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The Jive Five were an American doo-wop group. They are best known for their debut hit single, "My True Story" (1961), the Nickelodeon bumper jingles in the 1980s and 1990s, and the fact that they outlasted most of their musical peers by re-modeling themselves as a soul group in the 1970s and beyond. [1]
The group formed in Brooklyn, New York, in 1954 as "The Genies", with Eugene Pitt, Jerome Hanna, Richard Harris, Thurmond Prophet (also known as Billy Prophet), and Norman Johnson. [2] The group, by then renamed "The Jive Five", found chart success in 1961 with "My True Story" on Beltone Records, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Hot R&B Singles chart for three weeks. [1]
The group reorganized following the death of Hanna in 1962, with Pitt, Johnson, Hanna's replacement Andre Coles, Casey Spencer, and Beatrice Best. They recorded "What Time is It", "Never, Never", and "These Golden Rings" for Beltone, before switching to United Artists Records, where they had a hit with "I'm a Happy Man". [1] In 1970 the group moved to Decca Records and recorded as "The Jyve Fyve", with Pitt, Spencer, Richard Fisher, and Richard Harris's brother Webster. They had a minor hit with this name, "I Want You to Be My Baby", on Decca. They also recorded briefly for Avco Records.
The group was constantly active on the oldies circuit. In 1983 Eugene hired his brothers, Frank and Herbert Pitt, and in 1985 Casey Spenser rejoined the touring act. They performed along with Beatrice Best. In the 90s Maurice Unthank performed as keyboard player.
In 1984, Eugene and The Jive Five were introduced to New York cable TV branding consultants Fred Seibert and Alan Goodman (and their company Fred/Alan, Inc.) by their latest producer, Ambient Sound's Marty Pekar. Together with Fred/Alan producer Tom Pomposello they embarked on an almost ten-year relationship, creating and singing the a cappella signature sound of the American kids' television network Nickelodeon, one of the first popular "network" specialized cable television channels. They used the group to write and record some of the most memorable advertising jingles, including the 13-note "Nick-Nick-Nick" motif the network continues to use to this day. They were part of the popular "Kid's Choice" awards, and later, they worked on ID's for HBO Family in 2012.
The group performed on the PBS special Doo Wop 50 . The line-up was Pitt, Spencer, Richard Harris, Best, and a fifth member. Between 2000 and 2006 the line up was led by Pitt on lead vocals, Bea Best, Art Loria (formerly of The Belmonts and Earls), Danny Loria and Harold Gilly. Maurice Unthank took over as band leader. The group released a single in 2016 entitled "It's Christmas", written by Pitt and the Lorias. It was credited to 'Eugene Pitt and the Jive Five' and featured Pitt, Best, Gill, Unthank, and the Loria's. Dan Loria also took on booking duties and management for the group. Other recordings this line-up recorded included: "Jive Five Sing Along", "Pretend", "I Am Yours", "Falling Tears (remake) "Today", "Close Your Eyes", "You", "Daddy's Home" and many other single releases. Alpine Entertainment announced that a future CD would consolidate these singles into one Jive Five release.
Eugene Pitt, as one of the founding members with Artie and Danny Loria, was active performing and recording with The Doo Wop All Stars between 1990 and 2006. The group recorded a tribute song to the September 11 attacks victims and heroes, named "We Will Never Fall". It was a Jive Five release in 2001 that was credited to the group "Voices for America".
In June 2010, the group consisted of the then 72-year-old Eugene Pitt, first tenor Frank Pitt, second tenor Casey Spencer, baritone Beatrice Best, and bass Herbert Pitt.
Norman Johnson died in 1970. Webster Harris died in 2003. Maurice Unthank died on July 21, 2008. Artie Loria died on October 23, 2010. Beatrice "Bea" Best died on September 15, 2014, at the age of 81. [3] [4] Founder member Eugene Pitt (born on November 6, 1937) died on June 29, 2018, at the age of 80. [5] [6]
| Year | Title | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | ||
| 1961 | "My True Story" | 3 | 1 |
| "Never, Never" | 74 | — | |
| 1962 | "These Golden Rings" | — | 27 |
| "Hully Gully Callin' Time" | 105 | — | |
| "What Time Is It?" | 67 | — | |
| 1963 | "Rain" | 128 | — |
| 1965 | "I'm a Happy Man" | 26 | 36 |
| "A Bench in the Park" | 106 | — | |
| 1967 | "Crying Like a Baby" | 127 | — |
| 1968 | "Sugar (Don't Take Away My Candy)" | 119 | 34 |
| 2006 | "It's Christmas" | 157 | 119 |
The Penguins were an American doo-wop group from Los Angeles, California, that were active during the 1950s and early 1960s. They are known for their 1954 hit song, "Earth Angel", which was one of the first rhythm and blues songs to cross over to the pop charts. The song would ultimately prove to be their only success. The song peaked at No. 8 on the US Billboard Best Sellers in Stores pop chart but had a three-week run at No. 1 on the R&B chart.
Doo-wop is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Detroit, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. It features vocal group harmony that carries an engaging melodic line to a simple beat with little or no instrumentation. Lyrics are simple, usually about love, sung by a lead vocal over background vocals, and often featuring, in the bridge, a melodramatically heartfelt recitative addressed to the beloved. Harmonic singing of nonsense syllables is a common characteristic of these songs. Gaining popularity in the 1950s, doo-wop was "artistically and commercially viable" until the early 1960s and continued to influence performers in other genres.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1940.
The Marcels were an American doo-wop group known for turning popular music songs into rock and roll. The group formed in 1959 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and signed to Colpix Records with lead Cornelius Harp, bass Fred Johnson, Gene Bricker, Ron Mundy, and Richard Knauss. The group was named after a popular hair style of the day, the marcel wave, by Fred Johnson's younger sister Priscilla.
Vito & the Salutations is an Italian/Irish/Jewish-American New York City doo-wop group from the 1960s. They began performing their four-part harmonies while still in high school, getting practice by singing in subways and at railroad stations. But they never expected anything to come of it, until one of the band members was introduced to someone at a local record company, and the band was asked to make some recordings. Their first popular record, "Gloria," was a regional hit. But Vito & the Salutations became best known for a surprise million-selling hit a year later, in the summer of 1963: they took "Unchained Melody," a 1955 hit ballad by Al Hibbler that they heard on the car radio, as they drove to perform at a concert, and transformed it into an up-tempo, doo-wop song. "Unchained Melody" reached number 66 on the Cash Box hit parade, and it made the top ten in many cities: for example, in New York City, the song reached #3 on top-40 powerhouse WABC. The record was originally released on Herald (H-583). The original group consisted of: Barry Solomon, Bob DiPaolo, Bobby Mitchel and Vito Balsamo That group broke up after their success with their song Gloria. Another group was formed by their manager Dave Rick. That second group consisted of: Frankie Fox, Sheldon Buchansky, Raymond JP Russell and Vito Balsamo. Balsamo came from an immigrant family: his parents were from Palermo, Italy and he grew up in Brooklyn, listening to opera. But he fell in love with rock and roll, much to the dismay of his parents. Vito joined a group and recorded his first song when he was only fifteen. The B side of "Unchained Melody" was "Hey, Hey, Baby," a tune composed by Murray Kanner, Frankie Fox and Dave Rick. Vito & the Salutations also performed their version of "Unchained Melody" on American Bandstand.
What's New, Scooby-Doo? is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation for Kids' WB. It is the ninth incarnation of the Scooby-Doo franchise that began with Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! and the first Scooby-Doo series in a decade, since A Pup Named Scooby-Doo ended in 1991 and the first since both the foreclosure of Hanna-Barbera studios and William Hanna's death in 2001.
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.
Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs were an American doo-wop/R&B vocal group in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Originally the (Royal) Charms, the band changed its name to the Gladiolas in 1957 and the Excellos in 1958, before finally settling on the Zodiacs in 1959.
The Earls, often credited as Larry Chance and the Earls, is an American popular music group formed in The Bronx, New York. In a career spanning over 60 years they formed in the early 1960s, though their roots can be traced back to 1957 in a group called the High-Hatters. They were one of the most accomplished white doo-wop groups of the early 1960s, especially in their home state of New York. In 1962, they became known for their signature hit single "Remember Then", which still remains a staple of doo-wop music. Later in their career they experienced moderate success with songs such as "Life Is But a Dream", "Never" and "I Believe". In the 1970s and 1980s, an oldies revival scene began and the Earls re-experienced success and became one of the most requested popular groups in the doo-wop genre. The group still continues to perform.
The Doo Wop Royal All Stars was formed in 1992 as one of the first "supergroups" in to the doo wop music genre, combining members from other groups. "It's a show within a show," remarked longtime WCBS FM deejay Bobby Jay. The group remains active today, with various members and led by Daniel Loria, son of founding member Art Loria. It originally performed and recorded as "The Royal All Stars", and has also been known as "Golden Group Memories".
The Jarmels was an American doo wop rhythm and blues group formed in 1959 in Richmond, Virginia best known for their only hit, 1961’s "A Little Bit of Soap".
Eugene Sampson Pitt was a black American musician and the founding member of The Jive Five. He formed a group with some school friends in 1954 called the Genies, in which he was the lead singer. There were no recordings from this group.
"Imagination" is a popular song with music written by Jimmy Van Heusen and the lyrics by Johnny Burke. The song was first published in 1940. The two best-selling versions were recorded by the orchestras of Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey in 1940.
Leon "Lenny" Welch is an American MOR and pop singer.
The Del-Satins were an American vocal group, most active in the early 1960s, who recorded on their own but are best remembered for their harmonies on hit records for Dion and others. They have been described as having "few peers as practitioners of white doo-wop."
Cathy Jean and the Roommates are an American vocal group who recorded in the early 1960s, and had a US pop hit in 1961 with "Please Love Me Forever". A version of the group, fronted by original singer Cathy Jean Giordano, still performs.
Jimmy Merchant is an American singer and musician. He was a member of the doo-wop group The Teenagers. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 as a member of the Teenagers. He retired from The Teenagers in 2005.
The Bop Chords were a musical group from Harlem, New York, founded in 1955. They had a hit record titled Castle in the Sky.
Cigars, Acappella, Candy is an album by the American singing group the Belmonts, release in 1972. To coincide with a doo-wop television special, Spike Lee & Company: Do It a Cappella, the album was rereleased by Elektra Records in 1990, at the same time as the Persuasions' Chirpin'.
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