The Orlons

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Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
Cameo 218.jpg
The Wah-Watusi
  US 2 06/09/1962 (14 weeks)
  R&BTemplate: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / country wrong 5 06/23/1962 (7 weeks)
Don't hang up
  US 4th 10/13/1962 (15 weeks)
  R&BTemplate: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / country wrong 3 11/10/1962 (7 weeks)
  UK 39 December 29, 1962 (3 weeks)
South Street
  US 3 02/16/1963 (13 weeks)
  R&BTemplate: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / country wrong 4th 03/02/1963 (12 weeks)
Not Me
  US 12 06/15/1963 (10 weeks)
  R&BTemplate: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / country wrong 8th 06/29/1963 (4 weeks)
Crossfire!
  US 19th 09/28/1963 (9 weeks)
  R&BTemplate: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / country wrong 25th 11/16/1963 (2 weeks)
Bon-Doo-Wah
  US 55 December 14, 1963 (6 weeks)
  R&BTemplate: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / country wrong 17th 04/01/1964 (6 weeks)
Shimmy Shimmy
  US 66 02/01/1964 (5 weeks)
  R&BTemplate: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / country wrong 17th 02/22/1964 (7 weeks)
Rules of Love
  US 66 May 16, 1964 (6 weeks)
  R&BTemplate: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / country wrong 33 05/30/1964 (3 weeks)
Knock! Knock!
  US 64 08/29/1964 (6 weeks)
  R&BTemplate: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / country wrong 23 09/26/1964 (7 weeks)

The Orlons were an American rhythm and blues singing group formed in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , in the early 1960s .

Members

  • Rosetta Hightower (born June 23, 1944 - August 2, 2014)
  • Shirley Brickley (born December 9, 1944 - October 13, 1977)
  • Marlena Davis (October 4, 1944; † 1993), until 1963
  • Stephen Caldwell (born November 22, 1942), until 1964
  • Sandy Person (for Marlena Davis)
  • Yvonne Young (for Stephen Caldwell)
  • Audrey Brickley († July 3, 2005, for Yvonne Young)

history

In the late 1950s, junior high school girls Rosetta Hightower and Marlena Davis sang along with three sisters named Brickley under the name Audrey and the Teenettes (Audrey was one of the three Brickleys). The quintet soon became a trio after Audrey and her sister Jean were no longer allowed to perform in nightclubs at their mother's behest because of their young age. After the remaining three had moved to high school in 1960, the trio was joined by student Stephen Caldwell, previously front singer of the vocal group The Romeos. The four called themselves from then on The Orlons. With the name, which also referred to a synthetic textile fiber, they distinguished themselves from the group The Cashmeres, which also made music in their high school.

Len Barry , lead singer for the Dovells and school friend of the three singers, encouraged the group to introduce themselves to his record company Cameo-Parkway . As a result, the Orlons received a recording deal with sister company Cameo, and their first single was released in September 1961 . After being used as a background choir for recordings with other singers, e. B. Mashed Potato Time with Dee Dee Sharp , the Orlons came with the title of their third single The Wah-Watusi to their first record success. The Wah-Watusi came second in the Hot 100 of the US music magazine Billbord in the summer of 1962, and the title was rated fifth in the R&B hit list. By 1964, the Orlons hit both the Hot 100 and the R&B charts with each of their singles.

From August 1963 there were personnel changes. First Marlena Davis left the group, she was replaced by Sandy Person. In 1964 Stephen Caldwell also left, followed briefly by Yvonne Young, who was soon replaced by Audrey Brickley, Sherley's sister. Since the Orlons no longer felt optimally taken care of by their record company, they switched to the small label Calla and then to ABC Records for a single production . However, only two singles were released there without success returning. Since most of their records had also been released in the UK and they had also hit the top 40 of the UK charts in 1962 with the title Don't Hang Up , the Orlons toured the island with modest success in the late second half of the 1960s.

When Rosetta Hightower left the group during the England tour in 1968 to begin a solo career, the Orlons broke up. In 1988 Stephen Caldwell and Marlena Davis formed the Orlons again with two new members and appeared in a number of oldie concerts. When Davis died in 1993, the Orlons ended for good.

US discography

Vinyl singles

From page Catalog no. published
Cameo
I'll Be True / Heart, Darling, Angel 198 09/1961
Mr. Twenty-One / Please Let It Be Me 211 02/1962
The Wah-Watusi / Holiday Hill 218 05/1962
The Conservative / Don't Hang Up 231 10/1962
South Street / Them Terrible Boots 243 02/1963
Not Me / My Best Friend 257 06/1963
Crossfire! / It's No Big Thing 273 09/1963
Bon-doo-wah / Don't Throw Your Love Away 287 11/1963
Shimmy Shimmy / Everything Nice 295 01/1964
Rules of Love / Heartbreak Hotel 319 05/1964
Knock! Knock! (Who's There?) / Goin 'Places 332 08/1964
I ain't comin 'back / Envy 346 12/1964
Come on Down Baby Baby / I Ain't Comin 'Back 352 01/1965
Don't You Want My Lovin '/ I Can't Take It 372 07/1965
No Love But Your Love / Envy (In My Eyes) 384 11/1965
Calla
Spinnin 'Top / Anyone Who Had a Heart 113 05/1966
ABC
Keep Your Hands Off My Baby / Everything 10894 02/1967
Kissin 'Time / Once Upon a Time 10948 07/1967

Vinyl music albums

title Catalog no. published Top 200
The Wah-Watusi Cameo 1020 08/1962 080.
All the hits by the Orlons Cameo 1033 12/1962
South Street Cameo 1041 06/1963 123.
Not Me Cameo 1054 06/1963
Biggest hits Cameo 1061 08/1963
Golden Hits (& The Dovells) Cameo 1067 08/1963
Down memory lane Cameo 1073 11/1963

Compact discs *

title Label published
All Their Hits Campark 1996
The Best of the Orlons ABKCO 2005
The Wah-Watusi / South Street Ace 2010

* distributed in Germany

literature

  • Jay Warner: The Billboard Book Of American Singing Groups. A History 1940–1990 . Billboard Books, New York City / New York 1992, pp. 427 f.
  • Frank Laufenberg: Rock & Pop Lexicon . Econ Taschenbuch Verlag 1998, ISBN 3-612-26207-6 , Volume 2, p. 1127.

swell

  1. ↑ Chart sources: US

Web links