The Sensations 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 ...

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 ...

group from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, United States. The group formed in 1954 under the name the Cavaliers, soon after changing to the Sensations. The group scored two hits on the US

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

in 1956 with the

Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the comp ...

singles "Yes Sir That's My Baby" (#15) and "Please Mr. Disc Jockey" (#13). By 1957 they were managed by

Kae Williams Ulysses Kae Williams (February 4, 1921 – December 29, 1987) was an American DJ, record label owner and record producer, producer, known as one of the earliest local deejays to play the blues music, blues. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, ...

.Jay Warner, ''American Singing Groups: A History from 1940 to Today'' (Hal Leonard Corporation, 2006):287. The group disbanded soon afterwards, and lead singer Yvonne Mills married and started a family. In 1961, bass singer Alphonso Howell persuaded Yvonne Mills Baker that the group should re-form, and they won a contract with

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll ...

subsidiary label

Argo In Greek mythology the ''Argo'' (; in Greek: ) was a ship built with the help of the gods that Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece. The ship has gone on to be used as a motif in a variety of sour ...

. They soon had a hit with a version of "

Music, Music, Music "Music! Music! Music! (Put Another Nickel In)" is a popular song written by Stephen Weiss and Bernie Baum and published in 1950. Background The first recording of the song was by Etienne Paree with Eddie "Piano" Miller, released by Rainbow Rec ...

", which reached #12 on the R&B chart and #54 on the ''

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 ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. A few months later, they released the tune " Let Me In". It was their biggest success, peaking at #2 R&B and #4 on the Hot 100.

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

Allmusic.com However, later releases were less successful and the group broke up. Yvonne Baker later started a solo career, recording a number of tracks that achieved cult status among Northern soul fans, most notably "You Didn’t Say a Word" on

Parkway Records Cameo-Parkway Records was the parent company of Cameo Records and Parkway Records, which were major American Philadelphia-based record labels from 1956 (for Cameo) and 1958 (for Parkway) to 1967. Among the types of music released were doo-wop, d ...

in 1966.

Members

;Early members *Yvonne Mills Baker *Tommy Wicks *Alphonso Howell *Hosea Haralson ;Later members *Yvonne Mills Baker *Alphonso Howell (died on May 7, 1998) *Richard Curtain *Sam Armstrong (died July 11, 2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sensations, The Musical groups from Philadelphia Doo-wop groups Argo Records artists