The Cleftones

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The Cleftones are an American doo-wop singing group that enjoyed particular success in the 1950s and 1960s. Her hits include Little Girl of Mine , Cant We Be Sweethearts and Heart And Soul .

Career

The Cleftones were founded in 1955 by Herbie Cox, Berman Patterson, Warren Corbin, Charlie James and William "Buzzy" McClain at Jamaica High School in Queens , New York .

Cleftones - You Baby You

After they were rejected by three record labels, they received a recording contract with George Goldner's Gee label on November 19, 1955 , where they were allowed to release the label's first record, Gee # 1000. The first single You Baby You , released in November 1955, sold immediately. The second single Little Girl of Mine from March 1956 gave the group the national breakthrough. In April they performed with many popular bands and performers at Alan Freed's "Easter Jubilee of Stars" show in New York and were now among the stars of the R&B scene. Another hit followed with Cant We Be Sweethearts in June 1956. After that, the success subsided. A change of record company in 1958 did not change anything, especially since they had stayed with the same company. McClain and Patterson left the group.

In 1961, the second generation of Cleftones consisting of Herb Cox, Charlie James, Warren Corbin, Gene Pearson and Patricia Spann, having had Heart and Soul again a top hit (number 18 of the Billboard Hot 100 - Charts ). Until 1962 there were still a few publications, but the great success did not materialize. Even after that there were occasional appearances by the Cleftones until the turn of the millennium, and since 1990 there have been recordings again.

Discography (singles)

Selection discography (until 1962)

GEE records:

  • # 1000: You Baby You / I Was Dreaming, November 1955, US charts: # 78
  • # 1011: Little Girl Of Mine / You're Driving Me Mad, March 1956, US charts: # 57; R&B Best Seller Charts: # 8
  • # 1016: Can't We Be Sweethearts? / Neki-Hokey, June 1956
  • # 1025: String Around My Heart / Happy Memories, October 1956
  • # 1031: Why Do You Do Me Like You Do / I Like Your Style Of Making Love, January 1957
  • # 1038: See You Next Year / Ten Pairs Of Shoes, June 1957
  • # 1041: Hey Babe / What Did I Do That Was Wrong, August 1957
  • # 1048: Lover Boy / Beginners At Love, January 1958

ROULETTE records:

  • # 4094: She's So Fine / Trudy, July 1958
  • # 4161: Cuzin Casanova / Mish Mash Baby, June 1959
  • # 4302: She's Gone / Shadows In The Very Last Row, June 1960

GEE records:

  • # 1064: Heart And Soul / How Do You Feel, April 1961, US charts: # 18; R&B charts: # 10
  • # 1067: (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons / 'Deed I Do , August 1961, US charts: # 60
  • # 1074: Earth Angel / Blues in the Night , May 1962
  • # 1079: Lover, Come Back to Me / There She Goes, September 1962, US charts: # 95
  • # 1080: How Deep Is The Ocean / Some Kinda Blue, November 1962

RAMA records:

  • # 233: Vacation In The Mountains / Leave My Woman Alone, May 1961

Cleftones songs in movie soundtracks

Several titles from the Cleftones have been used in various movie soundtracks including:

Remarks

  1. ↑ for further discographic information see Gribin, Anthony J. / Schiff, Matthew M .: Doo-Wop. The Forgotten Third Of Rock 'n' Roll. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications, 1992, p. 221 and Warner, Jay: The Billboard Book Of American Singing Groups. A History 1940-1990 . New York City / New York: Billboard Books, 1992, p. 120
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., 1994, p. 118
  3. ^ Whitburn, Joel: Top 40 R&B and Hip-Hop Hits. 1942-2004. New York, NY: Billboard Books, 2006, p. 109

literature

  • Warner, Jay: The Billboard Book Of American Singing Groups. A History 1940-1990 . New York City / New York: Billboard Books, 1992, pp. 117-120

Web links