The Jaynetts were an American

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

based in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

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 * '' ...

, who became a

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

in 1963 with the song "

Sally Go 'Round the Roses "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" is the name of a 1963 hit by The Jaynetts, a Bronx-based one-hit wonder girl group, released by J&S Records on the Tuff label. Background The producer of "Sally Go 'Round the Roses", Abner Spector, was an A&R man for ...

", which reached No. 2 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Career

Beginnings

In 1954, Bronx-native Zelma "Zell" Sanders produced "Lonely Nights" by a female R&B vocal group called The Hearts (not to be confused with "

Long Lonely Nights "Long Lonely Nights" is a song that was originally released by Lee Andrews & the Hearts in 1957. Hit versions were also released by Clyde McPhatter, later in 1957, and Bobby Vinton in 1965. The song was written by Lee Andrews, though Larry Brown ...

" by

Lee Andrews & the Hearts Lee Andrews & the Hearts were an American doo-wop quintet from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, formed in 1953. They recorded on the Gotham, Rainbow, Mainline, Chess, United Artists, Grand and Gowen labels. Managed by Kae Williams, in ...

). With no major labels interested in a track by a female R&B group, "Lonely Nights" was eventually released on the small independent label Baton and became one of the earliest girl-group hits when it made the US R&B Top 10

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

in 1955.

The Hearts The Jaynetts were an American girl group based in the Bronx, New York, who became a one-hit wonder in 1963 with the song "Sally Go 'Round the Roses", which reached No. 2 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Career Beginnings In 1954, Bronx-native ...

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 ...

'' This success allowed Sanders to found her own

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 ...

-oriented

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...

, J&S. The Jaynetts name was conceived by adding the "J" in "J&S" to "Anetta", the middle name of Lezli Valentine, a session vocalist who sang on the group's 1957 debut, "I Wanted To Be Free", as well as on other J&S releases. The lead vocal on "I Wanted to Be Free" was by Justine "Baby" Washington, who regularly performed on the Hearts' releases in 1956–57; Washington also began recording solo in 1957 with 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 ...

of her second release, "Hard Way to Go" (1958), being a track credited to the Jaynetts entitled "Be My Boyfriend."Justine "Baby" Washington
- ''Soulfulkindamusic.net''

"Sally Go 'Round the Roses"

J&S Records had its first national success in 1961 when Abner Spector, an A&R man for the

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

-based

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 ...

, utilized J&S's Tuff subsidiary for the release of

The Corsairs The Corsairs were an American doo wop ensemble from La Grange, North Carolina. The group consisted of the three Uzzell brothers, Moses, Jay, James and their cousin, George Wooten. Initially they performed as The Gleems, and toured the East Coast, ...

' hit "

Smoky Places "Smoky Places" is a song written by Abner Spector and performed by The Corsairs. It reached #10 on the U.S. R&B chart and #12 on the U.S. pop chart in 1962. The song was arranged by Sammy Lowe and produced by Abner Spector. The song ranked # ...

" which reached #12 in March 1962. In 1963 Spector had Zell Sanders assemble the line-up to cut a girl group record, and Spector's wife Lona Stevens wrote "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" with Sanders for this purpose. The credited members of the Jaynetts who recorded "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" were Yvonne Bushnell, Ethel Davis (aka Vernell Hill), Ada Ray Kelly and Johnnie Louise Richardson, who had all previously recorded for J&S; a fifth credited member Mary Sue Wells (aka Mary Sue Wellington/Mary Green Wilson) was recruited through a newspaper advertisement. It was announced that Johnnie Louise Richardson, Sanders' daughter, who had been a member of

Johnnie & Joe Johnnie & Joe were an American R&B vocal duo from The Bronx, New York City, New York, United States, who were best known for their 1957 hit "Over the Mountain; Across the Sea." Johnnie Louise Richardson (June 29, 1935, Montgomery, Alabama - Octob ...

, was not intended as a group member beyond singing on their first track. Vocalists who sang on "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" besides the five credited personnel include J&S veterans Selena Healey, Marie Hood, Marlene Mack (aka Marlina Mack/Marlina Mars), Louise (Harris) Murray (a member of the original Hearts), Lezli Valentine and Iggy Williams. According to Richardson, "Anybody that came in the studio that week, pectorwould put them on he track Originally, I think he had about 20 voices on 'Sally.'" The sessions produced only the one song, "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" being released with the song's

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

track as its B-side, credited to 'Sing Along Without the Jaynetts'. The single reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart dated 28 September 1963.

''Sally Go 'Round the Roses'' album

The single's success led to the release of a ''Sally Go 'Round the Roses'' album on Tuff; besides the title cut, in both the vocal and instrumental versions, and the follow-up single "Keep an Eye on Her" " bubbled under the Hot 100" in November 1963. The album featured "Archie's Melody", "Bongo Bobby", "I Wanna Know", "No Love At All", "One Track Mind", "Pick Up My Marbles", "School Days" and "See Saw"; also featured as "A Special Guest Appearance" was "Dear Abby" credited to the Hearts, a minor hit (#94) recorded by at least some of the same personnel as "Sally Go 'Round the Roses", and with the same "Sing Along without the..." instrumental-only version on the B-side. Despite the Jaynetts having been promoted as a quintet, their album cover image was of a trio, only two of whom—Ethel Davis and Lezli Valentine—are identifiable. Lezli is the lead voice on "Sally" and she performed the spoken part on "Dear Abby".

JFK assassination

In 1963,

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...

signed the Jaynetts to

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 198 ...

's Caravan of Stars national U.S. tour, which was scheduled to perform its 15th show on the night of November 22, 1963 at the Memorial Auditorium in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, until suddenly the Friday evening event had to be cancelled, moments after U.S. President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

was

assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

that afternoon while touring Dallas in an open car caravan.

Follow-up

The Jaynetts name was used for the release of two further singles on Tuff: "Snowman, Snowman Sweet Potato Nose" and "There's No Love at All" b/w "Tonight You Belong to Me". Throughout 1964 Tuff also released recordings featuring at least some of the personnel from "Sally Go 'Round the Roses"; these releases were credited to the Clickettes (who were Lezli Valentine, Marlina Mars and Iggy Williams), the Poppies (not to be confused with the Poppies who recorded for Epic in 1966) and the Patty Cakes (whose release "I Understand Them" was subtitled "A Love Song to

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

"). In 1964, the Roulette single "Changing My Life for You" b/w "I Would If I Could", credited to the Z-Debs, was sung by members of the Jaynetts who had recorded "Sally Go 'Round the Roses". The 1964 J&S single, "Cry Behind the Daisies", was the first release credited to the Jaynetts with a new core line-up, retaining Johnnie Louise Richardson and adding Evangeline Jenkins, Linda Jenkins and Georgette Malone. This group had further J&S releases into 1965 with "Chicken, Chicken, Crane or Crow" b/w "Winky Dinky", "Peepin' In and Out the Window" b/w "Extra Extra, Read All About It", "Who Stole the Cookie" b/w "That's My Baby", "Looking for Wonderland, My Lover" b/w "Make It an Extra" and "Vangie Don't You Cry" b/w "My Guy Is As Sweet As Can Be". The group ceased their recording activities in 1965.

Solo recordings

Tuff Records released singles in 1964 credited to Vernell Hill (Ethel Davis) and Mary Sue Wellington (Mary Sue Wells: her name was adjusted to prevent confusion with

Mary Wells Mary Esther Wells (May 13, 1943 – July 26, 1992) was an American singer, who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s. Along with The Supremes, The Miracles, The Temptations, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, and the F ...

). J&S also released solo tracks by Ada Ray Kelly – billed as Ada "Cry Baby" Ray on the Zell's label in 1963 and 1964. Vernell Hill's Tuff single, "Long Haired Daddy", with songwriting credit by Abner Spector, was also released on Roulette in 1964. In 1968, Lezli Valentine recorded for All Platinum, a label formed the previous year in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...

, by

Sylvia Robinson Sylvia Robinson (née Vanderpool; May 29, 1935 – September 29, 2011) was an American singer, record producer, and record label executive. Robinson achieved success as a performer on two R&B chart toppers: as half of Mickey & Sylvia with ...

, and recorded the original versions of The Moments' hits "Love on a Two Way Street", "I'm So Lost", "I Gotta Keep on Loving You" and "I Won't Do Anything". She also sang background on

Eddie Kendricks Edward James Kendrick (December 17, 1939 – October 5, 1992), better known as Eddie Kendricks, was an American singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group the Temptatio ...

' version of "Not on the Outside". In a 2000 interview for John Clemente's book ''Girl Groups: Fabulous Females That Rocked the World'', Valentine revealed she had retired from the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

, worked in Alcohol Beverage Control and had become a stenographer under then-New York Governor

Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...

. Marie Hood went on to work for the Postal Service. From 1963 through 1966, Marlene Mack, as Marlina Mars, had singles released on

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

Okeh Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...

and

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

. Around 1970 she briefly partnered Herb Fame in

Peaches and Herb Peaches & Herb is an American vocal duo. Herb Fame (born October 1, 1941) has remained a constant as "Herb" since the duo was created in 1966; seven different women have filled the role of "Peaches", most notably Francine Edna "Peaches" Hurd B ...

's live shows, although the original Peaches, Francine Barker, still sang the female part on the duo's records. Louise Murray, who recorded solo for Verve in 1965, was reported to be performing in a duo with her husband Donald Gatling: they bill themselves as the Two Hearts, referencing the group with whom Murray had recorded "Lonely Nights" in 1954. At the Detroit Breakdown concert held 31 July 2010 at the Guggenheim Band Shell, Murray came onstage during the set by ? and the Mysterians to duet on "Sally Go 'Round the Roses".

Deaths

Johnnie Louise Richardson died on October 25, 1988. Lezli Valentine, later Lezli Green, died on March 09, 2021."Obituary: Lezli Green", ''Blues & Rhythm'', No.360, June 2021, p.15

References

Bibliography

*Clemente, John (2000). ''Girl Groups - Fabulous Females That Rocked the World''. Iola, Wisc. Krause Publications. p. 276. *Clemente, John (2013). ''Girl Groups - Fabulous Females Who Rocked the World''. Bloomington, IN Authorhouse Publications. p. 623.

External links

History of Rock: "The Jaynetts"TUFF Records website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaynetts, The American pop girl groups American rhythm and blues musical groups Musical groups from the Bronx