The Manhattans

The Manhattans are an American R & B - singing group from Jersey City , New Jersey . Their greatest success the band had in 1976 with the Soul - ballad Kiss and Say Goodbye . The group described their sound as "Progressive Doo Wop ".

history

The Manhattans was founded in 1962 and initially consisted of George "Smitty" Smith, Edward "Sonny" Bivins, Winfred "Blue" Lovett (1940-2014), Kenny "Wally" Kelley (died February 17, 2015) and Richard "Ricky" Taylor . The first single, was released by Carnival Records was, For the First Time in 1964. After another self-written songs during the 1960s, the group joined in 1969 Sublabel Deluxe King Records. In December 1970 lead singer George "Smitty" Smith died after falling down stairs. His place was taken by Gerald Alston, who had previously sung with the "New Imperials".

In the first half of the 1970s, the group had a number of single hits, particularly in the American R&B charts, including titles such as One Life to Live , There's No Me without You , Don't Take Your Love from Me and Hurt . The band had their biggest, internationally successful hit in mid-1976 with the ballad Kiss and Say Goodbye , written by Blue Lovett, who also speaks the intro of the song with his bass voice (“ This has got to be the saddest day of my life ... " ). Hurt was published again following this success and also placed in the top 10 in Great Britain in autumn 1976.

Richard "Ricky" Taylor left the group in 1976, which as a quartet was able to land another hit in mid-1980 with Shining Star . A year later, The Manhattans was awarded a Grammy in the category “Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals” .

In 1988 lead singer Alston left the group to embark on a solo career. At least in the US R&B charts, he had some success, including the top 10 hits Take Me Where You Want to (1988), Slow Motion (1990) and Getting Back into Love (1991).

In 1995 Blue Lovett started a reunion of the group, again with Alston as the lead singer. With frequent membership changes and legal disputes regarding naming rights, there were several formations in the following two decades that formed as The Manhattans. The Manhattans (of Sonny Bivins) and The Manhattans feat. Gerald Alston with the group's repertoire.

Discography

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)						Remarks
year	title	DE	AT	CH	UK	US	R&B	Remarks
1966	Dedicated to you	-	-	-	-	-	R&B19 (2 weeks) R&B
1972	A million to one	-	-	-	-	-	R&B35 (15 weeks) R&B
1973	There's No Me Without You	-	-	-	-	US150 (8 weeks) US	R&B19 (16 weeks) R&B
1974	That's How Much I Love You	-	-	-	-	US160 (4 weeks) US	R&B59 (2 weeks) R&B
1976	The Manhattans	-	-	-	UK37 (2 weeks) UK	US16 gold (27 weeks)US	R&B6 (21 weeks) R&B
1977	It feels so good	-	-	-	-	US68 gold (20 weeks)US	R&B12 (25 weeks) R&B
1978	There's No Good in Goodbye	-	-	-	-	US78 (12 weeks) US	R&B18 (15 weeks) R&B
1979	Love talk	-	-	-	-	US141 (7 weeks) US	R&B20 (32 weeks) R&B
1980	After midnight	-	-	-	-	US24 gold (26 weeks)US	R&B4 (33 weeks) R&B
1981	Black tie	-	-	-	-	US86 (10 weeks) US	R&B21 (14 weeks) R&B
1983	Forever by Your Side	-	-	-	-	US104 (8 weeks) US	R&B17 (19 weeks) R&B
1985	Too Hot to Stop It	-	-	-	-	US171 (6 weeks) US	R&B44 (12 weeks) R&B

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More albums

1968: Sing for You and Yours
1969: Doing Their Best Things
1971: With These Hands
1986: Back to Basics
1989: Sweet Talk

1999: Live from South Africa
2001: ... Even Now ...
2006: Reachin 'for the Sky
2008: Men Cry Too

Compilations

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)						Remarks
year	title	DE	AT	CH	UK	US	R&B	Remarks
1981	Manhattan's Greatest Hits	-	-	-	-	US87 (10 weeks) US	R&B18 (17 weeks) R&B

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More compilations

1976: I Wanna Be Your Everything
1980: Greatest Hits
1981: Follow Your Heart
1983: The Manhattans
1992: The Collection
1993: Dedicated to You / For You and Yours
1995: Kiss and Say Goodbye: The Best of the Manhattans
1995: One Life to Live

2001: The Collection
2004: There's No Me without You / That's How Much I Love You
2010: Black Tie / Love Talk
2015: With These Hands / A Million to One (Expanded 2fer) (2 CDs)

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)						Remarks
year	Title album	DE	AT	CH	UK	US	R&B	Remarks
1965	I Wanna Be (Your Everything) I Wanna Be Your Everything	-	-	-	-	US68 (8 weeks) US	R&B12 (10 weeks) R&B
	Searchin 'for My Baby Dedicated to You	-	-	-	-	-	R&B20 (5 weeks) R&B
	Follow Your Heart Dedicated to You	-	-	-	-	US92 (2 weeks) US	R&B20 (5 weeks) R&B
1966	Baby I Need You Dedicated to You	-	-	-	-	US96 (2 weeks) US	R&B22 (7 weeks) R&B
	Can I? Dedicated to you	-	-	-	-	-	R&B23 (7 weeks) R&B
	I Bet'cha (Couldn't Love Me) Sing for You and Yours	-	-	-	-	-	R&B23 (8 weeks) R&B
1967	When We're Made as One Sing for You and Yours	-	-	-	-	-	R&B31 (6 weeks) R&B
1968	I Call It Love Sing for You and Yours	-	-	-	-	US96 (3 weeks) US	R&B24 (9 weeks) R&B
1970	It's gonna take a lot to bring me back	-	-	-	-	-	R&B36 (5 weeks) R&B
	If My Heart Could Speak With These Hands	-	-	-	-	US98 (1 week) US	R&B30 (6 weeks) R&B
	From Atlanta to Goodbye	-	-	-	-	-	R&B48 (2 weeks) R&B	Authors: Leon Carr, Richard Ehlert Original: Buddy Greco , 1969
1971	A Million to One A Million to One	-	-	-	-	-	R&B47 (6 weeks) R&B
1972	One Life to Live A Million to One	-	-	-	-	-	R&B3 (18 weeks) R&B
1973	Back Up A Million to One	-	-	-	-	-	R&B19 (8 weeks) R&B
	There's No Me without You There's No Me without You	-	-	-	-	US43 (11 weeks) US	R&B3 (14 weeks) R&B
	Do You Ever A Million to One	-	-	-	-	-	R&B40 (11 weeks) R&B
	You'd Better Believe It There's No Me without You	-	-	-	-	US77 (8 weeks) US	R&B18 (11 weeks) R&B
1974	Wish That You Were Mine There’s No Me without You	-	-	-	-	-	R&B19 (16 weeks) R&B
1974	Summertime in the City That’s How Much I Love You	-	-	-	-	-	R&B45 (10 weeks) R&B
1975	Don't Take Your Love That’s How Much I Love You	-	-	-	-	US37 (10 weeks) US	R&B7 (19 weeks) R&B
1975	Hurt The Manhattans	-	-	-	UK4th silver (11 weeks)UK	US97 (2 weeks) US	R&B10 (13 weeks) R&B	Authors: Jimmie Crane, Al Jacobs Original: Roy Hamilton, 1954
1976	Kiss and Say Goodbye The Manhattans	DE10 (21 weeks) DE	AT3 (24 weeks) AT	CH7 (14 weeks) CH	UK4th silver (11 weeks)UK	US1 platinum (25 weeks)US	R&B1 (26 weeks) R&B
1976	I Kinda Miss You It Feels so Good	-	-	-	-	US46 (8 weeks) US	R&B7 (18 weeks) R&B
1977	It Feels so Good to Be Loved so Bad It Feels so Good	-	-	-	-	US66 (18 weeks) US	R&B6 (19 weeks) R&B
	It's You It Feels so Good	-	-	-	UK43 (3 weeks) UK	-	-
	We Never Danced to a Love Song It Feels so Good	-	-	-	-	US93 (2 weeks) US	R&B10 (18 weeks) R&B
1978	Am I Losing You There's No Good in Goodbye	-	-	-	-	-	R&B6 (17 weeks) R&B
1978	Everybody Has a Dream There’s No Good in Goodbye	-	-	-	-	-	R&B65 (9 weeks) R&B	Author and original: Billy Joel , 1977
1979	Here Comes the Hurt Again Love Talk	-	-	-	-	-	R&B29 (13 weeks) R&B
1979	The Way We Were / Memories Love Talk	-	-	-	-	-	R&B33 (12 weeks) R&B	Authors: Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Marvin Hamlisch / Egbert van Alstyne, Gus Kahn Originals: Barbra Streisand , 1973 / Al Goodman and His Orchestra, 1940
1980	Girl of My Dream After Midnight	-	-	-	-	-	R&B30 (12 weeks) R&B
	Shining Star After Midnight	-	-	-	UK45 (4 weeks) UK	US5 platinum (25 weeks)US	R&B4 (24 weeks) R&B	Grammy (R&B Vocal Group)
	I'll Never Find Another (Find Another Like You) Greatest Hits	-	-	-	-	-	R&B12 (18 weeks) R&B
1981	Just One Moment Away Black Tie	-	-	-	-	-	R&B19 (13 weeks) R&B
1981	Let Your Love Come Down Black Tie	-	-	-	-	-	R&B77 (4 weeks) R&B
1982	Honey, honey black tie	-	-	-	-	-	R&B25 (15 weeks) R&B	Author: Earl Kenneth King, Jr. Original: David Hudson, 1980
1983	Crazy Forever by Your Side	-	-	-	UK63 (4 weeks) UK	US72 (6 weeks) US	R&B4 (16 weeks) R&B
1983	Forever by Your Side Forever by Your Side	-	-	-	-	-	R&B30 (11 weeks) R&B
1985	You Send Me Too Hot to Stop It	-	-	-	-	US81 (5 weeks) US	R&B20 (14 weeks) R&B	Author and Original: Sam Cooke , 1957
1985	Don't Say No Too Hot to Stop It	-	-	-	-	-	R&B60 (8 weeks) R&B
1986	Where Did You Go Wrong Back to Basics	-	-	-	-	-	R&B42 (13 weeks) R&B	Guest singer: Regina Belle Producer: Bobby Womack
1987	All I need back to basics	-	-	-	-	-	R&B41 (9 weeks) R&B
1989	Sweet Talk Sweet Talk	-	-	-	-	-	R&B67 (7 weeks) R&B
1989	Why You Wanna Love Me Like That Sweet Talk	-	-	-	-	-	R&B62 (9 weeks) R&B
1990	I won't stop sweet talk	-	-	-	-	-	R&B79 (5 weeks) R&B

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More singles

1961: Molly Brown Medley
1962: Sing All the Day
1963: Daughter
1964: There Goes a Fool
1964: Just a Little Loving
1964: For the Very First Time
1965: The Boston Monkey
1966: It's That Time of the Year
1967: All I Need Is Your Love
1967: Baby I'm Sorry
1969: The Picture Became Quite Clear
1969: I Don't Wanna Go

1971: I Can't Stand for You to Leave Me
1971: Straight from the Heart
1972: Fever
1973: Rainbow Week
1973: Soul Train
1973: You'd Better Believe It
1976: Linda
1977: Movin '
1978: Tomorrow (from the musical Annie )
1979: New York City
1981: Do You Really Mean Goodbye?
1983: Locked Up in Your Love

literature

Warner, Jay: The Billboard Book of American Singing Groups. A History 1940–1990 . New York City / New York: Billboard Books, 1992, pp. 416f.

swell

^ Peter Shapiro: The Rough Guide to Soul and R&B . Rough Guides Ltd., London 2006, ISBN 978-1-84353-264-4 , pp. 253 .
↑ http://www.soultracks.com/story-blue-lovett-dies
↑ Manhattans. November 19, 2019, accessed on March 13, 2020 .
↑ Gerald Alston Songs ••• Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts. Retrieved March 13, 2020 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c Chart sources: Singles UK US
↑ ^a ^b The Billboard album by Joel Whitburn , 6th Edition, Record Research 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c gold / platinum databases: UK US
^ Joel Whitburn : Top R&B Albums 1965–1998, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .
^ Joel Whitburn: Hot R&B Songs. Billboard 1942-2010. 6th edition. Record Research Inc., Menomonee Falls 2010, pp. 421f.

Web links

The Manhattans at Allmusic (English)
The Manhattan at Discogs (English)
Manhattans feat. Gerard Alston - (Eng.)
Manhattans website (with Sonny Bivins) - (Eng.)
Blue Lovetts Manhattans website - (English)

[1] Peter Shapiro: The Rough Guide to Soul and R&B . Rough Guides Ltd., London 2006, ISBN 978-1-84353-264-4 , pp. 253 .

[2] ttp://www.soultracks.com/story-blue-lovett-dies

[3] Manhattans. November 19, 2019, accessed on March 13, 2020 .

[4] Gerald Alston Songs ••• Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts. Retrieved March 13, 2020 .

[charts-5] Chart sources: Singles UK US

[Billboard-6] The Billboard album by Joel Whitburn , 6th Edition, Record Research 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7 .

[gold-7] / platinum databases: UK US

[8] Joel Whitburn : Top R&B Albums 1965–1998, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .

[r&b-9] Joel Whitburn: Hot R&B Songs. Billboard 1942-2010. 6th edition. Record Research Inc., Menomonee Falls 2010, pp. 421f.