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It's Unbelievable
"It's Unbelievable" was a hit for Philadelphia doo wop group The Larks in 1961. It became very popular in Philly as well as become a hit in the pop charts. Background The chance to record the song came about as a result of Weldon McDougal running into Atlantic Records promo man Jerry Ross. After the auditioning for Ross, the Larks recorded around six tracks. In 1961, "It's Unbelievable" was released on the Sheryl label in 1961. The group appeared on American Bandstand to sing their song courtesy of Jerry Ross arranging their appearance. Backing group The group that played on the recording were called The Manhattans. They consisted of drummer Norman Conners, sax player Harrison Scott, guitarist Johnny Stiles, and keyboardist Ruben Wright. Wright was formerly with Philadelphia group The Capris and had written their hit God Only Knows. Chart performance In 1961, the song peaked at No. 69 on the ''Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Larks (Philadelphia Group)
The Four Larks were an R&B group that recorded from the 1960s through to the 1970s on various record labels. Their singles have been released on at least ten different record labels. They had a hit on the pop charts with " It's Unbelievable". Background The Larks were originally started by Weldon McDougal. In 1954, with himself singing bass, and along Calvin Nichols, Mary Archer and brothers Clarence and Bill Blalock, he formed a group called The Victors. Mary Archer was soon replaced by Herman Green. By the end of the year McDougal joined the marines and had a group with the same name while in still in the marines. Having left the service in 1958, he went about reforming The Victors. The only member he could get was Calvin Nichols. He managed to bring in Jackie Marshall, a high tenor. News got out which attracted the attention of Baritone Bill Oxendine who joined up. McDougal's wife Cleopatra also joined up and the group's membership became five. He also changed the name of the g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Bandstand
''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the program's producer. It featured teenagers dancing to Top 40 music introduced by Clark; at least one popular musical act—over the decades, running the gamut from Jerry Lee Lewis to Run–D.M.C.—usually appeared in person to lip-sync one of their latest singles. Freddy Cannon holds the record for most appearances, at 110. The show's popularity helped Dick Clark become an American media mogul and inspired similar long-running music programs, such as '' Soul Train'' and British series ''Top of the Pops''. Clark eventually assumed ownership of the program through his Dick Clark Productions company. Background ''American Bandstand'' premiered locally in late March 1952 as ''Bandstand'' on Philadelphia television station WFIL-TV Channel 6 (n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Collectables Records
Collectables is a reissue record label founded in 1980 by Jerry Greene. Jerry Greene formed Lost Nite and Crimson record labels. Soul Survivors gained the hit "Expressway to Your Heart" (1967) while on Crimson Records. History It maintains a catalogue of over 3,400 active titles on compact disc, with thousands of additional titles available on vinyl. It has released hundreds of recordings from the vaults of major labels, such as Columbia, Atlantic, RCA, Capitol, Vee-Jay and others, making many available on CD for the first time. Genres found on Collectables include doo-wop, rockabilly, rock'n'roll, pop, rock, funk, jazz, comedy, blues, and funk blues. Collectables released Johnny "Guitar" Watson, the Cleftones, and doo wop albums. Collectables publishes the ''Priceless Collection'' series of budget compilations. Many of the label's other releases combine the contents of two original LPs on a single CD. The company also manufactures multi-CD compilation box sets sold exclusivel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eric Records
Eric Records is an American record company that produced singles from 1968 to 1996 mainly with reissues of successful oldies, continuing today with compact disc compilations. History Eric Records was founded in 1968 by Bill Buster in Philadelphia with the intention to re-release old songs of popular pop music in the original version as heard on the radio. He started with the Paris Sisters, of which he brought their successful titles ''I Love How You Love Me'' and ''He Know's I Love Him Too Much'' of 1961 and 1962 to the market. As a result, Buster published a series of evergreens and lesser-known titles. While the majority of the titles were number-one hits and re-released between 1950 and 1979, others such as Jerry Butler's ''For Your Precious Love'' (ranked 99 in the Billboard pop chart) also hit the market. In 1974, the company was relocated to New Jersey. When vinyl records were superseded by the compact disc in the early 1990s, Eric Records switched its production t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billboard (magazine)
''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music industry. Its music charts include the Hot 100, the 200, and the Global 200, tracking the most popular albums and songs in different genres of music. It also hosts events, owns a publishing firm, and operates several TV shows. ''Billboard'' was founded in 1894 by William Donaldson and James Hennegan as a trade publication for bill posters. Donaldson later acquired Hennegan's interest in 1900 for $500. In the early years of the 20th century, it covered the entertainment industry, such as circuses, fairs, and burlesque shows, and also created a mail service for travelling entertainers. ''Billboard'' began focusing more on the music industry as the jukebox, phonograph, and radio became commonplace. Many topics it covered were spun-off ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Discogs
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the largest online database of electronic music, the site now includes releases in all genres on all formats. After the database was opened to contributions from the public, rock music began to become the most prevalent genre listed. , Discogs contains over 15.7 million releases, by over 8.3 million artists, across over 1.9 million labels, contributed from over 644,000 contributor user accounts – with these figures constantly growing as users continually add previously unlisted releases to the site over time. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc. and located in Portland, Oregon, United States. History The discogs.com domain name was registered in August 2000, and Discogs itself ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Capris (Philadelphia Group)
The Capris were a 1950s doo-wop group from Philadelphia who started out in their teens. They consisted of four males and a female. They recorded singles for the Gotham Records label. The song that they are most known for is "God Only Knows". Background The group started out in the early 1950s as The Uniques. They all came from the same neighborhood. Their early line-up consisted of Ruben Wright on piano, Harrison Scott on alto sax, Robert "Bobby" Smart on guitar, Gus Crawford on drums and a bass player called Jerome, together with a male singer whose name has now been lost to time.Classic Urban Harmony ''Echoes of the Past'', Issue #97, Philadelphia’s Original Capris by Charlie HornerWith contributions from Pamela Horner, Article page 1/ref> Later, as The Capris, they were a male vocal quintet, originally comprising Ruben Wright, Charlie Stroud, Eddie Warner, Harrison Scott and Bobby Smart.AllMusic -The Capris, Biography by Jim Dunn/ref> At that time the ages of the members of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruben Wright
Ruben Wright is a musician and former bandleader from Philadelphia. He had an R&B Top 30 hit with " I'm Walking Out On You". He is also a songwriter. He also wrote the regional hit "God Only Knows" for The Capris in 1954. Background Wright was a member of an early 1950s group called The Uniques, in which he played piano. All of the members came from the same neighborhood. The group later evolved into the Capris. At that time the group's ages ranged from 15 to 16. In June 1954, the group was signed to Gotham Records, and recorded the Wright-penned "God Only Knows", featuring female singer Renee Hinton on lead. The Capris broke up after their final single in 1958, and Wright began his solo career. Career The single "Girls Make Me Nervous" bw "Love Is Gone" was released on the Wynne label in 1958. The B side "Love Is Gone" was composed by Eddie Warner and it has been suggested that some of the backing singers were members of The Capris. His next single "To You" bw "Bye Bye" was rele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billboard Magazine
''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music industry. Its music charts include the Hot 100, the 200, and the Global 200, tracking the most popular albums and songs in different genres of music. It also hosts events, owns a publishing firm, and operates several TV shows. ''Billboard'' was founded in 1894 by William Donaldson and James Hennegan as a trade publication for bill posters. Donaldson later acquired Hennegan's interest in 1900 for $500. In the early years of the 20th century, it covered the entertainment industry, such as circuses, fairs, and burlesque shows, and also created a mail service for travelling entertainers. ''Billboard'' began focusing more on the music industry as the jukebox, phonograph, and radio became commonplace. Many topics it covered were spun-off into ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doo Wop
Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and 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, DC, 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 (such as "doo-wop") 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.Hoffmann, FRoots of Rock: Doo-Wop In ''Survey of American Popular Music'', modified for the web by Robert Birklin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most important American labels, specializing in jazz, R&B, and soul by Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett, Sam and Dave, Ruth Brown and Otis Redding. Its position was greatly improved by its distribution deal with Stax. In 1967, Atlantic became a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, now the Warner Music Group, and expanded into rock and pop music with releases by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Led Zeppelin, and Yes. In 2004, Atlantic and its sister label Elektra were merged into the Atlantic Records Group. Craig Kallman is the chairman of Atlantic. Ahmet Ertegun served as founding chairman until his death on December 14, 2006, at age 83. History Founding and early history In 1944, brothers Nesuhi and Ahmet Erte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weldon McDougal
Weldon McDougal was a singer, songwriter, record producer and a record label executive. He also founded the Philadelphia recording group The Larks. He produced "Yes I'm Ready" for Barbara Mason. As a song writer, along with Guy Hemric and Jerry Styner, he co-wrote "Doing It Right" for The Go! Team which appeared on their ''Proof of Youth'' album. Band membership He is credited as the founder of the Philadelphia group, The Larks. In 1954, he was singing bass. Along with Calvin Nichols, Mary Archer and the Blalock brothers, Clarence & Bill Blalock, he started a group called The Victors. Not long after the formation, Mary Archer left the group and her replacement was Herman Green. The progress of the Victors was interrupted with McDougal joining the marines at the end of the year. While in still in the marines, he was performing in a group with the same name. He left the service in 1958, and went about reforming The Victors. The only member he could get was Calvin Nichols. He manag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
