Obscure American Artists 1956-1963, Teen 245

 

Bob Loye aka Bobby Loye Jr. Teen and Doo-Wop singer from from New York City.

Marty Evans. Rock & Roll singer. Recorded for Coral (label from NYC).

Johnny Fairchild. Pop & Rhythm & Blues vocalist. Recorded with The Nite Riders, in New Orleans, for Ace Records.

Aileen Frances. Born Helene Frances. Teen Pop singer. Recorded for Roulette (label from NYC).

Marty Filler. Teen Pop singer. Recorded for Taurus Records (label from Brooklyn, New York).

Bonnie Blu Byrnes. Teen Pop singer. Recorded for Golden Crest (label from NYC).

Johnny Fallin. Teen Pop singer, member of The Barons (Doo-Wop group). Recorded for Capitol.

Obscure American Artists 1956-1963, Teen 244

 

The Coney Island Kids. Vocal group from Brooklyn, NY. They recorded four singles in 1955/1956 for Jubilee & Josie. In 1962 Jubilee released a single, re-issue of instrumental (Moonlight Beach) from the 1^st single, paired with the same track with the addition of a peculiar recitation by George Tucker (local DJ).

Ron Jackson. Pop vocalist - one single for ATCO Records.

Gene Evans. Singer/songwriter/guitarist from Lubbock, TX. Born 1941 in Littlefield, TX - died 2013. He played with Buddy Holly and was great friends with Waylon Jennings. Gene also played with Paul McCartney in Europe and wrote songs for artists like Jennie C. Riley. He recorded for different Texas labels.
https://lonestarstomp.blogspot.com/2010/06/i-love-em-leave-em-then-forget-em.html

Curlee Dinkins. West Coast Blues and Doo-Wop singer, member of The Hollywood Flames (1928 - 2016). Recorded for Jay-Tone (soul and R&B label from Los Angeles, California), the 1^st single, recorded with Jeep Smith Orchestra, has been classified to Teen Sound.

Gloria Wood & The Afterbeats. Singer & voice actress (1923 - 1995). Her rare voice was in the four-octave range. She was able to imitate other voices. She recorded numerous singles in the 1940s and 1950s, one single in 1960, with The Afterbeats, for Buena Vista Records (Disney company's pop label). The Afterbeats was a backing group for Annette and other Disney artists.

Bobby & Jim. Teen Sound duo. One single for Capitol, both songs written by Austin Gumbs, Morris Nanton (songwriting team from New Jersey).

Jimmy Payne. Country singer, guitarist and songwriter (born in Arkansas in 1936 - died 2023).
In 1962 he recorded the first single, in a gospel style, with The Glaser Brothers.
In 1962/1963 he recorded next singles, for Lyco (label from St. Louis, Missouri) and Vee Jay.
Many more singles between 1964 and 1982.

Obscure American Artists 1956-1963, Teen 243

 

Danny Allen. Rock 'n' Roll singer, recorded a single on the small label Valley Records of Knoxville (Tennessee).

Rosalie Alter. Pop and Soul vocalist. Recorded for NYC labels: Harmon and Arcie (only one single released).

Lou Bartel. Born Lou Bartfield. Pop and Doo-Wop singer who recorded under this name on Apollo and ABC-Paramount, and Bart Lewis on Oklahoma.

Bob Currie. Rockabilly singer. In 1961 one single for Strand (NYC label). In the mid-1960s, probably the same artist recorded for Arlingwood Records (label from Jacksonville, Florida).

The Darlenes. Girl group. probably from Chicago - one single for Stacy Records (label from Chicago, Illinois).

 Chris Darlin. Teen Pop singer - one single for Doré.

Art Wheeler. West Coast Doo-Wop, Rock and Soul singer. The first single for Sabrina (label from Los Angeles), the next for Swingin' (another label from Los Angeles). More singles in the late 1960a and 1970s.
https://www.sirshambling.com/artists_2012/W/art_wheeler/index.php

Turner Di Sentri. Alias of Bob Gaudio (The Four Seasons). One solo single for Topix Records.

The Beach Girls. Two different girl groups used this name:

The Beach Girls {Vault}.  Group from San Bernardino, California. Recorded for Vault (label from LA).

The Beach Girls (Dynovox). Formerly The Rag Dolls. Pop female trio, Bob Crewe's attempt to create a female version of the Four Seasons. Members included Jean Thomas, Susie Lewis, and Mikie Harris. Formerly The Rag Dolls. Originally from Sarasota, Florida.

Obscure American Artists 1956-1963, Teen 242

 

Betty & Sue. Teen Pop duo - two singles for RCA Victor.

The Brother Sisters. Mysterious female vocal group. In 1957 they recorded “Alone” for Mercury. The same year, “Alone” was recorded by The Sheppard Sisters for Lance, re-issued in 1958 for Mercury. Both versions are nearly identical?

Erle Hall. Rockabilly singer - one single for Nasco Records (label from Nashville).

Richard Glynn. Rockabilly singer - one single for Dot. 

Tony Mattina. Rock singer from Louisiana. Recorded for Ace and Lanor (local label from Louisiana).

Sandi Summers. Teen Pop singer - one single for Charm Records (small independent label from New York, NY)

Judy Miller. Teen Pop singer - one single for Canadian American.

Ronnie Toth. Teen Pop and Rock singer - one single for ABC-Paramount

Frankie Castro. Rock singer. In 1955/1956 he recorded several singles for Mercury and Wing.

In the late 1950s he recorded four single for NYC labels: RKO Unique, 20th Fox (two) and Whitehall.

Tony Moon. Producer, songwriter and guitar player. Tony Moon arranged Danté & The Evergreens music and played guitar on their records. After the break-up of the group in 1962, he moved to Nashville and become Brenda Lee's conductor and guitar player for the next several years.

In 1960 he recorded one single on Pan World (label from Los Angeles, CA - owned by Aki Aleong), with The Aktones (formerly The Pastels, group from Santa Monica).
https://doo-wop.blogg.org/tony-moon-the-aktones-aka-dante-the-evergreens-2-a127072156

Obscure American Artists 1956-1963, Teen 241

 

Bob Miller. Teen Pop singer - two singles for Jubilee (label from NYC). Several other artists used this name.

Grady Sneed. Pop singer, member of the twin-brother duo Brady & Grady Sneed  (see T16). In 1963  Grady (left) recorded one solo single for Reprise Records.

TheTradewinds. Vocal group from Newark, NJ. State Ralph Rizzoll "Dusty"; Phil Mehill; Angel Cifelli "Chubby"; Sal Capriglione. Phil and Dusty are cousins, and have known Sal since they were nine. When the trio met guitarist Chubby, they formed their group. Their first professional experience came with night club dates around the Newark area. Recorded for RCA Victor.
https://doo-wop.blogg.org/main-tag/tradewinds-1-c26504372

Peggy Taylor. Margaret Tague (1927 - 2002). Singer, actress from California

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peggy_Taylor

Beverly Ross. Pop singer, songwriter and musician who co-wrote several successful pop songs in the 1950s and 1960s (1934 - 2022). In 1958 she recorded two singles for Columbia. While working at the Brill Building with Jeff Barry in the late 1950s, Ross was recruited to work for the publishing company Hill & Range. At Hill & Range Ross met aspiring songwriter Phil Spector, and began collaborating with him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Ross

Fred Neil. Born Frederick Ralph Morlock Jr., in 1936, in Ohio - died 2001. Blues and folk singer and songwriter. He took his stage name from his maternal grandmother, Addie Neill, the family member of whom he was fondest. In the late 1950s, Neil was one of the singer-songwriters who worked out of New York City's Brill Building, a center for music industry offices and professional songwriters. While composing at the Brill Building for other artists, Neil also recorded six mostly rockabilly-pop singles for different labels as a solo artist.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Neil

Obscure American Artists 1956-1963, Pop 20

 

Freddie Houston. R&B and Soul singer. Born 1938; Winston Salem, North Carolina - died 2014. Freddie typified NYC soul of the early 60s and is best known for his big beat ballads. Between 1961 and 1964 he recorded seven singles: two for Carlton, one for Toto, one for Captain and two for Old Town. Two of these singles entered Cash Box Looking Ahead chart (see NL12). He was also a very popular artist on the Popcorn scene with his Carlton and Captain releases. In the late 1950s he recorded two singles for End, as Johnny Eager (see R18).

India White. Obscure R&B singer. One single in 1958 for Juanita (obscure small label, loc?).

Mel Bocci. Obscure Pop singer. One single in 1959 for Manhattan Records (label from Cleveland, Ohio), with Kathy and Charlene (unidentified girl duo). Bocci composed both tracks. In 1959 he recorded one single as Dick Melari (see P10).

Tiny Topsy. Real Name: Otha Lee Moore Hall (1930 – 1964). R&B singer from Chicago. Tiny's first recording session was held in Cincinnati on July 9, 1957 and resulted in the bouncy "Aw! Shucks Baby" (Federal 12302), with a great tenor solo by Ray Felder. The label credit reads "Tiny Topsy With The Five Chances". The flip was a cover of "Miss You So", a Top 10 R&B hit for Lillian Offitt (Excello 2104, also # 66 pop). A third track from this session, "A Woman's Intuition", remained unissued until 1988. Her next two singles - both solid rockers - "Come On, Come On, Come On" (Federal 12309) and "You Shocked Me" (Federal 12315) both saw a UK release on the Parlophone label.
Tiny Topsy's fourth Federal single is a very interesting one. Written by the aforementioned Bernice Williams, it is called "Western Rock 'n' Roll" and incorporates snippets of then-current hits (Lollipop, At the Hop, Get a Job, Short Shorts). It opens with gunshots and probably for that reason, Dave Penny (yes, the same one) calls it a "Western Movies pastiche" in his 1988 liner notes for the LP "Aw! Shucks Baby". However, the recording date of "Western Rock 'n' Roll" (March 19, 1958) predates the release date of the Olympics hit by some three months. So it looks like the sound effects on "Western Movies" were inspired by "Western Rock 'n' Roll" instead of the other way round.
Tiny Topsy certainly was a trendsetter, because her next single (and her last one for Federal) was the original of what has become a classic : "Just A Little Bit". Rosco Gordon had a # 2 R&B hit with his version in 1960 and the song has been covered by countless people, including Jerry Lee Lewis on his "Southern Roots" album.
After leaving Federal, Tiny had only one further single released, "Working On Me Baby", coupled with "How You Changed" (Argo 5383). In the UK, "How You Changed" was retitled "After Marriage Blues" (Pye International N 25104).
"Aw! Shucks Baby" was re-released by King in 1963, not long before her untimely death at the age of only 34. She never scored a hit, but her small legacy is thoroughly enjoyable.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/129807139/otha-lee-hall

Zabethe Wilde. Real Name: Elizabeth Dickerson. Ex-shake dancer China Doll Dickerson who changed her name to Zabeth Wild when she became a singer. She recorded four songs for Capitol Records in 1961. She starred in well-known musical in Chicago in 1961 "Kicks and Co." with Burgess Meredith.

https://www.discogs.com/artist/3003623-Zabethe-Wilde

Obscure American Artists 1956-1963, Pop 19

 

Bobby Dunn. Soul, R&B songwriter and singer Robert Lee Dunn active in New York, NY. Member of

The Empires aka The Prestos

(several singles between 1954 -1957).

Four solo singles between 1958 – 1963, for different labels, self-penned in majority.

One conceptual (all-twist) album in 1962 with Les Cooper & His Twisters.

A couple of singles in the late 1960s.

Richi Wallace. Pop/R&B singer/songwriter. In 1963/1964, at the age of 23, recorded two singles for Federal - all four songs co-written with

Ü Johnny Otis

who presumably produced both records.

Al Smith. Bassist, songwriter and producer from Chicago. He started his career in the mid-1940s. Worked with Jimmy Reed, ran his own label Blues On Blues and produced many records for Bluesway.

In 1954/1956 recorded two singles for Vee Jay, credited to Al Smith Combo.

More singles in the late 1950s for Falcon and Abner (Chicago labels).

Al Smith Orchestra also recorded several singles as the accompanying band (The Falcons, Larry Birdsong, Little Junior Parker and others).

A couple of other artist active 1956-1963 used this name.

Johnny Wells. Pop vocalist (resemblance to Perry Como). He recorded two singles in 1959/1960 for Astor (label from Lodi, New Jersey) with Orchestra conducted by Siravo, the first (1959) single (Lonely Moon) entered Cash Box Looking Ahead chart (see NL26). This is the same guy who was Johnny Kay of budget label fame (many Christmas, Hymn and Italian albums).

Obscure American Artists 1956-1963, Pop 18

 

Dave Day aka Davey Day(e) aka Sonny Daye. Born David Vladimir Fatalsky. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area recording artist was a multi-talented performer. An excellent guitarist with « varied musical tastes. In April 1956, Dave, along with The Red Coats (The Comets), cut two sides for the Kapp label, Calpyso Rock /  Blue. The record received very little air play and virtually went unnoticed. Joe Averbach, also the Kapp distributor in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as well as operator of the Fee Bee label was approached by Dave with some original material that he and his partner Tony Ray had written. Shortly thereafter, Dave inked a Fee Bee recording contract. His biggest hit on Fee Bee was Blue Moon Baby, a rocker with an oriental touch, was released in the spring of 1957 and shortly leased to Mercury. One other side of Dave Day’s varied musical tastes was that he also recorded polka music. His most popular ethnic recording was South Side Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, released on Epic in 1965, credited to Davey Daye. He also recorded as Sonny Day (see P04).
https://thatsallritemama.blogspot.com/2011/07/sonny-dave-daye-muffins-on-ring-o.html

Buddy Landon. Obscure pop singer. One record in 1959 for Donna (label from Hollywood, CA).

Buck Rogers. Swamp pop, R&B artist, the stage name for Lawrence Maxine Rodriguez. Two singles for Montel (label from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, owned by Sam Montel). in 1959/1960, the first single as Buck Rogers & His Jets.

Don Rogers. RR& artist based in Seattle, Washington. One single in 1959 for ASI (label affiliated with Don Rogers), A-side credited to Don Rogers, Ann Tanner & The Extroverts, B-side credited to Don Rogers & The Extroverts.

Jimmy Wallace. Soul and R&B singer/songwriter. Two singles in 1961/1962 for on-El Records (R&B soul label from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, owned by Donald White). In 1964-1966 Jimmy Wallace recorded for Alpha (another Philadelphia label).

Don Durant. Born Donald Allison Durae in 1932, died in 2005. Actor and singer, best known for his role, as the sherrif, in the CBS western series, Johnny Ringo. Recorded two singles for Fábor (1958) and RCA Victor (1960).

The Soul-Mates. Soul duo, an early incarnation of Brenda Holloway and Robert Jackson. One single in 1963 for Era, both track composed by Hal Davis, Robert D. Jackson.

Obscure American Artists 1956-1963, Pop 17

 

Rosemary (King). Obscure R&B and Pop vocalist. In 1960 she recorded one single for Robbee (label founded in 1960 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). Rosemary King was possibly the wife (or a close relative) of Chicago guitarist Bobby King who played second guitar on some of Freddy King's Federal sides. In 1962 she recorded two singles for Federal. All four tracks come from a Nov 21 1961 Bobby King session in Cincinnati with Sonny Thompson which included Bobby King's ‘Thank You Mr. Postman’. Two tracks from the session were issued as by Bobby & Rosemary.
https://www.45cat.com/record/4512447

Eddie Williams. Obscure R&B singer -  one single in 1959 for Todd (label from New York City). Several other artist active in the 1950/1960s used this name. Presumably the same artist (45cat) recorded one single in 1960 for Roulette, with Joe Reisman's Orchestra & Chorus.

Chuck Wright. Soul performer, songwriter. Three singles in 1962/1963, two more in 1964, all for Ember.

Jerry Thomas. R&B and Rock singer, raised and graduated high school in Jacksonville, Florida. He sang in the church choir and local singing groups. Has been on his own since moving to New York (1960). In 1960/1961 Jerry recorded two singles for Orchid Records (label from Bronx, New York). Several other artist active in the 1950/1960s used this name.

Cathy Ryan. Born: circa 1928 in Belfast, Ireland. Died: 2009 in San Diego. Pop vocalist who moved to the US in the late 1940s. In the early 1950s, she sang on the East Coast, in the lounges of New York and New Jersey, where she was spotted by Art Mooney's manager. She sang with Mooney in 1952–1953 before signing with MGM Records as a solo artist.
In the mid-50s she recorded for King Records, with Lucky Millinder and The Admirals. Milt Stavin was her personal manager at the time.
In the mid-50s, Ryan married Las Vegas saxophonist Rod Cradit. In the mid-1960s, they were performing with a revue called "Cathy Ryan and the Gents." The group continued to perform at least until 1970. Together they also formed a group called The Cradit Union which toured mostly on the West Coast, at least until the early 1990s.
https://www.discogs.com/artist/2151810-Cathy-Ryan

Stevie Temple Jr. Mysterious artist, presumably pseudonym of

Jeff Barry

who composed and produced both (novelty style) tracks of Steve Temple only single released in 1961 for Dot.

 

 

Obscure American Artists 1956-1963, Pop 16

 

Bill Kope. R&B singer. Two singles in the late 1950s. One for Kudo Recording (R&B label from Detroit), credited to Billy Kope & The Quardells. The second for Harvard (obscure label, distributed by United Telefilm Inc).

Wally Pate. One single in 1959 in world-folk style, recorded with Fred Norman & His Orchestra for Carlton (label founded by former RCA Victor A&R executive Joe Carlton).

Saxie Russell. Real Name: Vernon Taplin. R&B and Soul artist. One single in 1963 for Ran-Dee (label from Chicago).

Johnny Parker & The Zirkons. One R&B single in 1962 for CT Records (label from New York City). Johnny Parker was sax player.

Melvin Smith. R & B singer, born Atlanta, Georgia, 1936. Smith first recorded for RCA Victor in 1952, with further sessions for the same company in 1953-1954, with later records following for smaller labels – three singles with The Night (Nite) Riders.

He also recorded with Big John Greer, and Blow Top Lynn.

https://www.discogs.com/artist/685136-Melvin-Smith

The Nite Riders were: James "Doc" Starkes: bass /trombone; Melvin Smith: vocals / baritone saxophone; Harry Van Walls: piano; Harry Crafton: guitar / vocals; Joe Sewell: tenor saxophone; Jimmy Johnson: drums.

Buddy Skipper. R&B singer, songwriter from Raleigh, NC. In the early 1960s released some 7"s on New York labels (Fling; Fury Records).