The last night of a week’s engagement at THE APOLLO on October 2, 1958 showcased:
Ruth Brown…
Ruth had scored a hit the previous year with "Lucky Lips", a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller… The single reached number 6 on the R’nB chart, and number 25 on the US pop chart…
The 1958 follow up was "This Little Girl's Gone Rockin'" which reached number 7 on the R’nB chart and number 24 on the pop chart…
The Moonglows …
This group, usually led by Harvey Fuqua and at times including Marvin Gaye, had a trunk full of hits to rock the house…
But The Moonglows were best known for their killer ballads, being masters of “blow” harmony (based on the technical method used by the backing vocalists) …
Surely “Ten Commandments of Love”-- the last tune ever recorded by the group--was the show stopper…
NOTE: In 1960 the Moonglows dissolved and Harvey Fuqua left Chess to join Berry Gordy in forming the Tri-Phi label. The Moonglows are gone, but not their music…
The Kodaks...
This Newark, NJ group sounds a bit like Frankie Lyman and the Teenagers, but is actually fronted Pearl McKinnon…They were riding high on “Oh Gee, Oh Gosh,” their hit from earlier in the year…
The b-side of that hit, ‘Make Believe World’, was also appealing, with creatively harmonized choruses…
NOTE: The Kodaks disbanded in 1961. Meanwhile, McKinnon became lead of a new group, Pearl And The Deltars, who released a fine single on Fury in 1961 that met with little success. McKinnon in the 70s was the amazing ‘Frankie Lymon’ lead in the reunited Teenagers group, and those who heard her Kodaks tracks in the 50s could easily understand how she managed the deception…
THE USE OF ANY COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL IS USED UNDER THE GUIDELINES OF "FAIR USE" IN TITLE 17 & 107 OF THE UNITED STATES CODE. SUCH MATERIAL REMAINS THE COPYRIGHT OF THE ORIGINAL HOLDER AND IS USED HERE FOR THE PURPOSES OF EDUCATION, COMPARISON, AND CRITICISM ONLY. NO INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT IS INTENDED
No comments:
Post a Comment