The Valadiers are an American vocal group from

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, who became notable as the first white vocal group signed to

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

in the early 1960s. The group was formed in 1959 by Stuart Avig (born 1943, lead vocals), Marty Coleman (lead, bass, baritone), and Art Glasser (second tenor), who had all attended Oak Park High School, and Jerry Light (bass, baritone), from Detroit Mumford High School. After auditioning for Motown, they received a contract and made recordings which went unreleased, before recording a song they had written, " Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam)." The song was worked up by Motown staffers Robert Bateman,

Brian Holland Brian Holland (born February 15, 1941) is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound, and numerous hit ...

, and Ronnie Dunbar, who received co-writing credits, and was issued on the Miracle label, a Motown subsidiary for which this was its only hit record. The record reached #89 on the ''

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pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

in 1961.Biography by Andrew Hamilton, ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved 3 September 2014 The song also became a minor hit for the Monitors in 1966. The Valadiers toured widely in packages with R&B stars including

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and

Wilbert Harrison Wilbert Huntington Harrison (January 5, 1929 – October 26, 1994) was an American rhythm and blues singer, pianist, guitarist and harmonica player. Biography Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Harrison had a Billboard #1 record in 1959 with ...

, and continued to release occasional singles with little success until 1964, when they split up. Stuart Avig spent time in the

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, later recorded as a solo singer under the name Stuart Ames, and occasionally performed with

backup singer A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

s as The Valadiers. Coleman worked as a staff songwriter for Motown under the name Martin Cohen, placing songs with The Spinners,

Gladys Knight and the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s. Starting out as simply ...

, and others. His biggest hit as a songwriter was The Precisions' "If This Is Love (I'd Rather Be Lonely)", which was issued on Drew Records. Avig later worked in the

precious metals Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value. Chemically, the precious metals tend to be less reactive than most elements (see noble metal). They are usually ductile and have a high lustre. ...

business. In the 1980s, English record producer

Ian Levine Ian Geoffrey Levine (born 22 June 1953) is a British songwriter, producer, and DJ. A moderniser of Northern soul music in the UK, and a developer of the style of Hi-NRG, he has written and produced records with sales totalling over 40 million. ...

recorded him with other singers, as The Valadiers, issuing two singles on his

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label. In 2003, Avig reformed the group with new members Andy Alonzo, Donald Revels, and Nick Marinelli. Marinelli was an original member of The Shades of Blue, and the quartet began performing together under both names. The current group, consisting of Avig, Revels, Charlie Valverde, and Charles Davis, continues to perform together as the Valadiers and The Shades of Blue.The Valadiers official website
Valadiers.com Retrieved 4 September 2014

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valadiers, The Musical groups from Detroit Motown artists Musical quartets Musical groups established in 1959 1959 establishments in Michigan Musical groups disestablished in 1964 1964 disestablishments in the United States