The crew cuts
The crew cuts | |
---|---|
The Crew Cuts in 1957 |
|
General information | |
Genre (s) | Doo Wop |
founding | 1952 |
resolution | 1964 |
Members | |
Vocals (lead) |
John Perkins |
Vocals (bass) |
Ray Perkins |
Voice (first tenor) |
Pat Barrett |
Singing (Barinton), arrangements |
Rudi Maugeri |
The Crew-Cuts was a Canadian doo-wop vocal group. The formation were among the first white performers to make cover versions of their black colleagues and to distribute them to a broader public in the segregated American music market. Her best-known title is Sh-Boom from 1954.
Career
The quartet was founded in 1952 under the name "The Canadaires" in Toronto . In 1954 it consisted of the brothers John Perkins (* 1931) and Ray Perkins (* 1932) as well as Pat Barrett (1933–2016) and Rudi Maugeri (1931–2004), who was also responsible for the vocal arrangements. After a television appearance in Cleveland, Bill Randle became aware of the group, who proposed a new name "The Crew-Cuts" and brokered it to Mercury Records .
One of her first singles, her own composition Crazy 'bout Ya Baby , was a number 8 hit in the American charts. A black R&B template should be covered for the second recording session. The choice fell on Sh-Boom by the band The Chords , which landed very successfully on No. 2 in R&B and No. 5 on the pop charts. The cover version of the crew cuts, on the other hand, topped this success and stayed at number 1 on the pop charts for nine weeks, making it the second most successful pop song of 1954. Mercury then continued to pursue the strategy of pop-compatible recordings of black templates in big band style. This was followed by reenactments of Oop Shoop by Shirley Gunter , Earth Angel of the Penguins , the R&B standard Kokomo and more. This strategy was followed by many other white artists such as Pat Boone , Georgia Gibbs and The McGuire Sisters in the mid-1950s , until rock 'n' roll became a genre that made successful crossovers possible in all music genres and eventually became mainstream.
In 1958 the crew cuts changed to RCA Records , but could not build on their Mercury successes. After further unsuccessful stations at Warwick Records , Whale Records , Vee-Jay Records , ABC-Paramount and Chess Records , the group disbanded in 1964. 20 years later, the group was honored with induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame .
Discography
Albums
year | Title music label |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|
UK | US | |||
1954 | The Crew Cuts on the Campus Mercury 25200 |
- |
US14 (2 weeks) US |
First published: 1953
|
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
more albums
- 1954: Crew Cut Capers (Mercury 20143)
- 1955: The Crewcuts Go Long Hair (Mercury 20067)
- 1956: Rock and Roll Bash (Mercury 20144)
- 1956: Music ala carte / The Crew Cuts (Mercury 20199/12177)
- 1959: Surprise Package ( RCA Victor 1933)
- 1959: The Crew-Cuts Sing (RCA Victor 2037)
- 1960: You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby! (RCA Victor 2067)
- 1961: Sing Out (RCA Victor 102)
- 1962: High School Favorites ( Wing 12180)
- 1963: The Great New Sound of the Crew-Cuts / Crew-Cuts Sing Folk (Camay 3002)
Compilations
- 1980: The Wonderful, Happy, Crazy, Innocent World of the Crew-Cuts (Picc-a-Dilly 3560)
- 1996: The Best Of: The Mercury Years ( Spectrum 552 762; Release: July 18th)
- 2001: Best of the Crew Cuts ( Polygram ; release: May 29)
- 2006: Sh-Boom: Where Swing Met Doo-Wop & Rock'n'Roll (2 CDs; Jasmine 432; release: March 28th)
- 2013: The Biggest Surprise Package: The Best of the Crew Cuts (Backtracks; release: June 17th)
- 2017: The Singles Collection 1950–1960 (Acrobat; release: August 4th)
Singles
year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|
UK | US | |||
1954 | Crazy 'Bout Ya Baby Crew Cut Capers |
- |
US8 (18 weeks) US |
First published: April 1954
Authors: Pat Barrett, Rudi Maugeri |
1954 |
Sh-Boom Rock and Roll Bash |
UK12 (9 weeks) UK |
US1 (20 weeks) US |
First published: June 1954
Authors: Carl Feaster, Floyd McRae, James C. Keyes, James W. Edwards Original: The Chords , 1954 |
1954 | Oop shoop rock and roll bash |
- |
US13 (7 weeks) US |
First published: September 1954
Authors: Blondie Taylor, Shirley Gunter 1954 an R&B hit for Shirley Gunter |
1955 |
Earth Angel Rock and Roll Bash |
UK4 (20 weeks) UK |
US3 (13 weeks) US |
|
1955 | Ko Ko Mo (I Love You So) Rock and Roll Bash |
- |
US6 (14 weeks) US |
First published: January 1955
Authors: Vernon Haven, Forest Wilson Original: Gene & Eunice with Jonesy's Combo , 1954 |
1955 | Don't be angry | - |
US14 (8 weeks) US |
|
1955 | A Story Untold Rock and Roll Bash |
- |
US16 (7 weeks) US |
|
1955 | Gum drop rock and roll bash |
- |
US10 (8 weeks) US |
First published: August 1955
Author: Rudolph Toombs Original: Otis Williams and His New Group , 1955 |
1956 | Angels in the Sky Rock and Roll Bash |
- |
US13 (13 weeks) US |
First published: November 1955
Author and original: Dick Glasser , 1953 |
1956 | Mostly Martha The Crewcuts Go Long Hair |
- |
US31 (9 weeks) US |
B-side by Angels in the Sky
Authors: Dorcas Cochran, Ralph Sterling based on the aria Oh so pious, oh so dares from the opera Martha 1938 a hit for Larry Clinton |
1956 | Seven Days Rock and Roll Bash |
- |
US20 (11 weeks) US |
First published: December 29, 1955
Authors: Carmen Taylor, Willis Carroll |
1956 | Tell Me Why | - |
US45 (5 weeks) US |
First published: May 26, 1956
Author: Titus Turner Original: Marie Knight, 1956 |
1957 | Young Love | - |
US24 (12 weeks) US |
First published: December 3, 1956
Authors: Ric Cartey , Carole Joyner Original: Ric Cartey with the Jiva-Tones, 1956 |
more singles
- 1954: I Spoke Too Soon (released May)
- 1954: The Barking Dog (released November)
- 1954: Twinkle Toes (released November)
- 1955: Unchained Melody
- 1955: Chop Chop Boom (release: May)
- 1955: Are You Having Any Fun (released September)
- 1956: Honey Hair, Sugar Lips, Eyes of Blue (released March 21)
- 1956: You're already with me (release: July 13th)
- 1956: Keeper of the Flame (release: September 24th)
- 1956: The Varsity Drag / The Halls of Ivy (release: October 17th)
- 1956: Little by Little / Young Love (released December 3rd)
- 1957: The Angelus (released March 1st)
- 1957: Suzie Q / Such a Shame (released May 10)
- 1957: I Sit in the Windows (release: July 26th)
- 1957: Be My Only Love (released October 17th)
- 1958: Hey, Stella! (Who Zat Down Your Cellar?) (Release: August)
- 1958: Baby Be Mine (release: October)
- 1959: Fraternity Pin (release: January)
- 1959: Gone, Gone, Gone (released April)
- 1960: It Is No Secret / No, No, Nevermore (released January)
- 1960: American Beauty Rose (release: May)
- 1960: Aura Lee (release: June)
- 1960: Over the Mountain (release: July)
- 1960: You and the Angels (release: October)
- 1960: Malaguena (release: October)
- 1961: The Legend of Gunga Din (released March)
- 1962: Twistin 'All Around the World (released January)
- 1962: Laura Love (release: April)
- 1962: Hush Little Baby (Don't You Cry) (released May)
- 1963: Hip-Huggers (release: May)
- 1963: The Three Bells (release: October)
- 1964: Yea, Yea, She Wants Me (released March)
swell
- ^ Canadian Music Hall of Fame - Inductees. Canadian Music Hall of Fame , accessed August 6, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Billboard Pop Hits Singles & Albums 1940–1954 by Joel Whitburn , 6th Edition, Record Research 2002, ISBN 978-0-89820-198-7 / Top Pop Singles 1955–2006 by Joel Whitburn , Record Research 2007, ISBN 978 -0-89820-172-7
- ↑ Chart sources: UK US
Web links
- The Crew-Cuts at Allmusic (English)
- The Crew-Cuts at Discogs (English)
- The Crew-Cuts at 45cat.com
- The Crew-Cuts on Doo Wop Heaven (english)
- Dik de Heer on The Crew-Cuts (English)
- Discography on rocky-52.net (English)