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 and roll group.Warner, Jay, American Singing Groups: A History from 1940 to Today (2006), published by Hal Leonard Corporation, at page 137 It peaked at position #14 and #2, respectively, on the ''

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 ...

'' pop and

rhythm-and-blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabul ...

in 1954. Although Gee fell into the Doo Wop genre, and "was the first 1950s doo-wop record to sell over one million records" in that genre, some (including Jay Warner) consider it as the first of the "rock n' roll records".

History

When The Crows started in 1951, practicing sidewalk harmonies, the original members were Daniel "Sonny" Norton (lead), William "Bill" Davis (baritone), Harold Major (tenor), Jerry Wittick (tenor), and Gerald Hamilton (bass). In 1952, Wittick left the group and was replaced by Mark Jackson (tenor and guitarist). They were discovered at

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a not ...

's Wednesday night talent show by talent agent Cliff Martinez and brought to independent producer

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 had just started the

Rama Records Rama Records was a record label founded by George Goldner in 1953 in New York City. It recorded doo-wop groups such as The Crows and The Harptones. Its third release was the one-hit wonder, the song " Gee," by the doo-wop group, The Crows Goldne ...

label. The Crows were the first group signed and the first to record. The first songs they recorded were as backup to singer Viola Watkins. The song " Gee" was the third song recorded during their first recording session, on February 10, 1953. It was put together in a few minutes by group member William Davis, with Watkins credited as co-writer. The song was first released as the B-side of the ballad "I Love You So". However, radio stations began playing " Gee," first in Philadelphia and later in New York and Los Angeles. By January 1954, it had sold 100,000 copies, and by April it entered the national R&B and pop charts, rising to #2 R&B and #14 pop. The song was a huge hit a year after it was recorded. The Crows were a

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

. While " Gee" was on the charts, the record company released a number of other singles by the group, including "Heartbreaker," "Baby," and "Miss You," but none were successful. Their failures and the inability to perform regularly to support their recordings led to the breakup of the group a few months after " Gee" dropped off the

Hit Parade A hit parade is a ranked list of the most popular recordings at a given point in time, usually determined either by sales or airplay. The term originated in the 1930s; ''Billboard'' magazine published its first music hit parade on January 4, 1936 ...

. They maintained the original line up for the entire career of the group, with no hope of a reunion following the deaths of Gerald Hamilton in the 1960s and Daniel Norton in 1972.Warner, Jay, American Singing Groups: A History from 1940 to Today (2006), published by Hal Leonard Corporation, at page 139

References

External links

Biography of The Crows
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crows, The Doo-wop groups Musical groups established in 1951 Musical groups disestablished in 1955 1951 establishments in New York City Musical groups from Harlem