The Fleetwoods
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The Fleetwoods were an American
vocal group A vocal group is a performing ensemble of vocalists who sing and harmonize together. The first well-known vocals groups emerged in the 19th century, and the style had reached widespread popularity by the 1940s. Types Vocal groups can come in se ...
from
Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. European ...
whose members were Gary Troxel (born November 28, 1939), Gretchen Christopher (born February 29, 1940), and Barbara Ellis (born February 20, 1940).


Early history

The band members met as high school students in Olympia, Washington. Originally the band consisted of only Gretchen Christopher and Barbara Ellis, but Gary Troxel was asked to accompany them with jazz trumpet, later switching to vocals. They then started performing in 1958 as "Two Girls and a Guy" but later changed the name to the Fleetwoods after the Fleetwood
telephone exchange A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a telecommunications system used in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It interconnects telephone subscriber lines or virtual circuits of digital syst ...
. In 1959, they were noticed by producer and
Dolton Records Dolton Records was a record label based in Seattle that was originally known as Dolphin Records. It was initially owned by Bob Reisdorff and Bonnie Guitar. Success for the label came early with "Come Softly to Me" by the Fleetwoods, the first si ...
founder Bob Reisdorff and together they recorded their self-written first hit "
Come Softly to Me "Come Softly to Me" is a popular song recorded by The Fleetwoods, composed of Gretchen Christopher, Barbara Ellis, and Gary Troxel, who also wrote it. The original title was "Come Softly", but was changed en route to its becoming a hit. Bob Reisdo ...
", which was also covered by others. The UK's
Frankie Vaughan Frankie Vaughan (born Frank Fruim Abelson; 3 February 1928 – 17 September 1999) was an English singer and actor who recorded more than 80 easy listening and traditional pop singles in his lifetime. He was known as "Mr. Moonlight" after his ...
and
the Kaye Sisters The Kaye Sisters were a trio of British pop singers who scored several hits on the UK Singles Chart in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Career The Kaye Sisters were formed in 1954. They got their name and their start in the music industry from the ...
had a top 10
chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...
hit in the United Kingdom with the song, though the Fleetwoods exceeded them, simultaneously charting in the UK's top 5. Their second hit, "Graduation's Here" was co-written by Ellis and Christopher, with Troxel later adding a scat line in counterpoint. That one was followed by " Mr. Blue," which, like "Come Softly To Me", also topped the US pop chart. The Fleetwoods continued recording into the 1960s. They hit the Top 10 again with a remake of
Thomas Wayne Thomas Alan Wayne, M.D. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the father of Bruce Wayne (Batman), and husband of Martha Wayne as well as the paternal grandfather of Damian Wayne. Wayne was introd ...
's "
Tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
" in 1961. Though they went on to have a total of eleven hits on the Hot 100, the beginning of the end for the group came when Troxel had to fulfill his obligation to go onto active duty in the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
. He joined the Naval Reserve in 1956. Additionally, the
British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on b ...
of the mid 1960s changed the public's taste. The trio's hits ended in 1963 with Barbara Ellis singing melody on "Goodnight My Love".
Vic Dana Samuel Mendola (born August 26, 1942, Buffalo, New York, United States), known professionally as Vic Dana, is an American dancer and singer. Biography Discovered by Sammy Davis Jr., Dana was an excellent male dancer, particularly in tap, and w ...
, who was to go on to a successful solo career, replaced Troxel in the group when he was in the service, solely for live performances.


Later years

In the late 1970s, Troxel was working in a plywood plant in Washington, Ellis was managing a trailer park in
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and Christopher was a housewife and modern jazz dance teacher in Washington at
St. Martin's College St Martin's College was a British higher education college with campuses in Lancaster, Ambleside and Carlisle, as well as sites in Whitehaven, Barrow and London. It provided undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the arts, humanities, b ...
and at
Evergreen State College The Evergreen State College is a public liberal arts college in Olympia, Washington. Founded in 1967, it offers a non-traditional undergraduate curriculum in which students have the option to design their own study towards a degree or follow a p ...
. Ellis is now retired from performing. In 1983, Troxel gave his written resignation from The Fleetwoods, leaving Christopher as manager with the sole authority to contract for both the original and replacement Fleetwoods. Troxel formed a new Fleetwoods group in the 1980s. His group has been performing regularly since the mid 1980s doing several "oldies" concerts each year with two performances on the PBS Doo Wop series. While Christopher trained replacement Fleetwoods, she also resumed her solo music career, billing herself as "Gretchen Christopher of the Fleetwoods." Both Troxel and Christopher each continue to perform and occasionally release new recordings. A new Fleetwoods version of "Graduation's Here" appeared on Christopher's autobiographical solo album, ''Gretchen's Sweet Sixteen (Suite 16)'', which is one of the 2007 ''Billboard'' critics' picks for 10 Best Albums of the Year. It included both the hit arrangement of "Come Softly To Me" and an
a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
version, with Christopher singing all the parts. Since their 1988 induction into the Northwest Area Music Association Hall of Fame, and their 2005 induction into the Olympia High School Alumni Association Hall of Fame, The Fleetwoods have been inducted into both the
Vocal Group Hall of Fame The Vocal Group Hall of Fame (VGHF) is an American-based hall of fame that honors vocal groups throughout the world in every genre of music. Headquartered in the Columbia Theatre in Sharon, Pennsylvania, it includes a theater and a museum. It was ...
and the Doo-Wop Hall of Fame of America in 2006. The November 2007 release of ''Gretchen's Sweet Sixteen (Suite 16)'' was launched in Las Vegas with the second Annual Cool Bobby B Doo Wop Convention and Grand Finale Concert, headlined by 'The Fleetwoods starring Gretchen Christopher.' A year later, though all three originals were inducted and invited to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, Christopher was the only original member of the Fleetwoods who accepted, attended and performed, dedicating songs to each of her absent partners. Troxel had every intention of attending but decided it was more important to be with his wife, because of her breast cancer treatment. In 2000, Troxel and his wife Jenifer lost ''
Troxel v. Granville ''Troxel v. Granville'', 530 U.S. 57 (2000), is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States, citing a constitutional right of parents to direct the upbringing of their children, struck down a Washington State law that allowed any third p ...
'', a landmark grandparents' rights case before the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
. The court held that under the
United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...
, non-parents seeking custody or visitation rights of a child against the wishes of the child's parents must prove that the parents are not acting in the best interest of the child in refusing custody or visitation. In 2008 and 2009, Christopher testified before the
Washington State Senate The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 members, each representing a district with a population of nearly 160,000. The State Senate meets at the Legislative Building in Olympi ...
in support of the Truth in Music Advertising Bill. In 2009, it passed both the House and Senate unanimously and was signed into law by Governor
Chris Gregoire Christine Gregoire (; née O'Grady; born March 24, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 22nd governor of Washington from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004, and agai ...
. The law provides that a performing group shall not be advertised by the name of a recording group, unless the performing group includes from the hit-making recording group at least one original member who is authorized to use the name. The authorization resides solely with Christopher, according to the performance contract and resignation signed by Troxel.


Discography


Albums


Original albums

*''Mr. Blue'' (1959) *''The Fleetwoods'' (1960) *''Softly'' (1961) *''Deep in a Dream'' (1961) *''The Best Goodies of the Oldies'' (1961) *''For Lovers by Night'' (1963) *''Goodnight My Love'' (1963) *''Before and After'' (1965) *''Folk Rock'' (1965)


Compilations

*''The Fleetwoods' Greatest Hits'' (1962) *''In a Mellow Mood'' (1966) *''The Very Best of the Fleetwoods'' (1974) *''Buried Treasure'' (1983) *''Come Softly to Me: The Very Best of the Fleetwoods'' (1993)


Singles


References


External links


Gretchen Christopher's Fleetwoods Home PageGary Troxel's Fleetwoods Home Page
*
Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
at
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 ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleetwoods, The American vocal groups Musical groups from Olympia, Washington Dolton Records artists Liberty Records artists Musical groups from Washington (state) Musical groups established in 1958 Musical groups disestablished in 1983 1958 establishments in Washington (state) 1983 disestablishments in Washington (state)