OT: The Flamingos

[Bama fan]

I heard this song by the Flamingos in the soundtrack of a television series episode. I forgot how perfectly clear and mellow Nate Nelson"s voice was. Listen to this, please. it will make you happy and aid your sleep tonight.

 

[donalddoowop]

He had one of the prettiest voices of any lead singer regardless of the kind of music. I noticed it when I first heard "I'll Be Home", a song Pat Boone tried to sing. The Flamingos and the Spaniels, with James "Pookie" Hudson, were two of the best vocal groups of ALL time. You know I had to comment on your post.

 

[Bama fan]

He had one of the prettiest voices of any lead singer regardless of the kind of music. I noticed it when I first heard "I'll Be Home", a song Pat Boone tried to sing. The Flamingos and the Spaniels, with James "Pookie" Hudson, were two of the best vocal groups of ALL time. You know I had to comment on your post.

I would have been crushed had you not! BTW, the Spaniels recorded a similar title with "Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight" with Pookie Hudson singing lead. Tony Williams of the Platters and Marvin Junior of the Dells were also wonderful vocalists. And I love the "Pat Boone tried to sing" comment. Do you recall his stirring rendition of Tutti Frutti? A literal whitewash.

 

[Bronxjeff]

Very, very beautiful!

But a Bronx boy can't let it go by without a mention of the Belmonts:

 

[donalddoowop]

Very, very beautiful!

But a Bronx boy can't let it go by without a mention of the Belmonts:

I wonder if anyone on here is from Pittsburgh then they could mention the Skyliners, one of the best ever. Dion and his Belmonts were good. "Where or When" was a really good song by them, a remake of a very popular standard. Didn't you have other good groups from the Bronx? The "Harptones" maybe? How far is the Bronx from Spanish Harlem?

 

[donalddoowop]

I would have been crushed had you not! BTW, the Spaniels recorded a similar title with "Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight" with Pookie Hudson singing lead. Tony Williams of the Platters and Marvin Junior of the Dells were also wonderful vocalists. And I love the "Pat Boone tried to sing" comment. Do you recall his stirring rendition of Tutti Frutti? A literal whitewash.

Yes, I remeber him singing Tutti Frutti and the McGuire Sisters singing Goodnight Sweetheart and Sincerely . They and others messed up a number of good songs but made more money than the original artists. Pat Boone sounded foolish singing Tutti Frutti.

 

[JordyG]

My favorite voice from a group of that era, bar none. The incomparable Tony Williams.

 

[JordyG]

And then just a few years later came my second favorite voice from a group. The first "dangerous" singing Will Robinson. A man I had the honor of seeing 5 times in person. Check out how smooth background singers had to be by that time.

 

[Aluminny69]

So many great doo-wop singers! Can't forget Lee Andrews:

 

[Bama fan]

I wonder if anyone on here is from Pittsburgh then they could mention the Skyliners, one of the best ever. Dion and his Belmonts were good. "Where or When" was a really good song by them, a remake of a very popular standard. Didn't you have other good groups from the Bronx? The "Harptones" maybe? How far is the Bronx from Spanish Harlem?

When I was young, my uncle owned a nightclub on Route 51 in a suburb of Pittsburgh. The Skyliners appeared there when they were getting started. I was too young to go the club, but their records played often on local radio. They were great. The female singer with the fine soprano committed suicide at the young age of 37. Most of the original group were my brothers age, and were from a neighborhood of Pittsburgh that is a couple miles from where we lived then. BTW, the Bronx is just across the Harlem river from El Barrio.

 

[Aluminny69]

And don't forget Willie Winfield!

 

[mbr33ct]

He had me at the first "goodnight".

 

[wire chief]

Flamingos were in my top 3 back then. If you're still listening, give " Love Walked In" a try.

 

[Aluminny69]

Here's Jimmy Beaumont singing a song he co-wrote:

 

[Bronxjeff]

I wonder if anyone on here is from Pittsburgh then they could mention the Skyliners, one of the best ever. Dion and his Belmonts were good. "Where or When" was a really good song by them, a remake of a very popular standard. Didn't you have other good groups from the Bronx? The "Harptones" maybe? How far is the Bronx from Spanish Harlem?

Basically across the Harlem River and a bit downtown. Or couple of subway / elevated stops.

 

[Aluminny69]

Don't forget the New Haven CT groups! Here's the Nutmegs, acappella

 

[Bama fan]

Yes, I remeber him singing Tutti Frutti and the McGuire Sisters singing Goodnight Sweetheart and Sincerely . They and others messed up a number of good songs but made more money than the original artists. Pat Boone sounded foolish singing Tutti Frutti.

Here is the original Sincerely by Harvey Fuqua and the Moonglows. Alan Freed , the dee jay, wrote this with Harvey.


.

 

[Scud49]

That Philly sound, hauntingly beautiful, and that bass line....

 

[Jmsdawg]

My favorite was the Duprees and my favorite song was “You Belong To Me”!

 

[Bronxjeff]

Don't forget the New Haven CT groups! Here's the Nutmegs, acappella

Wow! They are great.

 

[Bama fan]

Don't forget the New Haven CT groups! Here's the Nutmegs, acappella


Story Untold was a great song originally done by the Nutmegs. In another example of whitewashing the Crew Cuts released their cover later in 1955. Here is the 1955 original.

 

[donalddoowop]

Here is the original Sincerely by Harvey Fuqua and the Moonglows. Alan Freed , the dee jay, wrote this with Harvey.


.

Surely you know that Bobby Lester was the lead on Sincerely and most of their early hits. For some reason Harvey did not like him and they eventually split. Alan Freed did not co-write Sincerely. He was like a number of DJ's back then who wanted their names listed on the records so they could get residuals from sales. Because they allowed Freed to include his name he kind of adopted them and gave them the name Moonglows based on his Moondoggies show or something to that effect. He also allowed them to appear on his big shows. He wanted the Spaniels to include his name as co-writer on Goodnight Sweetheart, but they would not let him. As a result, Freed never allowed the Spaniels to appear on his shows. Later on Bobby Lester said the Moonglows regretted allowing Freed to use his name on Sincerely as co writer.

 

[Bama fan]

Surely you know that Bobby Lester was the lead on Sincerely and most of their early hits. For some reason Harvey did not like him and they eventually split. Alan Freed did not co-write Sincerely. He was like a number of DJ's back then who wanted their names listed on the records so they could get residuals from sales. Because they allowed Freed to include his name he kind of adopted them and gave them the name Moonglows based on his Moondoggies show or something to that effect. He also allowed them to appear on his big shows. He wanted the Spaniels to include his name as co-writer on Goodnight Sweetheart, but they would not let him. As a result, Freed never allowed the Spaniels to appear on his shows. Later on Bobby Lester said the Moonglows regretted allowing Freed to use his name on Sincerely as co writer.

I know Freed did that with many songs. It was a big part of his downfall. But Harvey was quoted as saying that Freed actually did co -write Sincerely. And I know that Lester was billed as lead and Harvey as second lead. Because the two couldn't co -exist, Harvey broke up the group in !960 or so. So one says Freed and the other says no Freed. Regardless, it was a wonderful song.

 

[donalddoowop]

Don't forget the New Haven CT groups! Here's the Nutmegs, acappella

Every group you mentioned are groups I liked that did not get the credit they deserved, imo, at least not here in St. Louis. This I Swear had one of the prettiest melodies I have ever heard. Beaumont wrote Since I Don't Have You while riding in a car on his way to a recording studio. You know how that turned out. The Nutmegs. I have a pretty song by them that sounds so different from their hit songs. I can't remember the name of it though. I read where Johnny Mathis was on a show with the Harptones and when Willie sang the first few words, "Will you take part in", ( Life Is But A Dream) the crowd erupted and they went on to upstage Ol' Johnny boy.

 

[donalddoowop]

Did anyone on here used to listen to WLAC, in Nashville, Tennessee in the mid to late 1950's? At night when the St. Luois radio stations had closed down for the night I could pick up WLAC and I heard some of the most popular songs in the country that did not come through St. Louis, such as Can I Come Over Tonight by the Velours and Don't Ask Me To Be Lonely by the Dubs. They had four really good dee jays, Gene Nobles, John r, Herman Grizzard, and Hossman. The station did a lot to help R&B music get to be as popular as it became, of course along with Alan Freed. I listened to it every night. By the way Aluminny69, Lee Andrews was one of my favorite lead singers.