Johnny Keyes and the Magnificents are an
American doo wop group from the 1950s. The group sometimes backs up
Harvey Fuqua
Harvey Fuqua (July 27, 1929 – July 6, 2010) was an American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive.
Fuqua founded the seminal R&B/doo-wop group the Moonglows in the 1950s. He is notable as one of th ...
as
The Moonglows
The Moonglows were an American R&B group in the 1950s. Their song " Sincerely" went to number 1 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and number 20 on the ''Billboard'' Juke Box chart.
They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
...
and Hal Miller as
The Rays.
The members of the group
Johnny Keyes (
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
lead), Thurman "Ray" Ramsey (tenor), Fred Rakestraw (tenor), and Willie Myles (
bass), were mentored by a local
disc jockey
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...
, The Magnificent Montague. The group's first session in January 1956 yielded the group's only
hit single, "Up on the Mountain.". It went to #9 on the ''
Billboard''
R&B chart. "Why Did She Go" was also recorded at the same session.
On July 13, 1956, the Magnificents returned for a second session, but all four sides were rejected. A few days later all four numbers were re-recorded, leading to two singles, "Caddy Bo" and "Off the Mountain." Montague thought a change was needed in the group, mainly the additional sound of a female voice. The new members were Barbara Arrington and L. C. Cooke, brother of
Sam Cooke, and Ray Ramsey left. Arrington sang lead on "Caddy Bo" (Vee-Jay 208), which was released in August 1956, and Keyes sang lead on "Off the Mountain" (Vee-Jay 235), which saw release in January 1957.
The Magnificents sang "Caddy Bo", with Sophia Wolff singing the part of Barbara Arrington, and backed by the Crown Vics, in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, on May 16, 2009 at the Be Bop Battlin' Ball at Hubcaps. The group still featured original member Keyes.
References
External links
Info page about The Magnificents
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keyes, Johnny and the Magnificents
American rhythm and blues musical groups