The Willows are an American
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 formed in
Harlem, New York
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), ...
, in 1952. The group was an influential musical act that performed into the mid-1960s and had a Top 20
R&B hit with "
Church Bells May Ring", a song which was
covered
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of co ...
with greater commercial success by
The Diamonds
The Diamonds are a Canadian vocal quartet that rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s with 16 ''Billboard'' hit records. The original members were Dave Somerville (lead), Ted Kowalski (tenor), Phil Levitt (baritone), and Bill Reed (ba ...
.
History
Before the Willows, the group was known as the Dovers, which originally built a reputation in Harlem nightclubs and by practicing with other Harlem doo wop acts like
Gloria Lynne
Gloria Lynne (born Gloria Wilson; November 23, 1929 – October 15, 2013), also known as Gloria Alleyne, was an American jazz vocalist with a recording career spanning from 1958 to 2007.
Career
Lynne was born in Harlem in 1929 to John and Mary W ...
's all-female group the Deltones.
The first line-up included members
Bobby Robinson (
lead vocals
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...
), Richard "Richie" Davis (
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...
), Ralph Martin (tenor), Joe Martin (
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
), and John "Scooter" Steele (
bass), before Robinson departed to open a record store on
125th Street where he later established
Fury Records
Fury Records was set up by Bobby Robinson in 1957. In 1959 it had a Billboard No.1 hit with ''Kansas City'', sung by Wilbert Harrison. In the early 1970s, it helped launch Grandmaster Flash.
See also
* List of record labels
File:Alvino ...
and
Red Robin Records
Red Robin Records was a record label that began in 1951 as "Robin Records" in New York City. Owner Bobby Robinson was unaware that another company was already using the name "Robin" and after about four releases was forced to change to "Red R ...
.
In 1952, aspiring
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to:
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Boxer or boxers may also refer to:
Animal kingdom
* Boxer crab
* Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans
* Boxer snipe ee ...
Tony Middleton joined the Dovers on the nightclub circuit where they became revered for their competitive charisma in battle of the bands-type performances.
[
]Record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
Peter Doraine spectated at one of the Dovers gigs, offered the group his services as manager, and change their name to the Five Willows to record the group's debut single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
, "Please Baby", for his PeeDee label. Soon after Doraine partnered his company with Victor Allen to form Allen Records, and record the Five Willows' follow-up "My Dear Dearest Darling" in late 1953.[ Even though it was a regional hit in Harlem and Los Angeles, the group's subsequent offerings on the label did not fare as well and by early 1954 Allen Records had dissolved.][ In June 1954, the Five Willows signed with ]Herald Records
Herald Records was an American record label of the 1950s and 1960s.
Herald was founded in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1952 by Fred Mendelsohn. He teamed up with Al Silver and Silver's brother-in-law, who continued Herald Records after Mendelsohn left ...
; however, after two unsuccessful singles, the group was cut from the roster the next year.
Spending all of 1955 performing, the Willows (according to music journalist Patrick Prince "they had dropped the 'Five' after Joe had overslept and missed a matinee show during an Apollo engagement") closed the year by signing with Morty Craft's newly established Melba Records.[ For the first recording session, the Willows brought " Church Bells May Ring" (originally titled "Church Bells"), a song their previous label rejected, and Craft had newcomer ]Neil Sedaka
Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...
overdub chimes
Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillon, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the sound of church bells within a ...
onto the recording.[ When the single was released in early 1956, it became a huge seller in New York, and charted at number 14 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and number 62 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.] Had it not been for a cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
by the Diamonds
The Diamonds are a Canadian vocal quartet that rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s with 16 ''Billboard'' hit records. The original members were Dave Somerville (lead), Ted Kowalski (tenor), Phil Levitt (baritone), and Bill Reed (ba ...
, whose rendition reached number 12 nationally, the Willows' version may have obtained even more success, an issue which led to a lawsuit against Craft over royalties
A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...
that the group eventually won.[
In April 1956, the Willows appeared at the Paramount Theater in Brooklyn with other notable doo wop groups such as ]the Flamingos
The Flamingos are an American doo-wop group formed in Chicago in 1953. The band became popular in mid-to-late 1950s and are known for their 1959 cover version of "I Only Have Eyes for You". They have since been hailed as one of the finest and m ...
, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers
The Teenagers are an American music group, most noted for being one of rock music's earliest successes, presented to international audiences by DJ Alan Freed. The group, which made its most popular recordings with young Frankie Lymon as lead s ...
, and the Platters
The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The ac ...
. Although the group never re-entered the national charts, the Willows still performed regularly and recorded with the Melba, Club, El Dorado, Gone, Warwick, and Heidi labels until they disbanded in 1965. The group also had a profound influence on the next wave of doo wop artists like the Drifters
The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/Soul music, soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, f ...
, the Harptones, and the Ladders.[ After a one-off performance in 1973, the Willows reunited for sporadic tours in 1983 until 1989. Surviving group members came together again in 1998 for an East coast tour and appeared on the ]PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
special ''Red White and Rock'' in 2002. The current line-up consists of Tony Middleton, Desi Middleton (baritone), Richard Green (tenor), and Bill Pron (bass).[
]
Deaths
John "Scooter" Steele Died In 199
Joe Martin died on February 19th, 2005, due to congestive heart failur
Ralph Martin died on March 25th, 2010, due to colon cance
Richard "Richie" Davis died on February 2nd, 201
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willows
American pop music groups
Doo-wop groups
Herald Records artists
Musical groups from Harlem