The Diamonds
The Diamonds were a Canadian singing group from the 1950s . Their singing style was the Doo Wop , even though they were white singers. In doing so, they mostly published cover versions of original titles by black groups, a quite common standard at that time.
The beginnings
The lead singer Dave Somerville (born October 2, 1933 in Guelph , Ontario , † July 14, 2015 in Santa Barbara , California ) gathered Ted Kowalski (tenor; born May 16, 1931 in Toronto , Ontario; † August 8, 2010 in Whitby , Ontario), Phil Levitt (baritone; born July 9, 1935 ) and Bill Reed (bass; born January 11, 1936 in Toronto, Ontario; † October 22, 2004 ). They met while studying at Toronto University.
In the summer of 1955 they moved to the USA, where they were allowed to audition for Coral Records in New York. In September 1955, Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots was released on this label , a cover of the original released by White Cheers that same month . The original, one of the first big hits by the Leiber / Stoller team of authors , reached number 6 on the pop charts; the Diamonds cover, however, went under. Encouraged by their role model, the Crew Cuts, they got a record contract with Mercury , by then there had already been the first line-up changes.
In January 1956, their first Mercury single was released : The "white" version of Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers ' Why Do Fools Fall In Love . Both versions hit the pop charts in February 1956. A race of versions began, which was won by the original with a top ranking of 6th place (the Diamonds version only climbed to 12th place). The timing was certainly in need of improvement, because Gale Storm also made it into the charts with her version (highest ranking: 9th place). In the meantime, Coral Records tried to share in the average success of the Diamonds with Smooch Me / Be My Lovin 'Baby , two recordings from the studio session in August 1955: to no avail.
The climb
Another five Mercury singles subsequently achieved mediocre placements until they noticed Little Darlin ' , the cover version of a Gladiolas track, in early 1957 . Recorded with exaggerated falsetto and bass chants, underlaid with the sound of cowbells and castanets, the piece, published on February 8, 1957, became a million seller (over 4 million times sold) and was on the charts for 26 weeks, six of which were in second place The original of the Gladiolas only made it to number 41 and stayed in the charts for 12 weeks. By September 1957, the Diamonds had become the ultimate cover group. The first original was The Stroll , a dance song that came out in December 1957 and rose to No. 4 in the pop charts in 1958, thanks to the intense airplay on the US TV music show American Bandstand .
By March 1962, Mercury brought out singles of the group at almost regular intervals, but they could no longer build on past successes. Over the years, the Diamonds had succeeded in bringing black rhythm and blues music closer to the white audience through cover versions.
In 1984 the Diamonds were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame .
Selection of singles
- Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots 9/55
- Why Do Fools Fall in Love 1/56
- Smooch Me 2/56
- The Church Bells May Ring 3/56
- Love, Love, Love 5/56
- Ka-Ding-Dong 7/56
- Little Darlin ' 2/57
- Words of love 5/57
- The Stroll 12/57
- She Say (Oom Dooby Doom) 12/58
- Young in Years 8/59
- One Summer Night 5/61
- The Horizontal Lieutenant 3/62
literature
- Jay Warner: The Billboard Book Of American Singing Groups. A History 1940-1990 . New York City / New York: Billboard Books, 1992, pp. 156-158
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Diamonds' Dave Somerville dies at age 81 , accessed April 9, 2016
- ↑ Ted Kowalski's profile on min7th.com (English), accessed April 9, 2016
- ↑ Phil Levitt's profile on min7th.com (English), accessed April 9, 2016
- ↑ Bill Reed's profile on min7th.com (English), accessed on April 9, 2016
- ^ Canadian Music Hall of Fame - Inductees. Canadian Music Hall of Fame , accessed August 6, 2017 .