The Five Du-Tones were an American

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 ...

vocal group, who enjoyed success in the

dance craze ''Dance Craze'' is a 1981 American documentary film about the British 2 Tone music genre. The film was directed by Joe Massot, who originally wanted to do a film only about the band Madness, whom he met during their first US tour. Massot lat ...

era of the early 1960s. The group comprised Willie Guest, Robert Hopkins, LeRoy Joyce, Oscar Watson and James West. They came together while attending Patrick Henry High School in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, in 1957.

Career

With Joyce's mother relocating to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, the majority of the group decided to follow her there. With Hopkins and Watson electing to stay in St. Louis, 1960 found the Chicago line-up supplemented by Andrew Butler and Frank McCurrey. Between 1963 and 1966, the Five Du-Tones recorded nine

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

on George Leaner's

One-derful Records One-derful Records was an independent R&B and soul label based in Chicago. Founded by George Leaner (June 1, 1917 – September 18, 1983) in 1962, One-derful was one of the few black-owned labels in Chicago until its demise in 1968. The label is ...

. "Please Change Your Mind" failed to chart, as did "Come Back Baby". The group's third release in 1963 finally got them noticed: "

Shake a Tail Feather "Shake a Tail Feather" is a song written by Otha Hayes, Verlie Rice, and Andre Williams and originally recorded in 1963 by the Chicago-based group the Five Du-Tones. The original recording reached #28 on ''Billboard''s Hot R&B Singles chart and ...

" (co-written by

Andre Williams Andre Williams may refer to: * Andre Williams (musician) * Andre Williams (American football) * Andre Williams, British DJ better known as Shy FX {{hndis, Williams, Andre ...

and Otha Hayes) was played on R&B stations across the country, but it failed to make the sales and chart position the

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

justified. The track peaked at No. 28 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' R&B

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, and No. 51 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The group continued to record fun dance tunes that helped bridge the gap between

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 ...

and soul music. 1963's "The Chicken Astronaut" was an exemplary song of the short-lived "reluctant astronaut" subgenre of

space music Space music, also called spacemusic or space ambient, is a subgenre of new-age music and is described as "tranquil, hypnotic and moving". It is derived from ambient music and is associated with lounge music, easy listening, and elevator music. ...

. Constant touring exacted a heavy toll on the group in terms of creativity and mortality. Aged 26, West died from heart failure in 1963. He was replaced by David Scott, who had been a member of The Five Du-Tones touring backing band, The Exciters. Next was "The Gouster" backed with "Monkey See Monkey Do." The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

got some airplay, but neither track built on the success of its predecessor. "Nobody But (My Baby)" did even worse, so they tried another dance craze, "The Cool Bird". 1965 saw "Sweet Lips" and "The Woodbine Twine". The last Five Du-Tones single, a ballad called "Mountain of Love" was released in 1966; they disbanded in 1967. The group's lead singer, Andrew Butler, eventually moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and joined a latter-day version of

The Rivingtons The Rivingtons were a 1960s doo-wop band, known for their 1962 novelty hit "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow". The members were lead vocalist Carl White (June 21, 1932 - January 7, 1980), tenor Al Frazier (d. November 13, 2005), baritone Sonny Harris, and bas ...

. After their dissolution due to illness, Butler worked in various versions of other 1950s

groups, such as Billy Richard's Coasters and

The Robins The Robins were a successful and influential American R&B group of the late 1940s and 1950s, one of the earliest such vocal groups who established the basic pattern for the doo-wop sound. They were founded by Ty Terrell, and twin brothers Bi ...

. "Shake a Tail Feather" was covered by

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

together with the

Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respective ...

, and featured in a prominent choreography scene in ''

The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respective ...

'' (1980). It was also featured on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

of the 1988

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

''.

Selected discography

(all records issued on the One-derful record label): *1963, "Shake a Tail Feather" / "Divorce Court" *1963, "Dry Your Eyes" / "Come Back Baby" *1963, "The Flea" / "Please Change Your Mind" *1963, "The Chicken Astronaut" / "The Cool Bird" *1964, "Nobody But (My Baby)" / "That's How I Love You" *1964, "The Gouster" / "Monkey See-Monkey Do" *1965, "The Woodbine Twine" / "We Want More" *1965, "Sweet Lips" / "Let Me Love You"

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Five Du-Tones, The American soul musical groups Musical groups from St. Louis One-derful Records artists