The Fiestas were an American
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 ...
musical group from
Newark
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, United States.
Organized in 1958, The Fiestas contracted with
Old Town Records Old Town Records was a record label set up by Hy Weiss in New York City. It operated between 1953 and 1966, and was responsible for several R&B and doo-wop hit records.
Weiss, who was born in Romania, lived in the Bronx from the 1920s, and began ...
company in 1959,
after the company's owner,
Hy Weiss
Hyman Y. "Hy" Weiss (February 12, 1923 – March 20, 2007) was an American record producer of pop and rhythm and blues music in the 1950s and 1960s, and the founder of Old Town Records.
Biography
Born to a Jewish family in Cuca, Argeș County, ...
, overheard the group singing in a bathroom adjacent to his office in
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
.
[ The Fiestas Biography ]AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
Their debut single was 1959's "
So Fine", written by groups guitar player
Frank Ingalls
Frank or Franks may refer to:
People
* Frank (given name)
* Frank (surname)
* Franks (surname)
* Franks, a medieval Germanic people
* Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang
Curr ...
,
Samuel Ingalls
Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bib ...
brother; the song was a hit in the U.S., reaching number 3 on the R&B Singles chart and number 11 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100,
with "Last Night I Dreamed" on the flip side. A series of
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
singles followed from the group, among them "You Could Be My Girlfriend", "Anna", and "Think Smart", but only 1962's "Broken Heart" managed to chart, scoring number 18 on the R&B Singles chart.
[
Ending their relationship with Old Town, the group later recorded for the Strand and Vigor labels, releasing music into the mid-1970s.]
"So Fine" later featured in the video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
, ''LittleBigPlanet 3
''LittleBigPlanet 3'' is a puzzle-platform game developed by Sumo Digital for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. It was released worldwide through November and December 2014, and it is the third entry in the main ''LittleBigPlanet'' series, an ...
''.
The group's last television appearance was on the PBS showcase (Rock at 50) recorded May 2003 where they sang "So Fine" at the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts.
Members
*Tommy Bullock
*Eddie Morris
*Sam Ingalls
*Preston Lane
*Bobby Moore
*George Bullock
*Randy Stewart
*Kenneth Hopper
*Wendell Scott
*Wayne Parham
References
External links
The Fiestas biography by J.C. Marion
* ttp://www.soulfulkindamusic.net/fiestas.htm The Fiestas discography on soulfulkindamusic.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiestas, The
Musical groups from New Jersey
American rhythm and blues musical groups