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The Marcels were an American
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, Chica ...
group known for turning
popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
songs into
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
. The group formed in 1959 in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, Pennsylvania and signed to
Colpix Records Colpix Records was the first recording company for Columbia Pictures–Screen Gems. Colpix got its name from combining Columbia (Col) and Pictures (Pix). CBS, which owned Columbia Records, then sued Columbia Pictures for trademark infringement ov ...
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 Marcelling is a hair styling technique in which hot curling tongs are used to induce a curl into the hair. Its appearance was similar to that of a finger wave but it is created using a different method. Marcelled hair was a popular style for w ...
, by Fred Johnson's younger sister Priscilla.


Career

In 1961, the Marcels released a
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, Chica ...
cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...
of the
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
"
Blue Moon A blue moon is an additional full moon that appears in a subdivision of a year: the third of four full moons in a season. The phrase in modern usage has nothing to do with the actual color of the Moon, although a visually blue Moon (the Moon a ...
" that began with the bass singer singing, "bomp-baba-bomp-ba-bomp-ba-bomp-bomp... vedanga-dang-dang-vadinga-dong-ding...". The record sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. It is featured in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. The disc went to number one in the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. In the US, additional revivals in the same vein as "Blue Moon"—" Heartaches" and " My Melancholy Baby"—were less successful, although "Heartaches" peaked at No. 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and eventually sold over one million copies worldwide. The introduction to "Blue Moon" was an excerpt of an original song that the group had in its act, a cover of "Zoom" by the Cadillacs. Colpix A&R director Stu Phillips transferred the introduction to "Blue Moon" to give the song additional flair. The Marcels recorded "Blue Moon" in two takes. A promotion man asked for and got a copy of the finished tape, which found its way to DJ Murray the K. He promoted it as an "exclusive" and reportedly played it 26 times on one show. In August 1961, due to racial problems encountered while touring in the
Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...
because of the group being multi-racial, Knauss and Bricker and Daniel Mercado left and were replaced by Allen Johnson (brother of Fred) and Walt Maddox and Mundy. In 1962, Harp and Allen Johnson left and were replaced by Richard Harris and William Herndon. There was a brief reunion of the original members in 1973. The group made several recordings in 1975 with Harp back on lead. Original member Gene Bricker died on December 10, 1983. Allen Johnson died of cancer on September 28, 1995 at age 55. By the early 1990s, the group included Johnson, Maddox, Harris, Jules Hopson, and Richard Merritt. The group split around 1995. Fred Johnson formed his own group with new members, while the other four members recruited new bassist Ted Smith. Maddox won a lawsuit against Sunny James Cvetnic, the manager of Johnson's group, for trademark infringement in 1996. Johnson reunited with Harp, Mundy and Knauss in 1999 for the
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
special ''
Doo Wop 50 Doo Wop 50 was a PBS pledge drive special created and produced for PBS member station WQED-TV by TJ Lubinsky, grandson of Herman Lubinsky (founder of Savoy Records). The special was inspired by a 1994 CD box-set of doo wop music produced and sold b ...
''. The Marcels were inducted into the
Vocal Group Hall of Fame The Vocal Group Hall of Fame (VGHF) is an American-based hall of fame that honors vocal groups throughout the world in every genre of music. Headquartered in the Columbia Theatre in Sharon, Pennsylvania, it includes a theater and a museum. It was ...
in 2002. Original lead singer Cornelius "Nini" Harp died on June 4, 2013 at the age of 73. Ronald "Bingo" Mundy (born on April 20, 1940) died of pneumonia on January 20, 2017, at the age of 76. Fred Johnson died March 31, 2022, aged 80.


Discography


Albums


Singles


Chart performance

"
Blue Moon A blue moon is an additional full moon that appears in a subdivision of a year: the third of four full moons in a season. The phrase in modern usage has nothing to do with the actual color of the Moon, although a visually blue Moon (the Moon a ...
" *No.1 U.S. *No.1 U.K. *No.1 Australia2UE Top 40 Official Music Charts for Sydney, Australia 1961, 1962 and 1963 *No.1 Ger/Fra *No.1 N.Z. " Summertime" *No.78 U.S. *No.38 Australia *No.12 N.Z. " Heartaches" *No.7 U.S. *No.3 U.K. *No.15 Australia " My Melancholy Baby" *No.30 U.K. *No.7 Australia "Flowerpot" *No.10 N.Z. "Friendly Loans" *No.75 U.S. *No.31 Australia "Teeter-Totter Love" (1963 version) *No.2 Australia (The song was well received in the city of Adelaide where it reached No.2 in August 1963)7KW Official Big 60 for South Australia including Barossa Valleys and Adelaide City Centre for 1961 through 1966


Filmography

* '' Twist Around the Clock'' (1961) The Marcels' popularity in 1961 was so great that they were included in the Oscar Rudolph film '' Twist Around the Clock''. Released on December 30, 1961, with the tagline "It's Twist-eriffic! The first full-length movie about the Twist!" the film also showcased fellow artists
Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including The Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighte ...
, Dion DiMucci,
Vicki Spencer __NOTOC__ Vicki Spencer (born 1945) is an American pop and rock singer. Spencer is the daughter of dancer Lou Spencer (of the Dunhill Trio dance team). She appeared as a teenage ingénue singer in two 1961 teen-oriented movies, ''Teenage Milliona ...
and singer-songwriter and TV show host turned actor
Clay Cole Clay Cole (born Albert Franklin Rucker Jr.; January 1, 1938 – December 18, 2010) was an American host and disk jockey, best known for his eponymous television dance program, ''The Clay Cole Show'', which aired in New York City on WNTA-TV and ...
. Allen Johnson, Gene Bricker, Cornelius Harp, Fred Johnson, Richard Knauss and Ronald Mundy of The Marcels were all included—and had speaking parts in addition to performing musical numbers. They sing "Merry Twist-Mas", which was released over Christmas 1961, though no chart action ensued. * '' Bikini Beach'' (1964) This
Annette Funicello Annette Joanne Funicello (October 22, 1942 – April 8, 2013) was an American actress and singer. Funicello began her professional career as a child performer at the age of twelve. She was one of the most popular Mouseketeers on the orig ...
and Frankie Avalon movie, about a millionaire who sets out to prove his theory that his pet chimpanzee is as intelligent as the teenagers who hang out on the local beach where he is intending to build a retirement home but ends in hilarious results, also included two of The Marcels, Gene Bricker and Cornelius Harp. They provided backing vocals for two songs, Avalon's "Gimme Your Love Yeah Yeah Yeah" and Little
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
's "(Happy Feelin') Dance And Shout".


References


External links


Walt Maddox's Marcels
* Vocal Group Hall of Fame Foundationbr>The Marcels (Inducted 2002)
*
Marv Goldberg Marv Goldberg (born 1944) is an American writer and historian of music in the field of rhythm & blues. Biography Goldberg grew up in the Bronx, New York and was a graduate of Stuyvesant High School (1960), City College of New York (Biology; 1964 ...
's article on The Marcels
R & B Notebooks: The Marcels
* * *



{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcels, The Musical groups established in 1959 Musical groups disestablished in 1995 Colpix Records artists Doo-wop groups Musical groups from Pittsburgh 1959 establishments in Pennsylvania 1972 disestablishments in Pennsylvania