The Cleftones were an American vocal group formed in 1955, who were then called The Silvertones at Junior High School 40 in Jamaica, Queens,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Formation

In 1955, the members of the group were high school students attending

Jamaica High School Jamaica High School was a four-year public high school in Jamaica, Queens, New York. It was operated by the New York City Department of Education. Jamaica High School was founded as the Union Free School in 1854, and located within a three-stor ...

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, New York. The group initially formed around the idea of writing a political campaign jingle for Jamaica High School's Independent Party, an unpopular group of students "made up of people who were typically also-rans in all the school activities", which included future members of The Cleftones. With this aim, Herbie Cox (lead singer), along with classmates Charlie James McGhee (first tenor), Berman Patterson (second tenor), Warren Corbin (bass) and William "Buzzy" McClane (baritone), changed the lyrics to "Gee", a then-popular rhythm-and-blues song by

The Crows The Crows were an American R&B singing group formed in 1951 who achieved commercial success in the 1950s. The group's first single and only hit, " Gee", released in June 1953, has been credited with being the first rock n’ roll hit by a rock ...

. Performing their version of "Gee" resulted in making the Independent Party popular and winning the school elections. The group began performing locally as "The Silvertones" in a variety of neighborhood concerts, such as at Hillcrest Jewish Center Day Camp in Queens. The hit song "Gee" was originally produced by "gruff music industry legend"

George Goldner George Goldner (February 9, 1918 – April 15, 1970) was an American record label owner, record producer and promoter who played an important role in establishing the popularity of rock and roll in the 1950s, by recording and promoting many ...

, who also signed the group, now renamed "The Cleftones", to a recording contract in 1955.

Hits and recordings

In their first effort as professional musicians, Corbin and Patterson wrote "You Baby You," which became a hit in 1955. Herb Cox then wrote "Little Girl of Mine" and "Can't We Be Sweethearts," for the group. However, after a few minor hits ("Why You Do Me Like You Do" & "See You Next Year") their next major hits would not come until years later. In 1961 the second generation of The Cleftones included Herb Cox, Charlie James, Warren Corbin, Gene Pearson (baritone from The Rivileers who replaced baritone William "Buzzy" McClane) and new addition Pat Spann, the first and only female to sing with the group. In 1961 they reached #18 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart with " Heart and Soul," a rearrangement of the 1938 song of the same name (a Number #1 by

Larry Clinton Larry Clinton (August 17, 1909 – May 2, 1985) was an American musician, best known as a trumpeter who became a prominent American bandleader and arranger. Biography Clinton was born in Brooklyn, New York, United States. He became a ver ...

and his orchestra, with

Bea Wain Beatrice Ruth Wain (April 30, 1917 – August 19, 2017) was an American Big Band-era singer and radio personality born in the Bronx, New York City. She had several hits with Larry Clinton and His Orchestra, including "My Reverie", "Deep Purple" ...

on vocals). The group followed that song with "For Sentimental Reasons" (1962), a rearrangement of a 1936 song of the same name. However, the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on ...

of the mid-1960s took the audiences of The Cleftones and other doo-wop groups. Gene Pearson left to sing with The Drifters from 1962 to 1966. The Cleftones broke up in 1964, three years after their "Heart and Soul" greatest success. In 2000, tenor Berman Patterson characterized his experience with The Cleftones: Lead singer Herb Cox (born Herbert Alexander Cox on May 6, 1938) died in

Fayetteville, Georgia Fayetteville is a city in and the county seat of Fayette County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 18,957, up from 15,945 at the 2010 census. Fayetteville is located south of downtown Atlanta. In 2015 ...

on December 7, 2019, at the age of 81.

Songs featured in selected films

* "Can't We Be Sweethearts" appeared in the film ''

Goodfellas ''Goodfellas'' (stylized ''GoodFellas'') is a 1990 American biographical crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Nicholas Pileggi and Scorsese, and produced by Irwin Winkler. It is a film adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book '' W ...

''. * " Heart and Soul" appeared in the films ''

American Graffiti ''American Graffiti'' is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard (billed as Ronny ...

'', ''

Mischief Mischief or malicious mischief is the name for a criminal offenses that is defined differently in different legal jurisdictions. While the wrongful acts will often involve what is popularly described as vandalism, there can be a legal different ...

'' and '' Family Guy''. * "Little Girl of Mine" appeared in the film '' A Bronx Tale''. * "Lover Boy" appeared in the film ''

Drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" ...

''. * "My Angel Lover" appeared in the film '' Susie Q''.

References

External links

Cleftones biography, discography, photos, and further links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleftones African-American musical groups Apex Records artists Doo-wop groups Musical groups established in 1955 1955 establishments in New York City Musical groups from Queens, New York