arDATE = new Array( "Christmas 2005" ) arARTIST = new Array( "Anonymous", "The Ravens", "The Valentines", "Jimmy Witherspoon", "Babs Gonzales", "Marvin and the Chirps", "Amos Milburn", "Youngsters", "Jesse Belvin", "Billy Ward and his Dominoes", "Lloyd Glenn", "Joni James" ) arTITLE = new Array( "Christmas Balls", "White Christmas", "Christmas Prayer", "How I Hate To See Christmas Come Arund", "Be Bop Santa Claus", "I'll Miss You This Christmas", "Let's Make Christmas Merry Baby", "Christmas in Jail", "I Want You With Me Christmas", "Christmas In Heaven", "Christmas Sleigh Ride", "Christmas and You" ) arTRACK = new Array( "B-Side", "A-Side", "A-Side", "A-Side", "A-Side", "B-Side", "A-Side", "A-Side", "B-Side", "A-Side", "A-Side", "B-Side" ) arDESC = new Array( "From 1936, the BLUE PAGES list credits this song to Ben Light and his Surf Club Boys, with vocals creditied to Bob Tank. Obviously, this is tame by 2004 standards, but records like these were virtually contraband in 1936. And at Christmas time? Heavens to Mergatroid!", "The Ravens were among the pioneering post-World War II R&B groups, and also among the earliest R&B groups named for birds. In both their musicality and their nomenclature, they influenced two generations of performers that followed, as well as sold lots of records in the process. The Ravens originated with Jimmy Ricks (born 1924, Jackson, FL; died 1974, New York, NY), who started singing at an early age. In 1945, he was employed as a waiter at the Four Hundred Tavern and later at an establishment known as the L. Bar, both in New York's Harlem. One of his co-workers was a friend, Warren 'Birdland' Suttles, and during moments when the work wasn't too frantic, the two began singing together, to tunes by the Ink Spots, the Mills Brothers, the Delta Rhythm Boys, and other harmony groups whose music appeared on the club's jukebox. They decided to try and form an actual group, searching for two more members that would make up the requisite harmony quartet. The two hooked up with Leonard 'Zeke' Puzey and Ollie Jones, and worked up their sound around songs such as 'Darktown Strutters' Ball.' Choosing the name the Ravens, and thus inaugurating the 'bird' group trend in black vocal groups, they were booked into the Club Baton in Harlem, and proved themselves sufficiently talented to rate a national tour, also picking up Howard Biggs, who became their arranger and the composer of much of their original repertory. The Ravens' sound was unusual for its time, featuring bass singer Ricks as the lead voice -- this would become their trademark and one of their most often emulated attributes over the next decade.

The group was signed to Hub Records in early 1946, and released their debut single, 'Honey' b/w 'Lullaby,' the latter a Jones original that they'd been performing since putting together their four-man lineup. Jones left the group late in 1946 to join the Cues and was replaced by Maithe Marshall. The Ravens' contract with Hub ended after one year and they jumped to the National label, where they enjoyed an immediate hit with their version of 'Ol' Man River,' which was perhaps the best of a succession of eight Top Ten R&B hits over the next decade, including 'Write Me a Letter' and 'Send for Me If You Need Me.' By 1948, the Ravens were already an influence on dozens, perhaps hundreds of R&B vocal groups that were coalescing around the variety of sounds that they were bringing to the charts. The Orioles, the Crows, the Swallows, the Swans, and the Wrens followed immediately in their wake, and the trend didn't slacken in the 1950s, as outfits with names like the Penguins continued charting, but the Ravens was where it started. The group continued performing and recording for another seven years, with Marshall and Suttles periodically exiting the lineup at different times, the latter replaced by Joe Medlin and Louis Heyward, and Bubba Ritchie. Their label relationships were nearly as busy as these lineup shifts, from National to Columbia (and OKeh) in 1950, and then to Mercury in 1951. Their move to the latter label resulted in a major lineup change as Jimmy Stewart succeeded as the lead tenor from Puzey, who jumped to the Hi-Hatters -- Marshall later followed him into that lineup, as did Heyward for a short period. Whatever their lineup, the Ravens ascended to the top of their field while at Mercury, although their chart placements didn't always reflect their status as a performing group. They only enjoyed one major chart hit, 'Rock Me All Night Long,' which got to number eight on the national R&B listings, but the group was commanding a fee of 2,000 dollars a night for their performances during this period. The group, consisting of Ricks, Joe Van Loan, Louis Frazier, and Stewart, moved to Jubilee Records once their Mercury contract ended in 1953. Their four Jubilee singles were released during the period when rock & roll was on the rise and many R&B acts were put in the position of trying to appeal to a wider, whiter youth audience than they'd previously thought of reaching. 'Green Eyes' was their biggest hit on Jubilee, in mid-1955 -- several of their songs from this period show the growing influence of rock & roll, complete with loud sax arrangements and titles such as 'Rockin' at the Record Hop.'", "One of my favorite Christmas records ever, by one of my favorite groups. This insanely rare 78 has been in my collection since I was 13 years old, and is one of the records I received as 'wages' from those days working in that record shop in Brooklyn after school.

The Valentines never really had any R&B or pop hits on the national charts to speak of, but are probably best known for serving as a launching pad for a few important careers, especially that of Richard Barrett, one of the greatest A&R men of all-time.

Barrett originally started out as a performer for the Philadelphia-based group the Angels (not to be confused with the group who had the 1963 number one hit, 'My Boyfriend's Back'). The group broke up before they had a chance to record. He later moved to Harlem, and in 1952, met Raymond 'Pop' Briggs (tenor), Carl Hogan (second tenor), Mickey Francis (first tenor and lead), and Ronnie Bright (bass). They were a young black vocal group calling themselves the Dreamers at the time and could be found on the street corners in the Sugarhill section of town (aka Washington Heights) or at the park across from the Polo Grounds.

Barrett took the lead vocals on some of their material, including his own composition, 'Summer Love.' They decided to change the name of their group to the Valentines, which came courtesy of Francis' fondness for 'My Funny Valentine.' Soon they had developed a sound that was musically similar to what the Cadillacs, the Solitaires, and the Flamingos were doing.

Raoul Cita, pianist for the Harptones, liked what he heard and introduced them to Bruce Monte of Bruce Records, who recorded demos but failed to release anything. By 1954, however, the Valentines were beating local acts in vocal competitions and performing at the Apollo Theatre's Amateur Night contest. Donald Razor (the Velvets) came in to replace Eddie Hogan next and this lineup paid a visit to Hy Weiss, who ran Old Town Records out of the cloakroom of the Triboro Theatre on 125th Street and 3rd Avenue in Harlem. Weiss signed them and issued Barrett's 'Summer Love' in December 1954. Unfortunately, the single went unnoticed at the time.

Eddie Edgehill soon came aboard as second tenor. They next auditioned for George Goldner's Rama label (which he'd formed a few years earlier). Goldner told Barrett he wasn't one-hundred percent sold on them, but encouraged Barrett to keep in touch and inform him about other groups. As it turned out, Barrett had a natural knack for discovering talent; in the spring of 1955, Barrett brought him the 'teenie' group led by 12-year-old Frankie Lymon. The group soon had a massive hit on their hands with Barrett's 'Why Do Fools Fall in Love' under their original name: Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers.

Soon, the Valentines' Barrett was approaching Goldner about releasing a song by his own group, 'Lily Maebelle,' which was issued on the Rama imprint in September 1955, becoming an East Coast favorite and earning them a spot on the bill of a few of Alan Freed's shows at the Academy of Music and Brooklyn Paramount. The Valentines had, by this time, developed into debonair dancers and appeared nattily dressed on stage in their matching white jackets with red valentines on the pockets, red shirts, black shoes, and pink bowties. Their sold-out shows at Paramount, Apollo Theater, Howard Theater, and Royal Theaters, some hosted by disc jockeys Hal Jackson and Jocko Henderson, became the talk of the town.

The Valentines' 'Christmas Prayer' was issued next, but failed to arouse much interest. Meanwhile, Barrett began working with the Cleftones, five friends from Jamaica High School in Queens. Their next two singles were huge hits. Barrett's Valentines, unfortunately, didn't have the same Midas touch; their next single, 'Woo Woo Train,' quickly became a favorite of Alan Freed's, but didn't chart.

Sometime during 1956, the Valentines went through another personnel change. David Clowney (the Pearls) replaced Briggs and Carl Hogan -- who had been singing with the Miracles (the original group on Fury; this was a year before Smokey Robinson's group recorded under this name) -- rejoined for what turned out to be their final recording session for Rama. The Valentines also sang with the Wrens on 'C'est La Vie' and recorded a radio promotional song for Boston disc jockey Joe Smith, who later went on to become head of Warner Bros. Records.

Barrett continued working with Goldner's Rama and Gee labels, becoming the creative force behind many of the groups signed by Goldner during the mid- to late '50s (including the Chantels, one of the very first R&B girl groups to have nationwide success). Barrett eventually decided to devote his full attention to the Chantels and dissolved the Valentines during the summer of 1957, after one final appearance at the Apollo. He later worked with Little Anthony & the Imperials and even re-formed the Chantels in 1959, taking over lead vocal duties. Their re-recording of 'Summer's Love' later charted at number 93 pop and number 29 R&B and subsequent singles also charted high on the charts. In 1960, Barrett left Goldner's empire and started his own label, signing the Veneers.

In 1963, Barrett returned to his native Philadelphia and began his long association with the Three Degrees, a local vocal girl group who later had huge R&B hits in the '70s with songs written by Barrett. He later got them short-term deals with Warner Bros., Metromedia, and Philadelphia's Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's Neptune label and they scored again after doing the vocals for TV's 'Soul Train' theme song, 'TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)' by MFSB featuring the Three Degrees, hitting number one R&B and number one pop in 1974. This lead to other hits and TV appearances.

Barrett continued working well into the '70s, becoming a successful black record producer (one of the first). He produced early recordings for the Isley Brothers, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, and Gamble & Huff during the early part of each of their careers. His songs have been performed by an incredible variety of performers in many crossover genres, including those by country artists Lou Ann Barton and Chuck Jackson, rockers Dave Edmunds and Janis Joplin, and a cappella novelty act the Nylons. As of 1996, Barrett was still producing in the rap music genre.

The rest of the Valentines also went on to much success. Clowney became Dave 'Baby' Cortez, arranger for many groups like the Paragons and the Jesters, and a few years later had his own instrumental monster hit ('Happy Organ,' number one, 1959). Hogan became a songwriter, often collaborating with Barrett on songs for Little Anthony & the Imperials, Alvin Robinson, and the Dubs. Ronnie Bright joined the Cadillacs and in 1963 had a hit (number 16) with Johnny Cymbal as the immortal 'Mr. Bass Man.' He then joined the Deep River Boys and later Carl Gardner's Coasters. ", "One of the great blues singers of the post-World War II period, Jimmy Witherspoon was also versatile enough to fit comfortably into the jazz world. Witherspoon was born on August 8, 1923, in Gurdon, AR. As a child, he sang in a church choir, and made his debut recordings with Jay McShann for Philo and Mercury in 1945 and 1946. His own first recordings, using McShann's band, resulted in a number one R&B hit in 1949 with 'Ain't Nobody's Business, Pts. 1 & 2' on Supreme Records. Live performances of 'No Rollin' Blues' and 'Big Fine Girl' provided 'Spoon with two more hits in 1950.

The mid-'50s were a lean time, with his style of shouting blues temporarily out of fashion; singles were tried for Federal, Chess, Atco, Vee Jay, and others, with little success. Jimmy Witherspoon at the Monterey Jazz Festival (HiFi Jazz) from 1959 lifted him back into the limelight. Partnerships with Ben Webster or Groove Holmes were recorded, and he toured Europe in 1961 with Buck Clayton, performing overseas many more times in the decades to follow; some memorable music resulted, but Witherspoon's best 1960s album is Evening Blues (Prestige), which features T-Bone Walker on guitar and Clifford Scott on saxophone. As the '70s began, Witherspoon decided to take a short break from live performances, settled in Los Angeles, took a job as a disc jockey, and continued making records. In 1971 Witherspoon teamed up with former Animals vocalist Eric Burdon for the album Guilty. Unfortunately it sold poorly. By 1973 his short retirement from live performances was over. Witherspoon was ready to get back on the road and assembled an amazing band featuring a young Robben Ford on lead guitar. Those live shows had received positive reviews, rejuvenating Witherspoon's move toward a definite rock/soul sound. He traveled to London in 1974 to record Love Is a Five Letter Word with British blues producer Mike Vernon. Vernon had produced critically acclaimed British blues albums by John Mayall, Fleetwood Mac, and Ten Years After. By the early '80s, Witherspoon was diagnosed with throat cancer. Although he remained active and was a popular concert attraction, the effect of the disease on his vocals was obvious. Witherspoon passed away on September 18, 1997, at the age of 74. ", "Though he was a limited but enthusiastic singer, Babs Gonzales did what he could to popularize bop. He had brief stints with Charlie Barnet and Lionel Hampton, and then led his own group (Three Bips & a Bop) during 1946-1949. They recorded 24 numbers during 1947-1949, including the earliest version of 'Oop-Pop-A-Da' and such songs as 'Weird Lullaby,' 'A Lesson in Bopology,' 'Professor Bop,' and 'Prelude to a Nightmare'; among his sidemen on these dates were Tadd Dameron, Tony Scott, Roy Haynes, James Moody, J.J. Johnson, Julius Watkins, Sonny Rollins (making his recording debut), Art Pepper, Wynton Kelly, and even Don Redman. However, once the bop 'fad' ended, Gonzales became more of a cult figure. He worked with James Moody (1951-1953), recorded with Jimmy Smith and Johnny Griffin, ran his own label (Expubidence), and wrote two autobiographies that were more colorful than accurate.

I love this guy. Once, I had a copy of his fantastic 78 'Hair Dressen Women', but it mysteriously disappeared. This spoken 78 is pretty cool. ", "Richmond, Virginia isn't thought of as being a hotbed of R&B activity. But it did produce Marvin and the Chirps.

The Chirps began their career in early 1951, after meeting at Richmond's Maggie L. Walker High School. Way back at the very beginning, the members were: Marvin Williams (lead), Charles 'Dice' Lewis (tenor), Graham Johnson (baritone), and Ellis Johnson (bass). Ellis was the one with the strong musical heritage: he was the son of Tommy Johnson, tenor of the famed Harmonizing Four gospel group.

The first personnel change in the group was in the baritone position. One night, the Chirps were at the Club Ebony, when Graham Johnson didn't show up. Fortunately, there was another singer around, named Vernon Jackson (who attended Armstrong High), and someone in the group knew him. He substituted for Graham that night and then became the Chirps' regular baritone.

While it seemed like the Chirps were on their way, Uncle Sam stepped in and Marvin Williams was drafted in the Fall of 1951 (by which time the Korean War was in full bloom). His place was taken by Willie Harris and the Chirps continued on without him. By one of those strange quirks of fate, when Marvin was discharged in 1953 and ready to re-join the group, Willie received his draft notice, so it was an even swap.

As you might expect, the influences on the Chirps include some familiar names: the Ink Spots, Clyde McPhatter, the Orioles, the 5 Royales, and the Midnighters.

All through 1954, the Chirps kept singing around town (at clubs, school functions, and pool parties) while practicing for their big break. (Note that somewhere along the way, the 'Chirps' had become 'Marvin and the Chirps.') One place that they practiced was at Archie Elkin's record shop, and, in November 1955, Elkin suggested that the group record 'Sixteen Tons,' a tune that was currently breaking big in a version by Tennessee Ernie Ford (although it had been written by Merle Travis back in 1947). Since Ernie Ford was a bass and Ellis Johnson's bass voice was quite good, Elkin figured it was a natural.

Elkin got them a recording date with Tip Top Records (a local company, headquartered at 3409 West Leigh Street). Marvin believes that Elkin was a part owner of the company (at least he was in charge of the session); others involved with Tip Top were Joe Sinsheimer, Milt Sinsheimer, and Pat Cohen. There was no relation to the New York label of the same name (owned by Leo Rogers and Sid Arky), nor to Charles Klemer's Tip Top records in California, which existed at the exact same time.

The Chirps knew what they were going to record for the 'A' side, but they had nothing to sing on the flip. It was the Christmas season, so, says Marvin, 'I sat down and wrote 'I'll Miss You This Xmas' in about ten minutes.' It turned out to be a pleasant ballad, with a really nice sax break in it. Note that Joe Sinsheimer managed to take partial credit for composing the tune. Also, the publisher of the tune is listed as 'Allen Music,' which means there's probably some tie-in with 1949's Allen label (also out of Richmond, Virginia), which featured Jimmy Sweeney and the 4 Jacks. [Just as an aside, it seems strange to me that a group which had been around for several years couldn't think of anything to put on the flip side of their first record. They must have been singing something all those years. It's almost like the thought of recording took them completely by surprise.]

Tip Top issued the two sides in early November 1955, and they were reviewed on November 19 (just a week after Tennessee Ernie's version hit the national charts). 'Sixteen Tons' received a 'good' rating; the flip only got a 'fair.' Other reviews that week went to the Midnighters' 'Rock And Roll Wedding,' the Hearts' 'Until The Real Thing Comes Along,' Nappy Brown's 'Doodle I Love You,' the Sunbeams' 'Come Back Baby,' Jimmy Jones & the Sparks of Rhythm's 'Stars Are In The Sky,' the Cadets' 'If It Is Wrong,' the Saigons' 'You're Heavenly,' Marvin & Johnny's 'Will You Love Me,' the Hepsters' 'I Had To Let You Go,' the Coronets' 'Don't Deprive Me,' and the Squires' 'Heavenly Angel.'

Each of the guys in the group got a copy of the record, and that was it! They never heard it on the radio or on any jukeboxes. Considering that 'Sixteen Tons' received a 'good' review in the trades, there seems to have been no promotion of the disc whatsoever (it's amazing that Tip Top even bothered to send it out for review). As far as I can tell, the Chirps didn't even bother to use the record as leverage to get better gigs. They were only weekend entertainers anyway, so nothing much changed for them after the record was released.

The Chirps might have stumbled along with their minimalist career for many more years, but in 1958, Tommy Johnson recruited his son Ellis as bass for the Harmonizing Four. At that point, the others simply gave it up.

Ellis Johnson died around 1997, but all the other members are still living in Virginia. While the Chirps were capable of turning out some pretty good tunes, it's fair to say that they had absolutely no impact on the music business whatsoever.", "Boogie piano master Amos Milburn was born in Houston, and he died there a short 52 years later. In between, he pounded out some of the most hellacious boogies of the postwar era, usually recording in Los Angeles for Aladdin Records and specializing in good-natured upbeat romps about booze and its effects (both positive and negative) that proved massive hits during the immediate pre-rock era.

The self-taught 88s ace made a name for himself as 'the He-Man Martha Raye' around Houston before joining the Navy and seeing overseas battle action in World War II. When he came out of the service, Milburn played in various Lone Star niteries before meeting the woman whose efforts would catapult him to stardom.

Persistent manager Lola Anne Cullum reportedly barged into Aladdin boss Eddie Mesner's hospital room, toting a portable disc machine with Milburn's demo all cued up. The gambit worked -- Milburn signed with Aladdin in 1946. His first date included a thundering 'Down the Road Apiece' that presaged the imminent rise of rock & roll. But Milburn was capable of subtler charms too, crooning mellow blues ballads in a Charles Brown-influenced style (the two would later become close friends, playing together frequently).

The first of Milburn's 19 Top Ten R&B smashes came in 1948 with his party classic 'Chicken Shack Boogie,' which paced the charts and anointed his band with a worthy name (the Aladdin Chickenshackers, natch). A velvet-smooth 'Bewildered' displayed the cool after-hours side of Milburn's persona as it streaked up the charts later that year, but it was rollicking horn-driven material such as 'Roomin' House Boogie' and 'Sax Shack Boogie' that Milburn was renowned for. Milburn's rumbling 88s influenced a variety of famous artists, notably Fats Domino.

With the ascent of 'Bad, Bad Whiskey' to the peak of the charts in 1950, Milburn embarked on a string of similarly boozy smashes: 'Thinking and Drinking,' 'Let Me Go Home Whiskey,' 'One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer' (an inebriating round John Lee Hooker apparently enjoyed!), and 'Good Good Whiskey' (his last hit in 1954). Alcoholism later brought the pianist down hard, giving these numbers a grimly ironic twist in retrospect. Milburn's national profile rated a series of appearances on the Willie Bryant-hosted mid-'50s TV program Showtime at the Apollo (where he gave out with a blistering 'Down the Road Apiece').

Aladdin stuck with Milburn long after the hits ceased, dispatching him to New Orleans in 1956 to record with the vaunted studio crew at Cosimo's. There he recut 'Chicken Shack Boogie' in a manner so torrid that it's impossible to believe it didn't hit (tenor saxist Lee Allen and drummer Charles 'Hungry' Williams blast with atomic power as Milburn happily grunts along with his pounding boogie piano solo). In 1957, he left Aladdin for good.

Milburn contributed a fine offering to the R&B Yuletide canon in 1960 with his swinging 'Christmas (Comes but Once a Year)' for King. Berry Gordy gave him a comeback forum in 1962, issuing an album on Motown predominated by remakes of his old hits that doesn't deserve its extreme rarity today (even Little Stevie Wonder pitched in on harp for the sessions).

Nothing could jump start the pianist's fading career by then, though. His health deteriorated to the point where a string of strokes limited his mobility and his left leg was eventually amputated. Not too long after, one of the greatest pioneers in the history of R&B was dead. ", "This song is everywhere now that people are clicking on the 'Bummed Out Christmas' compilation CD. ", "While not nearly as well remembered by the general public as either Sam Cooke or Otis Redding, singer Jesse Belvin was in many regards a performer of equal stature whose career was also cut far too short by tragedy. At the time of his death, Belvin was moving in the much the same direction as Cooke (he was even on the same record label, although signed earlier), and was scoring and writing hits long before Redding ever cut a record.

Jesse Lorenzo Belvin was born in San Antonio, TX, in 1932. When he was five, his family relocated to Los Angeles, and by age seven he was singing in church. He discovered R&B in his early teens, and in 1950 joined jazz saxophonist Big Jay McNeely's backing vocal quartet Three Dots and a Dash. Belvin's falsetto was placed up front in his debut release, 1950's 'All the Wine Is Gone'; the response was so strong that on the group's next record, his name was placed directly under McNeely's on the B-side, 'Sad Story.' In 1952, Belvin and bandmate Marvin Phillips signed to Specialty. They cut four singles: the first three -- 'Baby Don't Go,' 'One Little Blessing,' and 'Love of My Life' -- were credited to Jesse Belvin, and all failed to chart. The last, 'Dream Girl,' which featured Belvin on piano and vocals with Phillips on saxophone, was credited to Jesse & Marvin, and got to number two on the R&B charts in 1953.

Unfortunately, just as it looked like Belvin's career was going to take off, he was drafted. While home on leave, he wrote a song called 'Earth Angel,' inspired by a young white woman who lived near him. The song was subsequently recorded by a semi-professional doo wop quartet called the Penguins and became one of the first R&B singles to cross over onto the pop charts, selling a million copies between late 1954 and early 1955. (A lawsuit later erupted over the authorship and origins of the song, which took almost two years to settle; Belvin was awarded one-third credit for the song, alongside the Penguins' Curtis Williams and a third singer who had a claim to writing it.)

Belvin was a prolific songwriter, but his business approach was rather cavalier. In a period in which millions of dollars were sometimes earned on a carefully protected copyright, Belvin wrote songs as a way of raising quick cash and often sold them outright to others for as little as 100 dollars. The result was dozens upon dozens of songs that Belvin was responsible for as writer and singer on the demo or guide track, few of which he actually received credit for. In 1956, he signed a long-term contract with Modern Records, and also continued to sing for other labels under assumed names, working in the background with other artists. Some of the Modern releases were credited to the Cliques, which was really Jesse Belvin and Eugene Church, but most were credited to Belvin alone.

It was with Modern that he cut his most enduring record. 'Goodnight My Love' had been written by producer George Mottola ten years earlier, but he had never been able to finish it; Belvin provided the lines for the bridge that completed the song, but asked for 400 dollars in lieu of co-authorship credit. Mottola didn't have it, but a colleague, John Marascalco, did, and put up the money, receiving co-authorship credit in the bargain. The song reached number seven on the R&B charts in 1956; curiously, the pianist on the recording was an 11-year-old session player making his recording debut named Barry White, who would emerge as a giant in his own right about two decades later. More important at the time, 'Goodnight My Love' became the outro theme to Alan Freed's rock & roll radio show, heard by millions of young listeners every night.

Belvin cut ten singles for Modern, of which 'Goodnight My Love' was far and away the most successful. In 1958, he was again on the move, recording for Knight, Class, and Jamie Records under his own name, as well as for the Aladdin label in association with the Sharptones. His biggest success that year, however, came through a group called the Shields, which had been formed by George Mottola to record on his own Tender label. Adding his voice to the mix, Belvin joined the group, which also included Frankie Ervin on lead and Johnny 'Guitar' Watson on guitar. The Shields' only record with Belvin was 'You Cheated,' which had already been cut by a white group called the Slades; the Shields' version was the more successful, reaching number 15 on the pop charts in the summer of 1958.

Around this time, Belvin's career took a decided upswing, in part with help from his wife Jo Anne, a fine songwriter in her own right who became his manager and took charge of his career. One of the first results was getting him signed to RCA Records; his first big success for the new label came in April of 1959 with the Top 40 hit 'Guess Who.' He finished his first album, Just Jesse Belvin, later in the year, developing a more mature studio sound and a somewhat more sophisticated singing style as well. Like Sam Cooke, who would follow him on to RCA with similar goals a short time later, Belvin began to realize that he had the potential to cross over to adult white audiences while keeping his original fans as well. For its part, RCA saw in Belvin the potential for another Nat 'King Cole or Billy Eckstine: a powerful and charismatic performer; he had acquired the nickname 'Mr. Easy' for his way with the ballads that increasingly made up his live sets.

In late 1959, with the encouragement of his wife and the support of producer Dick Pierce and arranger/conductor Marty Paich, Belvin went into the studio for three recording dates that yielded a dozen songs, among them intensely soulful covers of standards like 'Blues in the Night,' 'In the Still of the Night,' and 'Makin' Whoopee.' The band included Art Pepper on the sax and clarinet and Jack Sheldon on the trumpet, and the playing was extraordinary all the way around. Alas, Belvin never heard the finished album, Mr. Easy; on February 6, 1960, shortly after finishing a performance in Little Rock, AR, on a bill with Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, and Marv Johnson, Belvin and his wife were killed in a head-on auto collision. Mr. Easy was released later in 1960, his final testament and an enduring legacy. ", "The Dominoes (also sometimes known as Billy Ward & the Dominoes) had one of the finest musical pedigrees of any R&B vocal group of the 1940s, at least based on its founder's training and experience. A lot of R&B acts came out of a gospel background, and Bo Diddley even studied violin as a boy, but rare is the R&B vocal group whose founder was trained at Juilliard. Billy Ward (born September 19, 1921, Los Angeles) had a minister father and a musician mother, and was a musical prodigy as a child, schooled in classical music theory and composition as well as performance. Before he was in his teens, Ward was good enough on the organ to play at his father's services and he won a composition award at age 14 from Walter Damrosch, the celebrated New York music educator, composer, and administrator. Following his military service during World War II, Ward studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and at the Juilliard School of Music in New York, where he later became a voice coach; he also began working on Broadway during the late '40s. It was from the ranks of his ex-students that he recruited the original members of the Dominoes: Clyde McPhatter as lead singer, Charlie White (tenor), Joe Lamont (baritone), and Bill Brown (bass). The Dominoes won a series of talent contests, including a competition on the television show Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, which got them a lot of engagements and an audition with Ralph Bass, the head of the newly established Federal Records label, part of Syd Nathan's King Records, during the final months of 1950.

The Dominoes, with McPhatter's high tenor lead, had a startlingly fresh sound and enjoyed a number six R&B hit in early 1951 with one song from their first session, 'Do Something for Me.' It was in May of that year that the group broke through to the top of the R&B charts with 'Sixty Minute Man,' which also established them as one of the leading crossover acts between gospel and blues. Riding the wave of demand for their performances off of that hit -- one of the first great double-entendre records of the '50s, and a very early example of what would be considered a 'rock & roll' record -- the group spent the next seven months on the road, building up a lot of public good will and a reputation as one of the top R&B acts of the era.

What made the Dominoes special, besides the excellent arrangements and McPhatter's unique voice, was their appeal beyond the usual racial lines of demarcation. They were huge in the black community, but they were also one of a relative handful of R&B acts that developed a small but fiercely loyal following among younger white listeners as well during the early '50s, which didn't matter a lot at the time -- and, as things worked out, was only incidental to their fate -- but helped to plant a seed that blossomed into the full-blown rock & roll boom four years later. The Dominoes' star seemed poised only to rise, but there was already trouble within the lineup as early as 1951, when Charlie White quit and was succeeded by James Van Loan, followed by Bill Brown, who was replaced by David McNeil, formerly of the group the Larks. White (who later joined the Clovers) and Brown passed through a short-lived vocal group called the Checkers, while the reconstituted Dominoes continued scoring hits with 'I Am With You' and 'That's What You're Doing to Me,' before scaling the top of the R&B charts again with 'Have Mercy Baby,' which was number one for two and a half months in 1952.

Amid these successes, and the constant touring and occasional recording, there was rising dissension within the ranks of the group over the way that Ward had it organized, musically and financially. Nobody disputed that Ward had the musical training to run the group on that level, and his ruling it with an iron hand where arrangements and repertory were concerned was understandable. The problem was that the ticket-buying and record-buying public was enamored of the singing itself, especially that of lead tenor Clyde McPhatter, and the singers were seeing very little of the money the group was earning. McPhatter himself was being paid barely enough to live on, which was bad enough, but to add insult to injury, he often found himself billed as Clyde Ward in order to fool fans into thinking that he was Billy Ward's brother. In the spring of 1953, it all hit the fan at once, as McPhatter exited the lineup in April. Under the encouragement of Atlantic Records chief Ahmet Ertegun, he quickly organized a new group of his own called the Drifters. McPhatter's exit from the Dominoes hit the group's core audience within the black community like news of an earthquake, so beloved was the lead singer among their fans. The group and the singer enjoyed the adulation appropriate to a pop/R&B outfit, but they also evoked deep passions that were more akin to those elicited by a gospel outfit, and his departure from the Dominoes should have derailed the group. Ward must have sensed that there was trouble coming, however, because during the prior year he had approached a young boxer-turned-singer named Jackie Wilson, who had a voice that, if anything, was better than McPhatter's. A high tenor similar to McPhatter, he moved right into the fold with the latter's departure and the Dominoes picked right up with their performances and their contract at King/Federal. Wilson's singles with the group included 'You Can't Keep a Good Man Down' and 'Rags to Riches,' which kept their demand reasonably high for the next year. The Dominoes seemed to be on track once more, despite more lineup shifts, including the departure of David McNeil for military service. The new Dominoes lineup was Jackie Wilson (lead), James Van Loan (second tenor), Milton Marle (baritone), and Cliff Givens (bass), with Billy Ward still in charge. In 1954, Ward decided to forego renewing the group's contract at King Records -- it seemed as though they hardly ever saw anything from their work in the studio, despite having sold so many records that, at one point, Nathan had put his pressing plant on overtime just to meet the demand for the group's records. Ward made his move in 1954, taking the group to Jubilee Records that August, where they lasted through two singles. Finally, in early 1955, the Dominoes moved to Decca Records, where they enjoyed that long-sought national hit with 'St. Teresa of the Roses.' The group was unable to replicate that success over the next year, however, and in late 1956, Wilson quit to begin a solo career that would make him a star.

Ward tried to keep the franchise going with the addition of ex-Lark Eugene Mumford as lead singer, and got the group a new contract with California-based Liberty Records. The new incarnation of the Dominoes suddenly found themselves with a major hit in the form of 'Star Dust,' which rode the pop charts for 24 weeks and got as high as number 13 nationally. This proved to be their last serious assault on the charts, however, and the group went hitless despite singles issued on the ABC label into the late '50s. Despite their lack of chart success, the Dominoes continued to perform into the 1960s and LPs -- mostly exploiting Clyde McPhatter's and Jackie Wilson's name and work -- did appear periodically. Today the group is principally remembered in the context of their respective careers, though 'Sixty Minute Man' does occupy an exalted place in its own right as a breakthrough R&B record. ", "As an integral behind-the-scenes fixture on the L.A. postwar blues scene, pianist/arranger/A&R man Lloyd Glenn had few equals. His rolling ivories anchored many of Lowell Fulson's best waxings for Swing Time and Checker, and he scored his own major hits on Swing Time with the imaginative instrumentals 'Old Time Shuffle Blues' in 1950 and 'Chica Boo' the next year. Glenn was already an experienced musician when he left the Lone Star state for sunny California in 1942. His early sessions there included backing T-Bone Walker at the 1947 Capitol date that produced the guitarist's immortal 'Call It Stormy Monday.' Glenn recorded for the first time under his own name the same year for Imperial with his band, the Joymakers, which included guitarist Gene Phillips, saxist Marshall Royal, and singer Geraldine Carter.

Massively constructed guitarist Tiny Webb introduced Glenn to Swing Time owner Jack Lauderdale in 1949, inaugurating a five-year stint as A&R man at the firm for Glenn. After Swing Time's demise, the pianist moved to Aladdin Records, issuing more catchy instrumentals for Eddie Mesner's firm through 1959. There was also an isolated session for Imperial in 1962 that produced 'Twistville' and 'Young Date.' The pianist remained active into the 1980s, often touring as Big Joe Turner's accompanist. ", "Pop songstress Joni James was born Giovanna Carmella Babbo in Chicago on September 22, 1930. After studying drama and ballet throughout her adolescence, upon graduating high school she joined a local dance troupe on a tour of Canada, later working as a chorus girl at the Windy City's Edgewater Beach Hotel. A fill-in gig at an Indiana roadhouse convinced James to pursue a career as a singer, and while appearing in a TV commercial she was spotted by executives at MGM, signing to the label in 1952. Her single 'Why Don't You Believe Me' sold over a million copies, topping the US charts for six weeks and falling just shy of the Top Ten in Britain; an overnight sensation, James enjoyed an incredible run of hits over the next year, among them the double-sided 'Have You Heard'/'Wishing Ring,' 'Purple Shades,' Hank Williams' 'Your Cheatin' Heart,' 'Is It Any Wonder,' 'Almost Always,' 'My Love, My Love,' 'You're Fooling Someone,' 'Nina-Non (A Christmas Lullaby)' and 'You're My Everything.' By 1954, however, James' early success seemed to dissipate entirely, and after returning to the Top Ten twice the following year with 'How Important Can It Be?' and 'You Are My Love' she never reached to the upper rungs of the charts again, although she continued cracking the Top 100 for the remainder of the decade. In 1964, she retired from music to tend to her ailing husband, musical director Anthony Acquaviva, and spent the next three decades essentially removed from the public eye; finally, during the mid-'90s she returned to touring while also supervising the re-release of her classic MGM recordings." ) arLABEL = new Array( "Kicks", "National", "Rama", "Supreme", "Essex", "Tip Top", "Aladdin", "Empire", "Modern", "King", "Swing Time", "MGM" ) arFORMAT = new Array( "10-inch 78RPM Record", "10-inch 78RPM Record", "10-inch 78RPM Record", "10-inch 78RPM Record", "10-inch 78RPM Record", "10-inch 78RPM Record", "10-inch 78RPM Record", "10-inch 78RPM Record", "10-inch 78RPM Record", "10-inch 78RPM Record", "10-inch 78RPM Record", "10-inch 78RPM Record" )