The Harptones are an American doo-wop group which formed in Manhattan, New York in 1953.
The group never had a top forty pop hit, or a record on the US Billboard R&B chart, [1] yet they are known for both their lead singer Willie Winfield and their pianist/arranger, Raoul Cita. The Harptones recorded for Coed Records and other labels. The Harptones may have been the first doo-wop group to have a full-time arranger among their members, and Cita knew how to work to Winfield's strengths. [2] Their best-known recordings include "A Sunday Kind of Love" (1953), "Why Should I Love You?" (1954), "Life is But a Dream" (1955), "The Shrine of St. Cecilia" (1956), and "What Will I Tell My Heart" (1961).
In 1956, they recorded some songs for the film Rockin' the Blues: "Mambo Boogie", "Ou Wee Baby", [3] and "High Flying Baby". [4]
The song "Life is But a Dream" was featured in the 1990 film GoodFellas; it appears on the film's soundtrack album. [5]
Dicey Galloway was drafted in November 1954.
Billy Brown died of a drug overdose in spring 1957.
Dicey Galloway left in October and was replaced by Milton Love of The Solitares for a short time, before splitting. Galloway died on July 18, 2017, in Houghs Neck in Quincy, Massachusetts at age 84 after suffering from multiple illnesses. [6]
Nicky Clark left after a few months, to be replaced by Wilbur "Yonkie" Paul, who was in turn replaced by Hank "Pompi" Jernigan.
Nicky Clark died In July 1978, at the age of 43.
The line-up appeared on Doo Wop 50 . Linda Champion left due to health problems around 2000. [7]
Marlowe Murray died on December 11, 2008, from cancer, at the age of 73. [8]
Raoul J. Cita died on December 13, 2014, from liver and stomach cancer, at the age of 86. [9]
Willie Winfield died from a heart attack on July 27, 2021, aged 91. William Dempsey is the only original surviving member of The Harptones. [10]
The Harptones were featured more times than any other group in the United in Group Harmony Association's official top 500 vocal group recordings list, compiled 1996–2000. [11] They were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002. [12]
The Turbans were an American doo-wop vocal group that formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1953. The original members were: Al Banks, Matthew Platt, Charlie Williams (baritone), and Andrew "Chet" Jones (bass). They came from Downtown Philadelphia.
The Robins were a successful and influential American R&B group of the late 1940s and 1950s, one of the earliest such vocal groups who established the basic pattern for the doo-wop sound. They were founded by Ty Terrell, and twin brothers Billy Richards and Roy Richards. Bobby Nunn soon joined the lineup. They began their career as the Bluebirds but switched to recording as the Robins in May 1949. In 1955, the group disagreed over whether to remain on the West Coast or sign with Atlantic Records and move to the East Coast. This led to a split within the group. Music producers and songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller took former Robins members Nunn and Carl Gardner, recruited singers Leon Hughes and Billy Guy, and formed the Coasters. The founding Richards brothers and Tyrell continued to record as the Robins until 1961.
The Mello-Moods were an American R&B musical ensemble, operating from the late 1940s to mid-1950s.
The Wrens were an American doo-wop vocal group from The Bronx, New York City. They are best known for their song "Come Back My Love" and "I'm Just the Kind of Guy".
The Cadillacs were an American rock and roll and doo-wop group from Harlem, New York, active from 1953 to 1962. The group was noted for their 1955 hit "Speedoo", written by Esther Navarro, which was instrumental in attracting white audiences to black rock and roll performers.
The Del-Vikings were an American doo-wop musical group that recorded several hit singles in the 1950s and continued to record and tour with various lineups in later decades. The group is notable for the hit songs "Come Go with Me" and "Whispering Bells", and for having been a successful racially mixed musical group during a period of time when such groups were rare.
The Dubs are an American doo wop vocal group formed in 1956, best known for their songs "Could This Be Magic", "Don't Ask Me to Be Lonely" and "Chapel of Dreams".
The Chords were an American doo-wop vocal group formed in 1951 in The Bronx, New York, known for their 1954 hit "Sh-Boom", which they wrote. It is the only song they created that reached mainstream popularity.
The Valentines were one of the most highly regarded American doo-wop groups from the mid-1950s.
The Danleers were an American doo-wop group formed in Brooklyn, New York in 1958. The group's original and most famous lineup consisted of Jimmy Weston, Johnny Lee, Willie Ephraim, Nat McCune, and Roosevelt Mays. One of many streetcorner vocal groups in Brooklyn, they rose to prominence in 1958 on the strength of the single "One Summer Night", written by their manager, Danny Webb, who also named the group. The single was one of the biggest hits of that year and sold over one million copies. Further releases were not so successful and the group mostly dissolved by the mid-1960s. It continued to tour for several decades with Weston as the main original member.
Otis Williams and the Charms were an American doo-wop vocal group in the 1950s, who were originally billed as The Charms. Williams is not related to Otis Williams of The Temptations.
The Charts were an American doo-wop group of the 1950s, most famous for their recording "Deserie".
The Solitaires were an American doo-wop group, best known for their 1957 hit single "Walking Along". Although they never had a national chart hit, they were one of the most popular vocal groups in New York in the late 1950s.
The Monotones were a six-member American doo-wop vocal group in the 1950s. They are considered a one-hit wonder, as their only hit single was "The Book of Love", which peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1958.
The Students were an American doo-wop vocal group, which formed in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, in 1957. Although they only released four sides, two of them – "I'm So Young" and "Every Day of the Week" – became doo-wop standards. "I'm So Young" in particular became popular and durable, and has been covered by the Beach Boys, Rosie and the Originals, The Ronettes and Kid Kyle and "The Students".
The Velvetones were an American doo-wop group formed in Newark, New Jersey, United States, in 1943. The founding members Madison Flanagan, Walter Dawkins and Sam Rucker all attended High School together and formed the group alongside Enoch Martin. They signed with record label Coronet at some time in 1946 and produced such titles as "Sweet Lorraine" and "Jason, Get Your Basin".
The Checkers were an American doo-wop quintet formed in 1952. The original members were John Carnegie (Tenor/Lead), Charlie White (Tenor/Lead), Irwin "Teddy" Williams (Tenor), James Turner "Buddy" Brewer (Baritone), and Bill Brown. The group, only having recorded 25 singles for the King Records imprint and their subsidiary Federal Records broke up in 1955. The most notable aspect of the group was their constantly changing sound due to the 5 personnel changes that happened within their short existence. King kept on releasing bands under the pseudonym of "The Checkers" until the mid 70s.
The Cap-Tans were an American R&B group formed in Washington, D.C., in 1948. Originally known as the Buddies, the ensemble was managed by impresario Lillian Claiborne, who helped establish the Cap-Tans regionally. Checkered with disbandments and line-up changes, major commercial success eluded the group for most of its career; however, several of their songs were later covered by notable doo-wop bands such as the Ravens and the Crows. As a result, the Cap-Tans' material has remained in the conscience of R&B enthusiasts.
The Vocaleers were an American doo-wop group formed in Harlem, New York, in 1952. Managed by record producer Bobby Robinson, the group released a string of regional hits and scored one national R&B hit with the song "Is It a Dream" in 1953. Highlighted by the distinctive vocal delivery of Joe Duncan, "Is It a Dream" became a standard component of several R&B acts in Harlem and, briefly, the Vocaleers were among the most popular attractions of the city's music scene.
The Marquees were an American doo-wop group formed in Washington, D.C., United States, in 1957. Evolving from the former group the Rainbows, the Marquees included Marvin Gaye and backed musicians such as Bo Diddley and Billy Stewart. The group also recorded as the New Moonglows with singer Harvey Fuqua.