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– Ron Wynn
Courtesy AllMusic.com

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Gary, Indiana, natives Ernest Warren (first tenor), Opal Courtney Jr. (baritone), Willie Jackson (second tenor), and Gerald Gregory (bass) met and started singing in Rosevelt High School. The unnamed quartet had heard schoolmate James “Pookie” Hudson sing, and they convinced him to sing with them for the school talent show. They debuted as Pookie Hudson and The Hudsonaires for the Christmastime 1952 show and fared so well they decided to continue as a quintet.

The 11th graders rehearsing and performing Pookie-penned songs like “Baby It’s You” at local churches and talent show performances, with Pookie’s smooth and smoky leadmarvelling the masses. The group was looking for a new name when Gregory’s wife heard them singing and told them they sounded like a “bunch of dogs”. Not wanting to join the bird group club they went for The Spaniels.

In the Spring of 1954 the group visited a local record shop owned by James Bracken and Vivian Carter Bracken of WWCA. The groups singing convinced the Bracken’s to start their own label named after the couple’s first name initials (V.J.) The Brackens moved their operation to Chicago and on May 5, 1953, had a bouncy ballad piano, bass, and melody line that surfaced in numerous later recordings started getting enough radio response and sales in Chicago area to interest the larger Chance label. (In later years Vee Jay would own and distribute all of Chance’s recordings.) On September 5th, “Baby” hit humber 10 on the national R&B Best Seller and Jukebox charts.

The follow up, “The Bells Ring Out” was a mellow bluesy ballad with lots of vocal harmony but it received only some local play.

The Spaniels were the first of the successfull midwestern R&B groups. They were also one of the first (if not the first) R&B groups to perform witht he lead singer on one mic and the group on another, and they initiated a trend torward using tap dance routines in live shows. In terms of the original material, Pookie’s songs did not come about through the traditional formula. Normally the group would just walk down a street and harmonize till something came together.

In March 1954 Vee-Jay released “Goodnight Sweetheart Goodnight” about which Billboards reviewer wrote “Almost pop-like peice of material. The imitation of the sounds of a sax by the bass singer gives this side a gimmick which helps greatly. Strong wax.” The sucess of “Goodnight” prompted the McGuire Sisters to cover it for the white market, stealing a lot of The Spaniels thunder. But their version still managed to peak at number five R&B in the summer of 1954. It became one of the most requested records on oldies radio.

Pookie and the company’s next single “Let’s Make Up”, earned more for writer Hudson as someoen else’s B-Side that it did as his A-Side. That’s because the voice of Walter Schumann had it on the flip of the hit “The Ballad of Davey Crocket”.

On June 11th, 1954 The Spaniels made the first of numerous appearances at The Apollo in New York, along with Joe Turner and Arnett Cobb’s Orchestra. In Auguste they toured with the second annual “Biggest R&B Show” through the midwest with The Drifters, The Counts, Erskine Hawkins, Roy Hamilton and King Pleasure, winding up on September 12 at the Brooklyn Paramount.

Their mid dash tempo “Do Whaa” single of May of 1955 failed, but the follow-up “You Painted Pictures” reached number 13 R&B in October and kept The Spaniels working.

Opal Courtney Jr. was then drafter and replaced by a Vee-Jay A&R man Cal Carter for a few months until James “Dimples” Cochran took over. Shortly thereafter, Ernest Warren was drafted and the group continued recording as a quartet. Two subsequent singles, “False Love” and “Dear Heart” drifted off into obscurity.

With records not selling Pookie and Willie left. The roster now read Carl Rainge, Gerald Gregory, James Cochran, and Don Porter this contingent lasted for only one single in 1956 until Pookie rejoined and began creating some of the groups most outstanding sides: “Peace Of Mind”, “Everyone’s Laughin”, the solid rhythm number “Tina”, and an exciting fast version of the standard “Stormy Weather”. The story goes that in 1958 Pookie Hudson was performing with the group at the Casbah Club in Washington D.C., at the time when a gospel act, The Nightingales, were also there. The’Gales had a song called “The Twist” that they offered to the Spaniels since they coudln’t record secular songs and still kept their gospel following. The Spaniels passed on it and Hank Ballard put it out shortly thereafter. When Chubby Checker had his hit version of it, The Spaniels must have kicked themselves for leting it get away. It’s unclear how the Nightingales came upon the song, though they probably had heard Hank and The Midnighters performing it before it was released since Hank is acknowledged author of the song and the Nigthingales never publicly claimed to have created it.

By 1960 The Spaniels were Hudson, Ernest Warren, Gerald Gregory, Bill Carey, and Andy McGruder. They recorded the groups last Vee-Jay single, “I Know”, in 1960, and it reached number 23 R&B that summer.

By 1961 McGruder and Gregory had left. Road manager Ricky Burden took over on bass for “For Sentimental Reasons”. Pookie did a few solo sets for Jamie and in 1962 cut “I Know, I Know” backed by The Imperials minus Little Anthony for Lloyd Price’s double-L label. In the late 60’s Pookie formed his own North American Records and issues “Fairy Tales” becomeing Pookies last chart single in the Fall on 1970.

Two more North American singles were issued in the early 70’s with a new Spaniels lineup of Hudson, Charles Douglas, Alvin Wheeler, Alvil Lloyd, and the groups former guitarist Pete Simmons. Douglas was replaced by Andrew Lawyer and the group recorded a remake of “Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight” for Buddah.

Their last release was for Henry Farag’s Canterbury label of Gary, Indiana, in 1974 when Hudson, Rainge, Cochran, and Porter recorded a contemporary version of “Peace of Mind” and two B-Sides, “She Sang To Me” and a cappella arrangement of “Danny Boy”.

Pookie and The Spaniesl remained active and were one of the more in-demand acts on the oldies circuit. Though they never had a pop hit, oldies radio made them popular far beyond the R&B audience. Their recordings remain excellent examples of fine R&B and Rock and Roll, and Pookies sound remains unique.

– Jay Warner

In Loving Memory

Opal Courtney Jr. an original member of the Spaniels passed away on September 18, 2008, at his home in Gary, Indiana from an apparent heart attack. He was 71 years old. He was wwith the group when they recorded their first hits ” Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight” and “Baby It’s You” He also spent some time singing with the Dells, recording “If It Ain’t One Thing, It’s Another” and other songs. Opal also sang back up on “Baby I’m Yours” and “Hello Stranger” with Barbara Lewis. In 1987, the Original group reformed to receive the Smithsonian Pioneer Award and they were inducted into the Doo-Wopp Hall of Fame in 2005. With the Spaniels, Opal was performing “Oldie Shows” until his death. Funeral services will be Tuesday, September 23, 2008 at 11:00 am at Christ Baptist Church 4700 E. 7th Avenue, Gary, Indiana.

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The Sons of the Pioneers were the foremost vocal and instrumental group in western music, and the definitive group specializing in cowboy songs, setting the standard for every group that has come since. They were also one of the longest-surviving country music vocal groups in existence, going into their seventh decade. More important than their longevity, however, the greatest achievement of the Sons of the Pioneers lay with the sheer quality of their work. Their superb harmonies and brilliant arrangements delighted three generations of listeners and inspired numerous performers.

The group’s roots lay in the depths of the Great Depression, a time when the American spirit, and the spirits of millions of Americans, had nearly been broken by physical, economic, and emotional privation. Cincinnati-born Leonard Slye (born November 5, 1911) had headed out to California in the spring of 1931 from his native Ohio, working jobs ranging from driving a gravel truck to picking fruit for the Del Monte company in California’s Central Valley. By sheer chance, he entered an amateur singing contest on a Los Angeles radio show called Midnight Frolics and a few days later got an invitation to join a group called the Rocky Mountaineers.

Slye played guitar, sang, and yodeled with the group, and before long they wanted an additional singer so they could extend their range. The man who answered the ad was Bob Nolan (born Robert Clarence Nobles, April 1, 1908, New Brunswick, Canada), from Tucson, AZ. Nolan had lived the life of an itinerant singer for a few years before settling down in Los Angeles, where he’d worked as a lifeguard as well as tried to make a living singing. Nolan joined the Rocky Mountaineers, and he and Slye developed a harmonious relationship that worked for several months, until he exited in frustration over the group’s lack of success. Nolan was, in turn, replaced by Tim Spencer (born Vernon Spencer, July 13, 1908, Webb City, MO), who’d been earning his keep working in a Safeway Stores warehouse.

Slye, Spencer, and another singer named Slumber Nichols quit the Rocky Mountaineers in the spring of 1932 to form a trio of their own, which never quite came off. Instead, Slye and Spencer spent a year moving in and out of the lineups of short-lived groups like the International Cowboys and the O-Bar-O Cowboys. The latter group broke up following a disastrous tour, and Spencer left music for a time. Slye decided to push on with an attempt at a career, joining yet another group, Jack LeFevre and His Texas Outlaws, who were fixtures on a local Los Angeles radio station.

In early 1933, things began looking up. Slye convinced Spencer to give up the security of a steady job once more, and also recruited Nolan, who was working as a caddy at a golf course in Bel Air. Weeks of rehearsals followed as they honed their singing hour after hour, while Slye continued to work with his radio singing group and Spencer and Nolan wrote songs.

The group was called the Pioneer Trio and made its debut on KFWB radio, following an audition that included the Nolan song “Way Out There.” Their mix of singing and yodeling, coupled with their good spirits, won them a job. Within a few weeks, they were developing a large following of their own on LeFevre’s show, with their harmony singing eliciting lots of mail, and soon they were featured on the station’s morning and evening lineups.

The group in its earliest form consisted of Slye, Nolan, and Spencer on vocals, with Nolan playing string bass and Slye on rhythm guitar. A fourth member was needed to firm up their sound, and early in 1934 he arrived in the form of fiddle player Hugh Farr (born Plano, TX, December 6, 1906), who also added a bass voice to the group and occasionally served as lead singer.

The group’s name was altered by accident on the eve of their going national. On one broadcast, the station’s announcer introduced them as “The Sons of the Pioneers.” Asked why he’d done this, the announcer gave the excuse that they were too young to have been pioneers, but that they could be sons of pioneers. The name seemed to stick, it fit well, and as they were no longer a trio, it made sense.

The Sons of the Pioneers’ fame quickly spread well beyond the confines of Los Angeles, as a result of an informal syndication project undertaken by their station, which recorded the group in 15- and 30-minute segments for rebroadcast all over the country. It wasn’t long before a recording contract with the newly founded Decca label (now part of MCA) was signed, and on August 8, 1934 (the same day that Bing Crosby made his debut for the label), the Sons of the Pioneers made their first commercial recording. The group would cut 32 songs with Decca over the next two years.

One of the songs cut at the first session was a Nolan original called “Tumbling Tumbleweeds,” which he’d originally written on a rainy day in 1932 as “Tumbling Leaves.” The group had introduced it on the radio as “Tumbling Leaves,” but later changed it to “tumbleweeds” as more in keeping with their western image. It became their theme song and was quickly picked up by singers and bands all over the country. In 1935, the song was also licensed for use as the title of a Gene Autry Western, the first — but not the last time — that the paths of Autry and the Pioneers would cross.

In 1935, a fifth member, Farr’s brother Karl (born Rochelle, TX, April 25, 1909), who had played with Hugh on the radio during the 1930s, was added to the group on lead guitar, bringing the Pioneers’ instrumental capabilities up to a par with their singing. Early that same year, they began appearing in movies for the first time, initially in short films and also providing the music for an Oswald the Rabbit cartoon, before making their first appearance in a full-length movie, The Old Homestead. Later that same year, they appeared in The Gallant Defender. They followed this with Song of the Saddle (1936), starring singer-turned-cowboy star Dick Foran, then with The Mysterious Avenger (1936) and the Crosby vehicle Rhythm of the Range. That same year, they appeared in a Autry movie, The Big Show.

Spencer left the group in September of 1936 and was replaced by Lloyd Perryman (born Ruth, AR, January 29, 1917), who was a fan of the Pioneers as well as a veteran of several singing groups, and who had already served as a “fill-in” Pioneer on occasion. Perryman was later to become a key member of the group, doing most of their vocal arrangements, serving as their on-stage spokesman, and handling the group’s business affairs as well, and would remain with them longer than anyone, 41 years. Their broadcasts, concerts, and film appearances continued with work in the Foran-starring California Mail at Warner Bros. and Autry’s The Old Corral at Republic. Finally, in late 1937, the group was signed by Columbia to work in Charles Starrett’s Western films on a steady basis, beginning with The Old Wyoming Trail.

It was the movies that led to the next major change in the Pioneers’ lineup. Slye had previously played bit acting parts in a handful of B-Westerns, including an appearance in a small role in an Autry film, under the name Dick Weston. But in 1938, Autry and the studio found themselves in a contractual dispute that they were unable to resolve, and the cowboy star failed to report for his next movie. Autry was placed on suspension while the studio began looking for a replacement that they could put into the picture.

Slye auditioned and won the part and in the process was given a new name for his first starring film: Roy Rogers. Under Western Stars, as the film was eventually titled, was a hit, and Leonard Slye/Roy Rogers had a whole new career. In order to do the movie, however, he was forced to leave the Sons of the Pioneers, who were under exclusive contract with Columbia Pictures. To replace Slye, the group chose a friend of his, a singer and comic named Pat Brady, who played bass and handled much of the comedy within the group, although vocally he was weaker than the others, which forced the Pioneers to expand their lineup once more in 1938, with Spencer returning to fill out the harmony parts. The group continued to make movies with Starrett, appearing in 28 movies with him between 1937 and 1941.

The Sons of the Pioneers’ recording career kept pace with their movie and radio work. They left Decca Records in 1936 to sign with the American Record Company (later part of Columbia Records) and appeared on that label’s Okeh and Vocalion imprints on 32 songs in two sessions in late 1937. Although he’d officially left the group to pursue his film career, Rogers returned to sing with the Sons of the Pioneers on those sessions. The 1938-1942 version of the group, consisting of Nolan, Spencer, Perryman, the Farrs, and Brady, became the “classic” Pioneers lineup, the version of the group most familiar to audiences, largely because of their screen appearances.

In 1941, the group’s contract with Columbia was up, and after years of Rogers’ entreaties, Republic Pictures signed the Pioneers to appear in his movies, beginning with Red River Valley (1941), in which they were billed as Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. The same year that they signed their contract with Republic, the group also signed with Decca Records.

The American entry into World War II brought about the next change in their lineup. Perryman and Brady were both called up for the draft. Perryman was replaced by Ken Carson while he was fighting with the American forces in Burma, while Brady became a soldier in Patton’s Third Army and was replaced by musician and comic Shug Fisher.

In 1944, the Sons of the Pioneers moved to RCA Victor, signed up by the head of company’s country music division, Steve Sholes (who was also later responsible for bringing Elvis Presley to the label). They would be associated with RCA longer than to any other label, 24 years broken by a brief one-year stint elsewhere.

The change in labels resulted in the first major alteration in the Pioneers’ sound since their founding. Previously, they’d been a self-contained outfit, providing virtually all of the sounds, vocal and instrumental, needed on their records. RCA, however, saw fit to provide the group’s music with additional backup in the form of fuller instrumentation, including small-scale orchestration. At first, it worked reasonably well, as the Pioneers re-recorded several of their standards (including “Cool Water” and “Tumbling Tumbleweeds”) with new arrangements that proved popular, and many fans regard their mid-’40s versions of their classic songs as the best of the many renditions that they recorded. They also recorded more gospel material as well as many pop-oriented and novelty songs. The Pioneers also provided backup for other performers throughout their time at RCA, including Rogers and Dale Evans, and Vaughn Monroe.

Amid all of this varied activity, which yielded hundreds of songs, they recorded a number of new western classics during their stay on the label, most notably Stan Jones’ “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky” in 1949. Originally, Nolan had passed on doing the song, but after it became a hit for Monroe, the Pioneers covered it themselves. The group had ceased appearing onscreen in movies with the end of Rogers’ B-Westerns at Republic in 1948, but two years later a new career opened up for them in movies courtesy of John Ford, who used their singing in three of his most acclaimed Westerns: Wagon Master (1950) — in which they had four songs, including “Wagons West” — Rio Grande (1950), and The Searchers (1956).

Perryman was back in the lineup in 1946, although his interim replacement, Carson (who later became a well-known singer in his own right on The Garry Moore Show), continued to record with the group for another year. During this era, the group made some magnificent recordings; Spencer contributed more than his share of important songs, Fisher contributed as a songwriter, and Perryman took the lead vocals on some numbers. Brady also returned to the lineup later in 1946, and the group continued working in Rogers’ Western movies through 1948.

These were golden years for the Sons of the Pioneers. Their hits on the country singles chart included “Stars and Stripes on Iwo Jima” (1945); “No One to Cry To” (1946); “Baby Doll,” “Cool Water,” and “Tear Drops in My Heart” (1947); “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” and “Cool Water” (1948); and “My Best to You” and “Room Full of Roses” (1949). It wasn’t to last, however, as time and changing public tastes were to take their toll on the group.

Spencer, who had written many of the group’s more important originals, finally left the group in 1949, after several years of worsening problems with his voice. He was replaced by Ken Curtis (born Lamar, CO, July 2, 1916), a former singer with Tommy Dorsey and sometime actor who later became immortalized on television as Festus, Marshal Matt Dillon’s grizzled backwoods deputy, on Gunsmoke. As a parting gesture, Spencer gave the group one of his best songs, “Room Full of Roses,” which became Curtis’ first lead vocal with the group. Soon after, Rogers began shooting his television series and recruited Brady as his comic relief sidekick. He was replaced by his wartime fill-in, Fisher.

But it was the retirement of Nolan in 1949 that caused the biggest change in the group’s lineup. Essentially, his exit came about purely for personal reasons. He was a very private individual to begin with, and 16 years with the Pioneers, although rewarding musically and financially, had begun to wear on him. He wanted more time to himself and more time to write songs. But the gap he left was huge — apart from having written many of the Pioneers’ best known songs, Nolan had been the lead singer on many of their hits. He did continue to provide them with songs after his retirement and even rejoined them in the studio.

Perryman stepped into the breech opened by Nolan’s exit. He had been taking a leadership role in the group over the previous few years and now took over leadership, recruiting a new sixth member, Tommy Doss (born Weiser, ID, September 26, 1920). Doss was an excellent singer, and his voice meshed beautifully with Perryman and Curtis, but within a year of his joining — through no fault of his — the group’s record sales began to decline. There was an overall drop of interest in cowboy songs and western music, which resulted in RCA’s attempts to push the Pioneers into the pop vocal market. These efforts failed and simultaneously lost them part of their country audience.

Ironically, in 1952, the same year that the Pioneers got their first LP releases, the 10″ discs Cowboy Hymns and Spirituals (made up of recordings from 1947) and Cowboy Classics (made up of material from 1945 and 1946), the group also left RCA in the wake of their declining sales figures. They didn’t record at all in 1953, but at the end of the year the group signed once again to Coral Records. Simultaneously with the move, Curtis and Fisher both exited the lineup to go into television and film work. They co-starred on one television series, and Curtis would later serve as co-producer on a pair of low-budget horror films at the end of the 1950s, one of which, The Giant Gila Monster (1958), would feature Fisher.

They were replaced by Dale Warren (born Summerville, KY, June 1, 1925), a veteran of Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage, and Deuce Spriggens (born George R. Braunsdorf), a former member of Spade Cooley’s band. The group’s one-year stay at Coral proved no more successful than the last few years at RCA, however.

By 1955 they were back with RCA, where they stayed for another 14 years. In a major change of strategy, RCA now wanted the old Nolan/Spencer sound. Nolan agreed to return to record with the group in the studio, but Spencer was no longer in good enough health or voice to be part of the group, and so Curtis was also asked to return as part of the studio version of the Pioneers. Brady also came back as bassist in the studio. The Sons of the Pioneers, in effect, became two groups — Nolan, Perryman, and Curtis were the studio vocal trio, backed by Brady, Hugh, and Karl Farr, recreating the group’s classic sound on record, while Perryman, Doss, Warren, the Farrs, and Spriggens (who left soon after this arrangement began) played the concerts. It wasn’t until 1958 that the touring version of the Pioneers began making their records as well.

By that time, more changes had overtaken the lineup. Nolan retired as a singer once and for all, and Hugh Farr, who felt that his fiddle playing wasn’t appreciated by the other members, quit as well in 1958. Karl continued as a member, but on September 20, 1961, in the middle of a concert performance, he became agitated over a guitar string that had broken and suddenly collapsed and died of heart failure. The same month, Roy Lanham (born Corbin, KY, January 16, 1923), one of the busiest session guitarists on the West Coast, joined the group as Karl’s successor. Brady was also back in the lineup by then, having rejoined to replace Fisher, who retired in 1959. Brady remained with the group until 1967.

The next major change in the lineup came in 1963, when Doss retired from touring with the group, although he recorded with them until 1967. In 1968, Luther Nallie joined the group as lead singer and remained with the Pioneers until 1974. They were still very much a going concern, not only on the concert stage but in the recording studio — over a 12-year period from 1957 until 1969, RCA released 21 albums by the group.

Nolan and Spencer were both elected the Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame in 1971. A 1972 gathering at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles brought together most of the surviving members of the Sons of the Pioneers except for Curtis, including a reunion of the original Pioneer Trio of Rogers, Nolan, and Spencer. And in 1976, the Sons of the Pioneers were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

This was a last hurrah for the original and early group members. Spencer died on April 26, 1976, and Perryman, who had been with the group since 1936, died on May 31, 1977. Farr, who had retired from the group in 1958, passed away on April 17, 1980, and Nolan died almost exactly two months later, on June 16, 1980.

After Perryman passed away, the leadership of the Sons of the Pioneers was taken over by Warren, who had joined in 1952. He carried the group into the 1990s. They continued to perform in concert and recorded as well with a lineup that featured Rusty Richards (vocals), Doye O’Dell (guitar, vocals), Billy Armstrong (fiddle), Billy Liebert (accordion), and Rome Johnson (vocals). These Pioneers, along with younger country music groups such as the Riders in the Sky, were a constant reminder of the legacy of this much-loved western group.

Biography by Bruce Eder – AllMusic.com

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“You never close your eyes…”

That simple, six-note opening line from You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ resonates among the most familiar kick-offs in pop music history. It helped create an unexpected legacy. When Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield (The Righteous Brothers) closed their eyes at their beginning in 1962, they clutched a rather naïve dream: They simply wanted to put a group together that was good enough to play Las Vegas lounges.

Open your own eyes four decades later, and it’s difficult to imagine a time when The Righteous Brothers had not impacted American pop culture.

Their signature, You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’, stands as the most-played song in the history of American radio. Bobby’s Unchained Melody, which was produced by Bill, re-surfaced 25 years after they first recorded it to become an essential, million-selling part of the movie “Ghost.” It has since been recognized in an AOL poll as the best love song of all-time. The Righteous Brothers galvanized the link between rock and rhythm & blues so convincingly that they spurred the creation of a new term, “blue-eyed soul.” And their legacy is permanently recognized with their 2003 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The significance of the honor is not lost on the duo. Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield had no idea when they first met in Orange County, California, that their partnership would give them a lifetime of relevance. At the time, to expect their work would somehow be enshrined in a Hall of Fame would have been ludicrous.

“It’s a blessing to still be around after 40 years,” Medley suggests. “When we started out, rock ‘n’ roll was thought to be only a fad. Some DJs were even smashing their records of this so-called ‘devil music,’ so we were always talking about what we’d do next. We still are!”

But even from the beginning, The Righteous Brothers were doing something special. Elvis Presley had shocked the culture as a Caucasian in the ’50s, by threading his music with the intensity of R&B. The Righteous Brothers gave the concept a new sophistication. With Medley’s rich, seductive bass and Hatfield’s urgent, gospel-inflected tenor creating a unique harmonic blend, they sang with such depth of soul that listeners assumed they were African-American. Combined with the density of Phil Spector’s “wall of sound” production, the duo defied traditional music labels, gaining play on both pop and R&B stations. When a Philadelphia air personality tabbed their music “blue-eyed soul,” The Righteous Brothers built a tradition that still exists in pop music today. And no less than Elvis himself demonstrated respect for the duo by frequently singing You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ and Unchained Melody during his 1970s performances.

The Righteous Brothers actually began existence as members of a 5-piece group called The Paramours. Performing in a local bar, a Black marine in the audience shouted out after one of their duets, “That was righteous, brothers.” They remembered the occasion and eventually renamed their group The Righteous Brothers for their first album.

Within two years, they had made inroads at radio, landed a semi-regular spot on ABC-TV’s “Shindig,” and proven flexible enough to share concert bills with the legendary Jack Benny, and open for The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. But their full power would not be recognized until the 1964 session that yielded You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’. They built a pleading, four-minute cry of romantic desperation that Vanity Fair would recognize as “the most erotic duet between men on record.”

“We had no idea if it would be a hit,” Medley recalls. “It was too slow, too long, and right in the middle of The Beatles and the British Invasion.” And clearly on target with public taste. The performing rights organization BMI has recorded some 8 million plays of the song, making it the most-programmed title in the history of American radio.

But it’s merely one of numerous pinnacle moments The Righteous Brothers would achieve. They crashed the Billboard Top 10 five times in 15 months, adding such classics as (You’re My) Soul And Inspiration, Ebb Tide and Just Once In My Life. And their undeniable chemistry has demonstrated an amazing resiliency. After parting in 1968, they reunited in 1974, hitting the Top 10 once again with the reverential Rock And Roll Heaven. The movies Top Gun, Ghost, Naked Gun and Dirty Dancing repeatedly re-established the Righteous brand. Medley’s Grammy-winning duet with Jennifer Warnes I’ve Had The Time of My Life from Dirty Dancing was a platinum seller and walked away with the “Song of the Year” honors. Hatfield’s performance of Unchained Melody in Ghost, originally recorded in a single studio take, was so overwhelmingly received that the duo recorded a new version, which also went platinum and brought them a Grammy nomination.

“Movies,” Hatfield maintains, “introduced our music to a whole new generation of fans, for whom we are truly grateful.”

Fans of multiple generations still keep The Righteous Brothers active. The duo routinely performs 60-80 shows on the road during a year, in addition to singing for about 12 weeks in Las Vegas, the city they had originally hoped would merely provide a weekly salary. Their spontaneity and interplay guarantee that no two shows are ever quite the same.

Forty years after their debut, The Righteous Brothers have opened the eyes of both critics and music buyers, and, frankly, surprised even themselves. With a trend-setting sound, the most-played song in history and a place in rock’s Hall of Fame, their once-naïve dream of merely playing Vegas has been superseded by an awesome legacy.

Soundtrack/Filmography

1. Alfie (2004) (performer: “Unchained Melody”)
2. View from the Top (2003) (performer: “Unchained Melody”)
3. In Dreams (1999) (performer: “Ebb Tide “)
4. Simon Birch (1998) (performer: “For Your Love”)
   • A.K.A. Angels and Armadillos
5. Kind zu vermieten (1997) (TV) (performer: “Unchained Melody”)
   • A.K.A. Alibi für einen Engel (Germany)
   • A.K.A. Three Dollar Son (Europe: English title)
6. The Devil’s Own (1997) (performer: “Unchained Melody”)
7. 29th Street (1991) (performer: “Little Latin Lupe Lu”)
8. The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991) (performer: “Unchained Melody “, “Ebb Tide “)
   • A.K.A. The Naked Gun 2 1/2 (Canada: English title)
9. Ghost (1990) (performer: “Since I Fell For You “, “Unchained Melody “)
10. Top Gun (1986) (performer: “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling”)
11. Baby It’s You (1983) (performer: “Unchained Melody”)
12. Beach Ball (1965) (performer: “Baby, What You Want Me to Do”)

• Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.

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The Rascals, along with the Righteous Brothers, Mitch Ryder, and precious few others, were the pinnacle of ’60s blue-eyed soul. The Rascals’ talents, however, would have to rate above their rivals, if for nothing else than the simple fact that they, unlike many other blue-eyed soulsters, penned much of their own material. They also proved more adept at changing with the fast-moving times, drawing much of their inspiration from British Invasion bands, psychedelic rock, gospel, and even a bit of jazz and Latin music. They were at their best on classic singles like “Good Lovin’,” “How Can I Be Sure,” “Groovin’,” and “People Got to Be Free.” When they tried to stretch their talents beyond the impositions of the three-minute 45, they couldn’t pull it off, a failure which — along with crucial personnel losses — effectively finished the band as a major force by the 1970s.

The roots of the Rascals were in New York-area twist and bar bands. Keyboardist/singer Felix Cavaliere, the guiding force of the group, had played with Joey Dee & the Starliters, where he met Canadian guitarist Gene Cornish and singer Eddie Brigati. Brigati would split the lead vocals with Cavaliere and also write much of the band’s material with him. With the addition of drummer Dino Danelli, they became the Rascals. Over their objections, manager Sid Bernstein (who had promoted the famous Beatles concerts at Carnegie Hall and Shea Stadium) dubbed them the Young Rascals, although the “Young” was permanently dropped from the billing in a couple of years.

After a small hit with “I Ain’t Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore” in 1965, the group hit number one with “Good Lovin’,” a cover of an R&B tune by the Olympics, in 1966. This was the model for the Rascals’ early sound: a mixture of hard R&B and British Invasion energy, with tight harmony vocals and arrangements highlighting Cavaliere’s Hammond organ. After several smaller hits in the same vein, the group began to mature at a rapid rate in 1967, particularly as songwriters. “Groovin’,” “Beautiful Morning,” “It’s Wonderful,” and “How Can I Be Sure?” married increasingly introspective and philosophical lyrics to increasingly sophisticated arrangements and production, without watering down the band’s most soulful qualities. They were also big hits, providing some of the era’s most satisfying blends of commercial and artistic appeal.

In 1968, almost as if to prove they could shake ’em down as hard as any soul revue, the Rascals made number one with one of their best songs, “People Got to Be Free.” An infectious summons to unity and tolerance in the midst of a very turbulent year for American society, it also reflected the Rascals’ own integrationist goals. Not only did they blend white and black in their music; they also, unlike many acts of the time, refused to tour on bills that weren’t integrated as well.

“People Got to Be Free,” surprisingly, was the group’s last Top 20 hit, although they would have several other small chart entries over the next few years, often in a more explicitly gospel-influenced style. The problem wasn’t bad timing or shifting commercial taste; the problem was the material itself, which wasn’t up to the level of their best smashes. More worrisome were their increasingly ambitious albums, which found Cavaliere in particular trying to expand into jazz, instrumentals, and Eastern philosophy. Not that this couldn’t have worked well, but it didn’t. They had never been an album-oriented group, but unlike other some other great mid-’60s bands, they were unable to satisfactorily expand their talents into full-length formats.

A more serious problem was the departure of Brigati, the band’s primary lyricist, in 1970. Cornish was also gone a year later, although Cavaliere and Dinelli kept the Rascals going a little longer with other musicians. The band broke up in 1972, with none of the members going on to notable commercial or artistic success on their own, though Cavaliere remained the most active.

– by Richie Unterberger
Courtesy AllMusic.com

Soundtrack/Filmography

1. The Shaggy Dog (2006) (performer: “Beautiful Morning”)
2. Sorority Boys (2002) (performer: “Beautiful Morning”)
3. “Scrubs” (2001) TV Series (performer: “Beautiful Morning”)
4. Food for Thought (1999) (performer: “A Beautiful Morning”)
5. Patch Adams (1998) (performer: “Good Lovin”, “People Go To Be Free”)
6. Kingpin (1996) (performer: “A beautiful Morning”)
7. Apollo 13 (1995) (performer: “Groovin'”)
   • A.K.A. Apollo 13: The IMAX Experience (USA: IMAX version)
8. Grumpy Old Men (1993) (performer: “Good Lovin'”)
9. A Bronx Tale (1993) (performer: “A Beautiful Morning”)
10. My Girl (1991) (performer: “Good Lovin'”)
11. Dogfight (1991) (performer: “Groovin'”)
12. Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) (performer: “Good Lovin”)
13. You Can’t Hurry Love (1988) (performer: “Good Lovin'”)
    • A.K.A. Greetings from L.A.
    • A.K.A. Lovestruck
14. “The Charmings”
    – Lillian’s Protege (1988) TV Episode (performer: “(It’s a) Beautiful Morning”)
15. Three Men and a Baby (1987) (performer: “Good Lovin'”)
16. “Wiseguy”
    – No One Gets Out of Here Alive (1987) TV Episode (performer: “Good Lovin'”)
17. The Lost Boys (1987) (performer: “Groovin'”)
18. Platoon (1986) (performer: “Groovin'”)
19. Legal Eagles (1986) (performer: “Good Lovin “)
20. The Big Chill (1983) (performer: “Good Lovin’ “)
21. More American Graffiti (1979) (performer: “Good Loving”)
    • A.K.A.Purple Haze

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The Pointer Sisters have never been easy to categorize, with roots in Country, R&B, Gospel, Jazz, Soul, and Pop.

In 1995 they starred in a dazzling all new production of the multi-award winning hit Broadway musical Ain’ t Misbehavin to critical acclaim. This was just another of the many firsts these extraordinary vocalists have experienced in their phenomenal twenty-five year career.

Not content to rest on their past successes, The Pointers keep reaching for the stars. They have just completed recording Christmas Town, a single to be included on the soundtrack of the animated feature Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer which was released for the holidays.

In 1994, they burned up the country charts with Chain of Fools, their smash duet with Clint Black, which went platinum and was nominated for Best Song of The Year by the Country Music Association. In September of 1994, The Pointers received two great honors. They were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame as a tribute to their continued success and they were invited to perform a special concert at the White House for the President and Mrs. Clinton.

Recently The Pointers had the honor of performing in the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade, which was wet but fun! In 1996 they had a ball with some of their fellow legends like Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan and many others performing for the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

They also performed in three television specials: Up All Night for NBC, A Gospel Christmas with The Pointers and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (A &E), and Pop Goes the Fourth with the Boston Pop’s (A&E). Pop Goes the Fourth was nominated for a Cable ACE Award in the category of Best Performing Arts Special or Series.

Continuously in demand as international musical superstars, The Pointers headlined a hectic schedule of world wide concert dates, which recently took them to Germany, Austria, France, Thailand and Australia. The Pointers have also performed in concert with some of the world’s most prestigious symphony orchestras including the Atlanta Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony, the Louisville Symphony, the Knoxville Symphony, and The Boston Pops which was also aired as a musical special on A&E.

One look at their Grammy Awards confirms that The Pointers have always been mavericks. Nominated ten times, they’ve taken home three in widely varied categories: Best Country Vocal Group (for Fairytale), Best Pop Performance by a Group or Duo (for Jump) and Best Vocal Arrangement (for Automatic). Growing up and singing together in Oakland, California, The Pointers, Ruth, Anita, and Bonnie, honed their set the-house-afire technique at the West Oakland Church of God where their father was the minister. But unlike most rhythm & blues performers whose expertise is limited to gospel style testifying The Pointer’s proved themselves of a wider range of musical mastery that included jazzy scat singing and country crooning.

It wasn’t long before their versatility was noticed and music luminaries like Dave Mason, Alvin Bishop, Boz Scaggs and Grace Slick were soliciting their vocal services. Soon The Pointers began making their own mark on popular music with a long string of hits starting with their funky interpretation of Allen Toussaint’s Yes We Can Can. Fairytale, a tune penned by Anita and Bonnie, was a crossover country hit and the group became the first black female group to perform at The Grand Ole Opry.

Continuing their groundbreaking tradition, The Pointers were also one of the first black female groups to headline in Las Vegas. Their smash hit, How Long (Betcha Got A Chick On The Side), established The Pointers as a musical force to be reckoned with.

Soundtrack/Filmography

1. Love Actually (2003) (performer: “Jump (For My Love)”)
2. Maid in Manhattan (2002) (performer: “Yes We Can Can”)
   • AKA Made in New York (USA: poster title)
3. The Trip (2002/I) (performer: “Jump (For My Love)”)
4. Ali (2001) (performer: “Yes We Can Can”)
5. Big Momma’s House (2000) (performer: “Yes We Can”)
   • Big Mamas Haus (Germany)
6. “Jackass” (2000) TV Series (performer: “I’m So Excited”)
7. The Story of Us (1999) (performer: “I’m So Excited”)
8. Donnie Brasco (1997) (performer: “Happiness” (1978))
9. The Associate (1996) (performer: “Yes We Can Can”)
10. “With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America” (1996) (mini) TV Series (performer: “We Are Family”)
11. Two If by Sea (1996) (performer: “You Got Me Hummin'”)
    • AKA Stolen Hearts
12. Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993) (performer: “I’m so excited”)
    • Hot Shots! 2 (Australia)
13. American Heart (1992) (performer: “Slow Hand”)
14. The Midnight Special (1992) (performer: “That’s a Plenty/Surfeit U.S.A.”, “Old Songs”, “Salt Peanuts”)
15. Ricochet (1991) (“Automatic”)
16. The Karate Kid, Part III (1989) (performer: “SUMMER IN THE CITY”)
17. Working Girl (1988) (performer: “I’M SO EXCITED”)
18. Action Jackson (1988) (performer: “HE TURNED ME OUT”)
19. Stakeout (1987) (performer: “Hot Together”)
20. Spaceballs (1987) (performer: “Hot Together”)
21. The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1987) (TV) (“Automatic”)
22. Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1986) (performer: “Set Me Free”)
23. Playing for Keeps (1986) (performer: “I’M SO EXCITED”)
24. Beverly Hills Cop (1984) (performer: “Neutron Dance”)
25. “Miami Vice”
    – No Exit (1984) TV Episode (performer: “Jump (For My Love)”)
26. Grandview, U.S.A. (1984) (performer: “I Want To Do It With You”)
27. Bagets (1984) (performer: “Jump (for my love)”)
28. Vacation (1983) (performer: “I’M SO EXCITED”)
    • National Lampoon’s Vacation (UK) (USA: complete title)
    • American Vacation (Europe: English title: video title)
29. Night Shift (1982) (performer: “The Love Too Good To Last”)
30. Summer Lovers (1982) (performer: “I’m So Excited”)
31. “Sesame Street” (1969) TV Series (performer: “PINBALL NUMBER COUNT”)
    • Canadian Sesame Street (Canada: English title)
    • Open Sesame (New Zealand: English title: new syndication title)
    • Sesame Park (Canada: English title)
    • The New Sesame Street (USA: new syndication title)

    Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.

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Flowing with fresh songs and captivating sounds, the Neville Brothers’ Valence Street reaffirms their place of high prominence in American music.

“Valence Street,” says one Rolling Stone writer, “has all the creative energy of the best Neville Brothers’ records — and then some. It has conviction and charm; it’s loaded with strong singles — spicy funk, heavenly ballads and righteous roots connections — yet hangs together as a composite picture of four remarkable brothers.”

Art, Charles, Aaron, Cyril…

Four powerfully unique personalities, the Neville Brothers thrive on an explosive fusion of diversity and unity.

Valence Street brings them home to the heart of their musical universe. Valence is the street in Uptown New Orleans where they grew up. Valence Street is their spiritual center — their mother, their father, and their uncle Jolly, the fabled Mardi Gras Wild Tchoupitoulas Indian Chief.

Valence Street, the brothers’ debut release for Columbia, is a sweeping landscape of their current musical modes while, at the same time, a reflection of their fabulously rich musical past.

Art Neville still lives on Valence street. “I look across the street,” he says in his relaxed honey-flavored baritone,” and see the double-shotgun house where, as kids, we soaked up the music of this city. The excitement of that music is all over this new record.”

As the oldest, Art was the first to make his mark. Back in the fifties, at the very birth of the R&B/rock era, he pioneered the new sound with seminal hits like “Mardi Gras Mambo,” “Cha Dooky-Doo” and “All These Things.” As founding father and mastermind of the Meters — the classic soul syncopators of the sixties and seventies — he earned the title Poppa Funk. Today he remains among the most revered keyboardists and vocalists on the contemporary scene.

Art’s strong character drives four of Valence Street’s strongest songs:

“Over Africa” is a bristling reminder of the vital connection between the Motherland and Mother Neville’s four brilliant sons.

“The Dealer,” Art says of his own composition, “goes back to my childhood and the good sense of our aunt, Virginia Harris, the wonderful woman we called Auntie Cat. She talked about playing the hand you’re dealt, and doing the best with it. The Dealer is the Lord. He’s not giving you any cards you can’t play.”

“Dimming of the Day” has Art in a mellow country/gospel mode, proving himself a storyteller of deep patience and hard-earned wisdom.

“Real Funk,” another Art Neville original, is straight-up autobiography, an irresistibly funkified version of how four brothers took the world by storm.

In more ways than one, Charles Neville was instrumental in that take-over. It was in 1976 when Charles heeded the call from Uncle Jolly to join his siblings to help create The Wild Tchoupitoulas, the sessions that, for the first time, united the brothers on record. They’ve been together ever since, not simply winning Grammys and accolades for landmark achievements like Fiyo on the Bayou (1981) and Yellow Moon (1989), but creating a lasting body of work cultivated from the fertile fields of New Orleans.

A saxophonist of soaring imagination and masterful technique, Charles contributed three compositions to Valence Street:

The album’s title song, an infectious instrumental romp, displays Charles’ uncanny knack for blending gut-bucket blues and sophisticated jazz.

“Until We Meet Again,” sung with tremendous sensitivity by brother Cyril, is a poignant love story. “I wrote it,” says Charles, “with Kathleen Kobrin, one of the great loves of my life. When our relationship was ending many years ago, this song seemed to reaffirm all the empathy and concern we had for one another. For years the sentiments existed as a poem. Then Saya Saito, the fine pianist, added music and it all came to life again.”

“Tears” was also written by Charles, along with Cyril and associate producer Tommy Sims. The connection goes back to Uncle Jolly, who embodied the spiritual connection to the mysterious beauty of Native American culture. “The words came to me,” says Charles, “after I spoke with Arvol Lookinghorse, the sacred pipe carrier for the Lakota Nation. His stories about his people and their struggles, their long rides and their holy ceremonies, stirred my imagination. In every honest word he said, there were tears — not simply tears of pain, but tears of strength.”

Aaron Neville speaks so softly, you lean in to listen. His is the most recognized voice in a family of distinct voices. His voice floats and flutters, a miracle of sweetness and light. Ever since his immortal smash from 1967, “Tell It Like It Is,” Aaron has been viewed by fans and connoisseurs as one of the planet’s premier singers. Steeped in the glories of gospel and the romanticism of doo-wop, Aaron can sing anything. His duets with Linda Ronstadt resulted in major hits and Grammys — “Don’t Know Much” (1989) and “All My Life” (1990) — and his solo albums, from Warm My Heart (1990) to To Make Me Who I Am (1997) — have established him as a major pop star. His musical and emotional allegiance, however, remains with his brothers.

“One of the reasons I love this record so much,” claims Aaron, “is because I get to hear Art and Cyril sing. They’ve always been my favorite singers, just like Charles is my favorite horn player. I’m blessed to have been born into this family.”

“A Little Piece of Heaven,” Valence Street’s first single, is its own kind of blessing, the sound of Aaron’s celestial tenor becalming a world caught up in frenzy and fear. In similar ways, his subtle interpretations of Pete Seeger’s “If I Had a Hammer” and the Cate Brothers’ “Give Me A Reason” soothe our turbulent souls, resolving doubt with conviction.

“I’ve been wanting to do both those songs for a long time,” says Aaron, “and welcomed the chance to sing them with my brothers by my side. ‘If I Had A Hammer’ is a strong message — basic brotherhood. I heard it with a little island flavor that brings out its simple truth. ‘Give Me A Reason’ makes me think of those times in my life when I’ve longed for peace of mind I couldn’t find.”

“The best compliments I received,” adds Aaron, “come from people saying my voice has given peace to a disturbed child. I want my music to be about healing. Healing and hope. I pray to Saint Jude, the saint of hopeless causes. The hope I receive from God is the healing hope I put in my song.”

“Cyril is our little brother,” says Art, “but Cyril has the heart and fire of a Big Chief. He’s lived that life and earned that respect.”

Cyril Neville is a man of deep soul and soul singer of impassioned originality. Beyond his vocal prowess, he is a superb percussionist, as well as an accomplished producer and composer. As lead singer for the Meters in the seventies, he established his own persona. Today, his Uptown All-Stars, with their roots-reggae attitude, is a cutting-edge force in modern rhythm and blues. In working with his brothers, he has demonstrated versatility, not only as a dynamic front man for live performances, but a studio wizard as well.

In speaking about “Utterly Beloved,” the beautiful ballad he wrote for this record, his normally bold voice turns reflective and whisper-quiet. “My wife Gaynielle was in Oprah Winfrey’s ‘Beloved,’ he explains, “and invited me to the set. Turned into a magical experience. A spiritual experience. Deep in the woods, women went to a prayer meeting. We were all transformed. Everyone was touched, transported. Then when I learned the production company was called ‘Utterly Beloved,’ the inspiration came. The inspiration is not only from the magic of the movie, but from my wife’s precious love. The song is dedicated to her.”

Recalling the origin of “Mona Lisa,” the Nevilles’ seamless collaboration with Wyclef Jean and the hip-hop high point of Valence Street, Cyril’s voice returns to full volume and animated enthusiasm. “My brothers and I came to the Sony Building in New York to meet the Columbia executives. They asked what other Columbia artists we’d like to work with, and Wyclef and the Fugees were at the top of my list. Through fortune or fate, Wyclef happened to be in the building. When he heard we were there, he came upstairs and said he was a fan of ours. Within minutes, we were all around a piano going over a song he’d recently written. That same night after our gig we headed to the studio and by 4 in the morning the mission was accomplished. Happened so naturally you just knew the hookup was meant to be. It was gas. Haven’t had that much fun since I did Sesame Street. Wyclef and the Neville Brothers are definitely on the same wavelength.”

The fact that Wyclef chose the brothers for what he calls his first love song is an indication of the Nevilles’ tremendous reach – back to the past and forward to the future. The seductive blending of voices; the grind of a slow groove that, like a mantra, clears the mind and warms the heart; the synthesis of so much sensuous sound underlines this group’s undeniable greatness. What began long ago as Valence Street is still alive today, a vital and inspired spirit, a musical life force that goes on and on, now and forever.

Soundtrack – Filmography

1. “The Wire” (2002) TV Series (performer: “Way Down in the Hole”)
   
2. Around the Fire (1999) (performer: “Brother John”)
3. Get on the Bus (1996) (performer: “Over A Million Strong”)
4. Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead (1995) (performer: “Born Under A Bad Sign”)
5. Runaway Daughters (1994) (TV) (performer: “Let the good times roll”)
6. Philadelphia (1993) (performer: “Sister Rosa”)
7. Fire in the Sky (1993) (performer: “Sons And Daughters (Reprise)”)
8. Wild Orchid II: Two Shades of Blue (1992) (performer: “SONS AND DAUGHTERS (reprise)”) (producer: “SONS AND DAUGHTERS (reprise)”) (“SONS AND DAUGHTERS (reprise)”)
   • aka Wild Orchid 2: Blue Movie Blue
9. Tune in Tomorrow… (1990) (performer: “New Orleans, My Home (Going Back To New Orleans)”)
   • aka Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter
10. Bird on a Wire (1990) (performer: “Bird On A Wire”)
11. The Mighty Quinn (1989) (performer: “YELLOW MOON”)
12. The Big Easy (1987) (performer: “TELL IT LIKE IT IS”)
    • aka The Big Crackdown (Philippines: English title)

    Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.

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A vocal group of two women and three men formed in 1944 by singer Mel Torme, the Mel-Tones were regarded as jazz-influenced performers. The group had a number of hits on its own and with the Artie Shaw Band. Its biggest hit was “What Is This Thing Called Love?”

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The Hilltoppers were a pop vocal quartet that lit up the hit list in the early 50’s to the tune of 25 charters in five and a half years, but in early 1952 Jimmy Sacca (23, lead), Seymour Spiegelman (21, tenor), and Don McGuire (21, bass) were just three students at Western Kentucky State College.

They sang barbershop harmony at the Goal Posts, the campus candy store and hangout. What turned the barbershop banter into serious singing was Jimmy’s association with a piano player in the Ace Dining band, Billy Vaughn. The college was located in Bowling Green where Ace’s band played, and Jimmy would occasionally sit in.(Ace, by the way, was the brother of Lou, Ginger and Jean, the Dinning Sisters of Chicago whose 1948 million seller “Butons and Bows” helped keep girl groups visible in the 1940’s)

In the spring of 1952 Billy wrote a song he felt would be terrific for Jimmy’s voice called “Trying” but wanted a group to sing it with him. Now the college barbershop boys had a purpose and a fourth member since 30-year old Vaugn turned out to be the baritone they were missing.

On a Satruday in April the campus cutup cut a session in Van Meter Auditorium on the school grounds. Vaughn then took the ballad to local disc jockey Bill Stamps at WLBJ, who programmed it and received enough phone call response to watrrant sending it on to his old boss Randy Wood at Dot Records in Gallatin, Tennessee. Wood liked the group so much he shufled of to Bowling Green to sign the boys. The no-name group was then christened The Hilltoppers, the nickname of their school athletic team.

In May “Trying” came out and by August it was as if it hadn’t. Wood had a meeting with the group to decide on a new single the same day the record broke in Cleveland and Cincinatti. The success of “Trying” happened so quickly that the boys were called to perform on Ed Sullivan’s show the same week and didn’t know what to wear. They threw together a wardrobe of gray flannel pants, white buck shoes (the “in” thing those days), and their college sweaters, with one borrowed for the newest man on campus, Billy Vaughn. When they arrived in New York one of the booking agents supplied them with the beanies as an added touch. After they did Sullivan’s show other variety hours started asking for them but demanded they wear their beanies and sweaters. A gimmick was born, and so was a hit “Trying” charted on August 16th, reached number seven, and sold nearly a million copies (almost exclusively in the East as Dot had no distributors in the West).

Their second single “I Keep Telling Myself” b/w “Must I Cry Again” was a double-sided charter in January 1953 witht he top reaching number 26 and the flip raising to number 15.

Jimmy Sacca’s strong, masculine, and expressive lead led the groups solid harmonies through “If I Were King”. Then he and his vocal chords were drafted. Wood then sequestered the group in a studio until they’d recorded enough sides to carry them through a good part of Jimmy’s stay with Uncle Sam. Though the group had no chance in the next year or two to record fresh material, and though some of their already recorded songs may have sounded dated a year or two later, they mad more hits and biger charters during that period than they did when Jimmy returned to record anew.

Their first single when Jimmy was on his ay to Okinawa was the Johnny Mercer – Gordon Jenkins penned Rudy Vallee hit from 1934, “P.S. I LOve You”. Even the flip side scored (“I’d Rather Die Young”)

They had nine more successes, including “Love Walked In” from the Goldwyn Follies, “From The Vine Came The Grape”, The Mill Brothers 1944 hit “Till Then”, and The Ink Spots 1939 smash “If I Didn’t Care”

When Jimmy returned in March 1955 Uncle Sam drafted both Seymour and Don. They were replaced by Fred Waring group member Clive Dill and Bob Gaye of Four Jacks and a Jill.

Vaughn then became musical director of Dot but continued to record with the group. Eddie Crowe took Vaughn’s spot on the road. Gaye soon left to be replaced by Karl Garvin, a former studio musician. Their first music charter with the newly returned Jimmy was the title song from the Burt Lancaster film The Kentuckian.

In the late 1955 The Hilltoppers entered the cover sweepstakes, releasing The Platters “Only You”. Despite the fact that the Los Angeles pop R&B group chartered on October 1, 1955, almost six week ahead of the western Kentucky wonders, the Hilltoppers managed to reach number eight on the Pop lists while the Platters made it to number five. In England, they had their first and biggest hit at number three. A tour of England was next through the spring and summer of 1956. While there the group heard a cover of the G-Clef’s current hit by a group on Dot called the Hilltoppers – quite a shock since our boys didn’t record it. Apparently Randy Wood had formed a second Hilltoppers led by Chuck Schroder to do their own version of the song; it lost the chart race to the superior G-Clef’s record 24 to 38.

The original Hilltoppers returned to knock out a calypso hit called “Marianne”.

Seymour and Don were then released from Uncle Sam’s grasp and with Jimmy and newcomer Doug Cordoza (Seymour’s brother-in-law) formed the newest Hilltoppers.

With music rapidly changing, the Hilltoppers found it harder to chart. Their last hit was “The Joker”. They continued to tour until 1960 and then packed it in. Jimmy and Seymour went to work in Dot’s distributing operation.

By 1965 Jimmy Sacca was back with another Hilltoppers and in 1967 cut two singles for 3 J Records.

In 1968 Karl Garvin came back along with Jack Gruebel and Chuck Ayre.

The group rang in the 70’s by taking over the management of a food and beverage concession at the Holiday Inn on Okaloosa Island at Fort Walton, Florida. They then played there for most of the next two years.

Their last recordings were on MGM in 1973 and the group continued touring until they broke up in 1976. Don McGuire went into real estate in Lexdington, Kentucky. Billy Vaughn stayed with Dot for many years as arranger/conductor for Pat Boone, Gale Storm, the FOntane Sisters, and many other artists. He had more instrumental hits as an orchestra leader (28 from 1954 to 1966) than he did with the Hilltoppers and more than any instrumentalist in the rock era. Jimmy Sacca became a booking agent in Jackson, Mississippi; Karl Garvin retired to Florida; and Eddie Crowe went to work for Lockport High School in Lockport, New York. Seymour Spiegelman died in 1987.

Biography by Jay Warner

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While there are those that would argue that one of the greatest bands in rock & roll has never been away . . . while there are those who would insist the group is alive and well, as long as somewhere in the world, someone is playing a copy of Rumours . . . while no one could contest that Mac music sounds as fresh and full of surprises today as it did the moment it was minted . . . all this, and more, considered ­ The Mac is still back.

“Mac,” in this case, of course, refers to the once-in-a-lifetime line-up of talent that single-handedly defined the term “supergroup” now and forever. Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham are, and always will be, The Fleetwood Mac of recordscores of millions of records as a matter of fact, spanning one of the most wildly successful, and endlessly inventive, creative conspiracies in modern musical history.

It’s a saga that continues with the Reprise Records release of The Dance, the new Fleetwood Mac album that gives fresh meaning to the term “long-awaited.” Recorded live for an MTV special, The Dance highlights new renditions of 13 Mac classics, from “Dreams” to “Rhiannon,” “Don’t Stop” to “Tusk” as well as the such key tracks as “The Chain” and “Silver Springs.”

Proving the Mac magic is as potent as ever, The Dance, produced by Lindsey Buckingham and Elliot Schiener, also features four new songs, including the Christine McVie composition “Temporary One,” “Sweet Girl” by Stevie Nicks and two new Buckingham tracks, “Bleed To Love Her” and “My Little Demon.” Catapulting straight from the studio to the stage, Fleetwood Mac embark on an extensive U.S. tour this fall, bringing the Mac magic to audiences coast to coast.

After a moment to catch our collective breath, it’s fitting to note that the reunion of Fleetwood Mac is occurring on the twenty year anniversary of Rumours, the most influential and innovative album of their career, and an enduring landmark of the rock era.

But Fleetwood Mac redux is about more than simply a fond look back. It’s about artists and writers, musical spark plugs and men and women of amazing ability, picking up precisely where they left off, minus a mound of emotional luggage and with, as Mick Fleetwood puts it, “an incredible amount of creative gas in the tank.”

Not that Mac’s individual components have been experiencing anything like a fuel shortage since they last recorded together, ten years ago. While the rock solid rhythm section of Fleetwood & McVie continued to lift high the venerable Fleetwood Mac banner with various incarnations of the group, Lindsey, Stevie and Christine have all nurtured brilliant solo careers, as well as working in various combinations on one-off projects, such as the Stevie/Lindsey collaboration on the hit 1995 Twister soundtrack. And, while it might have taken a special request by the President of the United States to reconvene the band for an appearance at the 1992 Inaugural Ball, performing Clinton’s campaign song, “Don’t Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow),” the notion of a full-blown reunion has been in the air almost from the moment they disbanded.

“We’ve been asked many times over the years to reform,” explains Mick, “but the time was never right. I think we were all still in the process of growing up and discovering that the things that had once pulled us apart didn’t seem nearly as important anymore. The level of success we had together was, quite simply, overwhelming. We’ve had the opportunity to step back and get some perspective, to realize that what was important all along was the music.”

The impetus for that discovery came from several directions. “The 20th anniversary of Rumours gave us a vantage point to look back and forward,” asserts John. “We realized that we had created this tremendous body of work and that we wanted to celebrate that accomplishment. 1997 also marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of the original Fleetwood Mac, so the occasion seemed especially auspicious for that reason as well.”

What was needed was a suitable creative catalyst, provided in timely fashion by Lindsey’s latest solo project. “I’d been working on new material since late 1995,” Lindsey recounts, “when I happened to run into Mick one day, it seemed like he’d been through some changes and I know I’d done some moving on myself since we’d last met. We’d lived through such a musical soap opera and just the fact that we’d survived gave us something in common.”

More in common, as it turned out, than just shared history, with Lindsey providing the vital musical link that reconnected the group. “We started working together on some of his songs,” continues Mick, “and immediately sparked off each other. It’s like learning to ride a bike; once you’ve got it you never forget. While the chemistry between the group is hard to pin down, it’s unmistakable once you’re a part of it.”

“We worked together, just the two of us, through the summer of last year,” recounts Lindsey, “and when it came time to do some bass parts, I asked Mick who he thought we should use. I should have known what his answer would be.”

With John joining them in the studio, the potential, unspoken but palpable, began to build, gathering momentum when Lindsey asked Christine to come in and sing harmonies. “The magic, the energy, the pure joy of working together was stronger than ever,” recounts Lindsey. “There we were,” adds Mick, with a laugh, “all four of us in the control room, really enjoying each other’s company.”

“It was an odd feeling, being back together, but it was obvious we were having fun,” is how Christine remembers the slow approach toward the inevitable. “I’d been doing some writing and demos for a new solo album, but had really stepped back from music for the time being, returning to England and restoring a huge, sixteenth century house my husband and I had bought in the country. I was very content with my life, but at the same time, I must admit, I felt the pull.”

The pull also exerted its influence on the fifth Mac member. “None of us really had to do this,” Stevie remarks. “We had our separate lives and careers. But the chance to work together again, without all the conflicts that had once made things so difficult, was hard to resist. I guess it’s always been a dream, somewhere in the back of my mind, that we would one day get together again. The Rumours anniversary was a perfect excuse, but what’s more important is how we’ve each grown. I’d always loved being a part of this band, feeling that extraordinary energy that we could create, and now there’s nothing to interfere with the flow of that energy.”

The quintet began playing together, with the notion of reuniting put, for the time being, on a back burner. “It was just great to play again,” asserts John. “This configuration was always my favorite Fleetwood Mac line-up and I think the whole was always greater then the sum of its parts. It was great to be part of that whole again.”

“We were playing better than I ever remembered,” adds Mick. “After we had a chance to musically say hello to each other, we found it astoundingly easy to pick up where we left off.”

“My only condition for coming back together was that we could have some fun,” says Christine. “The rehearsals proved that we could, and that we were tighter and better than we’d ever been. It was tremendously gratifying.”

“I think a lot of the creativity we were feeling had come from the healing we’d all experienced,” opines Stevie. “We were friends who had been away for a long time and this reunion was not just musical, it was personal.”

Questions of repertoire were resolved almost before they came up. “Naturally we did the material we were familiar with,” explains John. “It was like our fingers were just flying to the notes. We worked up some new arrangements, but we also wanted to try out some fresh stuff. Luckily, we had no shortage of new material to try.”

Christine: “Each one of us brought in a new song and hearing them played by this particular combination of musicians is like no other experience I know. We understand each other, where to go, and how to get there, even before it’s spoken.”

What was also left almost unspoken was the fact that, from various paths both personal and professional, Fleetwood Mac had at last found themselves together again. “Of course there’s a business aspect to all this,” says Mick, “but anyone who’s been around this process can tell you that it really is the music that’s brought us back.”

“I care about these people,” is how Lindsey puts it. “And I enjoy being around them, now more than ever. Fleetwood Mac is a complicated scheme, a careful balancing act and when we get it right, there’s nothing quite like it.”

“Even after we decided to formalize what we’d been doing as ‘a reunion,'” adds John, “there was still an attitude of taking things one day at a time. Today is wonderful. Tomorrow will take care of itself.”

What tomorrow may bring for Fleetwood Mac is anyone’s guess. But, with the release of The Dance, the accompanying MTV special and their upcoming tour, the prospects are positively brilliant for the immediate future.

“This is all very exciting, but at the same time very familiar,” muses Stevie. “When we get together something amazing happens. It takes on a life of its own.”

The Mac Is Back. Even better than before.

Soundtrack – Filmography

1. “Cold Case”
   – Bad Night (2005) TV Episode (performer: “Go Your Own Way”)
   – Late Returns (2004) TV Episode (performer: “Don’t Stop”)
2. Elizabethtown (2005) (performer: “Big Love”)
3. Around the Bend (2004) (performer: “Hi Ho Silver”)
4. Jersey Girl (2004) (performer: “Landslide”)
5. Almost Famous (2000) (performer: “Future Games”)
   • aka Untitled: Almost Famous the Bootleg Cut (USA: director’s cut (DVD title))
   • Loser (2000) (“Man Of The World”)
   • aka The Loser (USA)
6. Frequency (2000) (performer: “Rattlesnake Shake”)
7. “The Sopranos”
   – D-Girl (2000) TV Episode (performer: “Rhiannon”)
8. Jack Frost (1998) (performer: “Landslide”)
   • aka Frost
9. Let It Be Me (1995) (performer: “Everywhere”)
   • aka Love Dance (UK)
10. Casino (1995) (performer: “Go Your Own Way”)
    • aka Casino (France)
11. Forrest Gump (1994) (performer: “Go Your Own Way”)
12. The War Room (1993) (performer: “Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow”)
13. Corpo e Alma de Uma Mulher (1983) (performer: “Dreams”)
14. Personal Best (1982) (performer: “YOU MAKE LOVING FUN”)
15. Forever (1978) (TV) (“Dreams”)
16. Slap Shot (1977) (performer: “Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win)”, “Say You Love Me”)Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.