The Monotones were a six-member 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 ...

vocal group in the 1950s. They are considered 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 ...

, as their only

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' ...

was " The Book of Love", which peaked at No. 5 on the

Billboard Top 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 in ...

in 1958.

Biography

The Monotones formed in 1955 when the seven original singers, all residents of the Baxter Terrace

housing project Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, d ...

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

,
began performing covers of popular songs. They were: * Lead singer Charles Howard Patrick (September 11, 1938 - September 11, 2020) * First

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing 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 low extreme for tenors is wide ...

Warren Davis (born March 1, 1939 - April 17, 2016) * Second tenor George Malone (January 5, 1940 – October 5, 2007) * Bass singer Frankie Smith (May 13, 1938 – November 26, 2000) * Second bass singer John Ryanes (November 16, 1940 – May 30, 1972) *

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 ...

Warren Ryanes (December 14, 1937 – June 16, 1982)
Charles Patrick's brother James was originally a member, but he left soon after the group's formation. John Ryanes and Warren Ryanes were also brothers. They all began singing with the New Hope Baptist Choir, directed by

Cissy Houston Emily "Cissy" Houston ( ''née'' Drinkard; born September 30, 1933) is an American soul and gospel singer. After a successful career singing backup for such artists as Roy Hamilton, Dionne Warwick, Elvis Presley, and Aretha Franklin, Houston embar ...

, who was related to the Patrick brothers. The group launched their career with a 1956 appearance on Ted Mack's Amateur Hour television program, winning first prize for their rendition of

The Cadillacs The Cadillacs were an American rock and roll and doo-wop group from Harlem, New York, active from 1953 to 1962. The group was noted for their 1955 hit " Speedo", written by Esther Navarro, which was instrumental in attracting white audiences to ...

' "Zoom". Soon afterwards, Charles Patrick was listening to the radio and heard a

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commercial with the line ''"wonder where the yellow went."'' From there he got the idea for the line, ''"I wonder, wonder, wonder who!, who wrote the book of love"'', later working it up into a song with Davis and Malone.
In September 1957, they recorded "The Book of Love", which was released on the Mascot label in December that year. The small record company could not cope with its popularity, and it was reissued on

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 a ...

' subsidiary

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 ...

label in February 1958. It became a hit, eventually reaching No. 3 on the Billboard R&B chart and No. 5 on the pop chart. The record sold over one million copies. It also reached No. 5 in Australia; in the UK, the hit version was 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 relea ...

The Mudlarks The Mudlarks were an English pop vocal group of the late 1950s and early 1960s. They had two Top 10 UK hit singles in 1958. Career The Mudlarks were a family group from Luton, Bedfordshire, England, originally comprising Fred Mudd (1933–2007), ...

. The Monotones recorded a series of novelty follow-ups including "Zombi", and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", but they were not successful. The Monotones disbanded in 1962. Surviving members met to revive "Book of Love" several times after the break-up. John Ryanes died in 1972, aged 31, and his brother Warren died in 1982. By 1994, the Monotones consisted of Frankie Smith, George Malone, Carl Foushee, Bernard Ransom, Bernard Brown (died in 2009, aged 62), and Victor Hartsfield. Frankie Smith died in 2000, and George Malone in 2007.

Singles

(listing incomplete) *"The Book of Love" / "You Never Loved Me" (Mascot 124 1957/Argo 5290), 1958 *"Tom Foolery" / "Zombi" (Argo 5301), 1958 *"The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow" / "Soft Shadows" (Argo 5321), 1958 *"Tell It To The Judge" / "Fools Will Be Fools" (Argo 5339), 1959 *"Reading The Book of Love" / "Dream" (Hull 735), 1959 *"Daddy's Home, But Mamas Gone" / "Tattle Tale" (Hull 743), 1961

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monotones, The Musical groups established in 1955 Musical groups disestablished in 1962 Doo-wop groups Rock music groups from New Jersey American rhythm and blues musical groups African-American musical groups Argo Records artists 1955 establishments in New Jersey