chart position #11) 



"Fancy Nancy," the second Skip and Flip single, performed modestly, but their third release, "Cherry Pie," was another hit that fell just short of the top 10. The version of "Cherry Pie" by Skip and Flip was a nifty cover of a 1954 hit by Marvin and Johnny that had been released as the flip side
of that R&B duo's jump record "Tick Tock."

"Cherry Pie" - Skip and Flip (June 1960, highest chart 
position #11) 




 Ron, your next two featured 

 platters have rather interesting 

 back stories. Say it and play it, 

but remember, good buddy, to 

make a long story short! 


 EDDIE 
 AND THE STARLITES 

 Shady, Eddie and the Starlites had no members in common 
 with Jackie and the Starlites, the group profiled in Volume 1 
 of our series. However, "To Make A Long Story Short," a 
 record by Eddie Jenkins' group, was requested just as often 
 as "Valarie" (aka "Valerie"), the record made by Jackie Rue's 
 group.  "To Make a Long Story Short" was the B side of 
 the up tempo "Pretty Little Girl," the second single to be 
 released on Scepter, the new record label established by 
 Florence Greenberg which became home to the Shirelles. 

"To Make A Long Story Short" - Eddie and the Starlites 
(1959, uncharted B side of "Pretty Little Girl") 




 CATHY JEAN 
 AND THE ROOMATES 

 Up next, Shady, is Cathy Jean and the 
 Roomates, a white group that earned 
 a hit in 1961 with "Please Love Me 
 Forever," a remake of a 1958 ballad 
 by Tommy Edwards, the black singer 
 best known for his #1 smash "It's All 
 In The Game." The Cathy Jean cover 
 is unique because it was made without 
 Cathy Jean and the Roomates ever 
 having met each other. 14 year old 
 Cathy Jean Giordano, who brings to 
 mind Rosie of Rosie and the Originals, laid down her solo 
 vocal in May of 1960. Jody and Gene Lamis, founders of 
 the fledgling Valmor Records, decided that the recording 
 sounded demo and needed additional vocal backing. They 
 brought in the Roomates, an all male group, to record the 
 harmony.  By the time the guys arrived Cathy Jean had 
 already left the studio and she didn't come face to face 
 with them until after the record was made.  The over- 
 dubbed Roomates track combined with Cathy Jean's lead 
 vocal made the record pop and a full year after the studio 
 session "Please Love Me Forever" peaked near the top 10 
 on the Billboard chart. 

"Please Love Me Forever", Cathy Jean and the Roomates 
(May 1961, highest chart position #12) 



 Note that the word roommates was misspelled on the 
 Valmor record label and it stuck. That spelling and the 
 "correct" spelling of the group name are both in use today. 



 Ron, let me finish 
 today's super set  
 with four more 
 doo-wop whoppers! 





 JAMES BROWN 

Southern R&B giant James Brown is famous for funk, but old schoolers know and love the doo-wop ballads that Brown recorded earlier in his career. By 1961 The Amazing Mr. Please Please Himself was already a familiar voice on the Shady Dell jukebox on his way to becoming one of the biggest contributors of Dell dance music that decade. Recording for Federal Records the year before, Brown had scored a top 40 hit with the up tempo release "Think." Later, on King Records, the hardest working man in show business earned his second top 40 single with "Bewildered" a ballad that went top 10 on the R&B survey.

"Bewildered" - James Brown (March 1961, highest chart 
position #40) 



"I Don't Mind", James Brown's follow-up release, missed the pop top 40 but broke the top 5 on the black chart. It would take four more years and a brand new bag for brother James to become a consistent crossover hit maker, but soulful sides like "I Don't Mind" are indicative of Mr. Dynamite's greatest period before junk-in-the-trunk funk supplanted simple, straightforward R&B balladry.

"I Don't Mind" - James Brown (June 1961, highest chart 
position #47) 




 THE PALISADES
 (THE MAGICS) 

I gotta believe that these Scranton guys could have been more successful if they would have picked a group name and stuck with it. Lead singer Mike Lanzo and his mates started out as The Supremes (now there's a catchy name), changed it to Dick & the Halos and also recorded under the name Mike Lanzo & The Blue Counts. However, they are best known as The Precisions, The Magics and The Palisades! Confused yet? In 1963, the group recorded "Chapel Bells" and issued 100 records with the group name The Palisades printed on the local Debra label. They stopped the presses, changed their name, and released the rest of the 45's as by The Magics. "Chapel Bells" made inroads on the top 40 surveys of local radio stations, going as high as #3. So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, here they are, the pride of Scranton Pennsylvania, singing their regional hit "Chapel Bells," let's give it up for The Dunder Mifflins!

"Chapel Bells" - The Palisades/The Magics (1963, uncharted) 




 THE MELLO-KINGS 

Ron, let me wind up today's proceedings by making it mellow with the Mello-Kings. If you're a detail person like me it drives you crazy when you encounter a record like this. The vocal group's name was spelled three different ways: Mello-Kings, Mello Kings and Mellokings. The title of their only hit record was spelled two different ways: "Tonite Tonite" and "Tonight, Tonight." The single charted two different years: 1957 and 1961. Amid all the confusion one thing's for sure. Although "Tonite Tonite" lingered on the lower end of the Billboard chart both times it was issued, never rising above #77, the guys from Mount Vernon, NY, left us with one of the most enduring and highly regarded vocal group harmony recordings of the early 60s!

"Tonite Tonite" - Mello-Kings (October 1957, highest chart 
position #77/ February 1961, highest chart position #95) 




 Thank you, Dell Rat Ron, for 

 another fun-filled doo-wop 

 swap!  There are three more 

 exciting volumes still to come, 

 so stick around and stay tuned! 

Have a Shady day!