The Willows | |
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 The Willows in 1953. | |
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| Years active | c. 1952–1965, 1973, 1983-1989, 1998-present |
The Willows are an American doo-wop group formed in Harlem, New York, in 1952. The group was an influential musical act that performed into the mid-1960s and had a Top 20 R&B hit with "Church Bells May Ring", a song which was covered with greater commercial success by The Diamonds.
Before the Willows, the group was known as the Dovers, which originally built a reputation in Harlem nightclubs and by practicing with other Harlem doo wop acts like Gloria Lynne's all-female group the Deltones. [1] The first line-up included members Bobby Robinson (lead vocals), Richard "Richie" Davis (tenor), Ralph Martin (tenor), Joe Martin (baritone), and John "Scooter" Steele (bass), before Robinson departed to open a record store on 125th Street where he later established Fury Records and Red Robin Records. [2] [3] In 1952, aspiring boxer Tony Middleton joined the Dovers on the nightclub circuit where they became revered for their competitive charisma in battle of the bands-type performances. [2]
Record producer Peter Doraine spectated at one of the Dovers gigs, offered the group his services as manager, and change their name to the Five Willows to record the group's debut single, "Please Baby", for his PeeDee label. Soon after Doraine partnered his company with Victor Allen to form Allen Records, and record the Five Willows' follow-up "My Dear Dearest Darling" in late 1953. [1] [4] Even though it was a regional hit in Harlem and Los Angeles, the group's subsequent offerings on the label did not fare as well and by early 1954 Allen Records had dissolved. [1] In June 1954, the Five Willows signed with Herald Records; however, after two unsuccessful singles, the group was cut from the roster the next year. [5]
Spending all of 1955 performing, the Willows (according to music journalist Patrick Prince "they had dropped the 'Five' after Joe had overslept and missed a matinee show during an Apollo engagement") closed the year by signing with Morty Craft's newly established Melba Records. [5] For the first recording session, the Willows brought "Church Bells May Ring" (originally titled "Church Bells"), a song their previous label rejected, and Craft had newcomer Neil Sedaka overdub chimes onto the recording. [1] When the single was released in early 1956, it became a huge seller in New York, and charted at number 14 on the Billboard R&B chart and number 62 on the Billboard Hot 100. [6] Had it not been for a cover version by the Diamonds, whose rendition reached number 12 nationally, the Willows' version may have obtained even more success, an issue which led to a lawsuit against Craft over royalties that the group eventually won. [5]
In April 1956, the Willows appeared at the Paramount Theater in Brooklyn with other notable doo wop groups such as the Flamingos, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, and the Platters.
Around 1956 John Steele kept missing rehearsals, so Freddy Donovan replaced him as bass. [7]
Tony Middleton left sometime before 1962 and then the group was Richard Davis, Joe Martin, Ralph Martin, and Freddy Donovan. [8]
Although the group never re-entered the national charts, the Willows still performed regularly and recorded with the Melba, Club, El Dorado, Gone, Warwick, and Heidi labels until they disbanded in 1965. The group also had a profound influence on the next wave of doo wop artists like the Drifters, the Harptones, and the Ladders. [2] After a one-off performance in 1973, the Willows reunited for sporadic tours in 1983 until 1989. Surviving group members came together again in 1998 for an East coast tour and appeared on the PBS special Red White and Rock in 2002.
Joe Martin suffered a stroke In 2003, Desi Edwards(Tony Middleton's son) replaced him. [5]
In 2013 The line-up consisted of Tony Middleton, Desi Edwards(baritone), Richard Green (tenor), and Bill Pron (bass). [5] [9]
Freddy Donovan Died In 1986. [10]
John "Scooter" Steele Died In 1997. [11] [5]
Joe Martin died on February 19, 2005, due to congestive heart failure. [12] [5] [13]
Dot Martin (Joe Martin’s wife) passed March 17, 2000, from heart disease.
Ralph Martin died on March 25, 2010, due to colon cancer. [14] [15]
Doo-wop is a genre 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, but continued to influence performers in other genres.
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".
The Harptones are an American doo-wop group, which formed in Manhattan in 1953.
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 Duprees are an American musical group of doo-wop style who had a series of top-ten singles in the early 1960s. Their highest-charting single, "You Belong to Me" reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962. In 1970, they recorded as The Italian Asphalt & Pavement Company.
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.
The Edsels were an American doo-wop group from Campbell Ohio who were active during the late 1950s and early 1960s. The name of the group was originally The Essos, after the oil company, but was changed to match the new Ford automobile, the Edsel. They recorded over 25 songs and had multiple performances on Dick Clark's American Bandstand. The Edsels were one of the few doo-wop groups to sign with a major record label, as most groups of that era found success with small independent labels; before their national hit "Rama Lama Ding Dong", songs like "What Brought Us Together", "Bone Shaker Joe" and "Do You Love Me" helped the group land a major recording contract with Capitol Records in 1961.
The Diamonds are a Canadian vocal quartet that rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s with 16 Billboard hit records. The original members were Dave Somerville (lead), Ted Kowalski (tenor), Phil Levitt (baritone), and Bill Reed (bass). They were most noted for interpreting and introducing rhythm and blues vocal group music to the wider pop music audience. Contrary to a popular myth, the father of Tom Hanks was never a member of the group.
The Mystics are an American rock and roll group that began in Brooklyn, New York, United States, in the late 1950s. The group was known as The Overons, a quintet that, when signed to Laurie Records, consisted of Phil Cracolici, Albee Cracolici, George Galfo, Bob Ferrante, and Al Contrera. Under the direction of their manager, Jim Gribble, The Overons became The Mystics when each group member wrote a name they liked on a slip of paper and placed the papers in a hat; Contrera's choice was drawn.
The El Dorados were an American doo-wop group, who achieved their greatest success with the song "At My Front Door", a no. 1 hit on the US Billboard R&B chart in 1955.
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 G-Clefs were an American doo-wop/rhythm and blues vocal group, from Roxbury, Massachusetts, United States.
The Zircons were a vocalistic musical group in the late 1950s and 1960s with various lineups.
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 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 Bop Chords were a musical group from Harlem, New York, founded in 1955. They had a hit record titled Castle in the Sky.
the willows doo wop.
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