The Kirby Stone Four were an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
vocal ensemble popular in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Kirby Stone founded the group in the years after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and began playing clubs in the New York area. They won slots on local television, including ''
The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...
'',
and soon after signed to
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
. Several
LPs followed, including ''Baubles, Bangles and Beads''; their version of the song "
Baubles, Bangles and Beads
"Baubles, Bangles & Beads" is a popular song from the 1953 musical '' Kismet'', credited to Robert Wright and George Forrest.
Background
Like almost all the music in that show, the melody was based on works by Alexander Borodin, in this case th ...
" became a hit in the U.S. in 1958, reaching No. 25 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
The song was also nominated for a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
.
On the strength of the single, the album reached No. 13 on the
''Billboard'' 200.
Among the backing musicians that played on Kirby Stone Four albums were Jimmy Carroll's orchestra, the
Kai Winding
Kai Chresten Winding ( ; May 18, 1922 – May 6, 1983) was a Danish-born American trombonist and jazz composer. He is known for his collaborations with fellow trombonist J. J. Johnson. His version of "More", the theme from the movie ''Mondo Ca ...
Quartet,
Alvino Rey
Alvin McBurney (July 1, 1908 – February 24, 2004), known by his stage name Alvino Rey, was an American jazz guitarist and bandleader.
Career
Alvin McBurney was born in Oakland, California, United States, but grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. Early i ...
,
Shelly Manne
Sheldon "Shelly" Manne (June 11, 1920 – September 26, 1984) was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, s ...
, and
Al Klink
Al Klink (December 28, 1915 in Danbury, Connecticut – March 7, 1991 in Bradenton, Florida) was an American swing jazz tenor saxophonist.
Career
Klink played with Glenn Miller from 1939 to 1942, and is a featured soloist, along with Tex B ...
.
Their style, which melded
swing jazz
Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. The name derived from its emphasis on the off-beat, or nominally weaker beat. Swing bands ...
,
vocalese
Vocalese is a style of jazz singing in which words are added to an instrumental soloist's improvisation.
Definition
Vocalese uses recognizable lyrics that are sung to pre-existing instrumental solos, as opposed to scat singing, which uses nonsen ...
, and early
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 ...
, was referred to as "The Go Sound".
[ They made many appearances on U.S. television shows such as '']The Judy Garland Show
''The Judy Garland Show'' is an American Variety show, musical variety television series that aired on CBS on Sunday nights during the 1963–1964 television season. Despite a sometimes stormy relationship with Judy Garland, CBS had found succes ...
'' and ''The Dean Martin Show
''The Dean Martin Show'', not to be confused with the ''Dean Martin Variety Show'' (1959–1960), is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by Dean Martin. The theme song to the s ...
'' into the mid-1960s. By that time their sound was taken over by the Ray Conniff
Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s.
Biography
Conniff was born November 6, 1916 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United St ...
Orchestra and Singers. In 1966, they recorded a rock & roll album with the Tokens
The Tokens were an American doo-wop band and record production company group from Brooklyn, New York City. The group has had four top 40 hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, all in the 1960s, their biggest being the chart-topping 1961 hit singl ...
as the United States Double Quartet. During this time Stone directed several TV variety show
Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...
s.
Some of their output has been re-released on CD by Collectables Records
Collectables is a reissue record label founded in 1980 by Jerry Greene. Jerry Greene formed Lost Nite and Crimson record labels. Soul Survivors gained the hit "Expressway to Your Heart" (1967) while on Crimson Records.
History
It maintains a ca ...
.
Members
*Kirby Stone (born April 27, 1918, New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, died July 13, 1981)
*Eddie Hall (born Edwin Holzman; April 23, 1921 – November 16, 2012)
Discography
*''Man, I Flipped When I Heard the Kirby Stone Four'' (Cadence Records
Cadence Records was an American record company based in New York City whose labels had a picture of a metronome. It was founded by Archie Bleyer, who had been the musical director and orchestra leader for Arthur Godfrey in 1952. Cadence also laun ...
, 1958)
*''Baubles, Bangles and Beads'' (Columbia, 1958) (Released as "Whooping It Up!" in Europe)
*''The Go Sound'' (Columbia, 1959)
*''The Kirby Stone Touch'' (Columbia, 1959)
*''Laugh Along with The Kirby Stone Four at the Playboy Club'' (Columbia, 1961)
*''Get That Ball!'' (Columbia, 1962)
*''Guys And Dolls'' (Columbia, 1962)
*''Rippin' n' Soarin (Coronet Records
Coronet Records is the name of at least three different record companies. One was based in San Francisco in the 1940s and was responsible for the first recordings of Dave Brubeck. Brubeck's Coronet Records disbanded when it couldn't pay its bills ...
, 1963)
*''Wow!'' (Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
, 1963)
*''My Fair Lady Swings'' (Warner Bros. Records., 1964)
*''Things Are Swinging'' (Warner Bros. Records, 1964)
*''Show Time!''
*''Kirby Stone Four Singalong''
*''Kirby Stone Four & The Tokens: Life Is Groovy''
References
{{Authority control
Apex Records artists
Musical groups established in 1957
Musical groups from New York City
Vocal jazz ensembles