Prentice Moreland
Prentice Moreland (March 4, 1925 – September 1988) was an American R&B and doo wop singer of the 1950s and early 1960s. Early life Moreland was born on March 4, 1925, in East St. Louis, Illinois. At some points in his life, he claimed to be related to comedian Mantan Moreland; although he called Mantan his uncle and the two men got along well, Moreland's daughter says there was never any confirmation of an actual familial relationship. Career Moreland was a member of many vocal groups including The Dominoes, The Du Droppers, The Chanteclairs, The Cadets, The Crescendos, The Colts, The Fortunes, The Hollywood Flames, and possibly The Sevilles (the group that had a hit with "Charlena" in 1961). Moreland replaced Ted Taylor (who had left for a solo career) on The Cadets' "Stranded In The Jungle" session and was the one who came up with the "Great Googa Mooga! Lemme outta here!" line in the song. Aaron Collins of The Cadets said of Moreland's line "I think he picke ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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East St
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that east is the direction where the Sun rises: ''east'' comes from Middle English ''est'', from Old English ''ēast'', which itself comes from the Proto-Germanic *''aus-to-'' or *''austra-'' "east, toward the sunrise", from Proto-Indo-European *aus- "to shine," or " dawn", cognate with Old High German ''*ōstar'' "to the east", Latin ''aurora'' 'dawn', and Greek ''ēōs'' 'dawn, east'. Examples of the same formation in other languages include Latin oriens 'east, sunrise' from orior 'to rise, to originate', Greek ανατολή anatolé 'east' from ἀνατέλλω 'to rise' and Hebrew מִזְרָח mizraḥ 'east' from זָרַח zaraḥ 'to rise, to shine'. '' Ēostre'', a Germanic goddess of dawn, might have been a perso ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Johnny Otis
Johnny Otis (born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes; December 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012) was an American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, and talent scout. He was a seminal influence on American R&B and rock and roll. He discovered numerous artists early in their careers who went on to become highly successful in their own right, including Little Esther Phillips, Etta James, Alan O'Day, Big Mama Thornton, Johnny Ace, Jackie Wilson, Little Willie John, Hank Ballard, and The Robins, among many others. Otis has been called the "Godfather of Rhythm and Blues". Personal life Otis was born in Vallejo, California, to Greek immigrant parents, Alexander J. Veliotes, a Mare Island longshoreman and grocery store owner, and his wife, the former Irene Kiskakes, a painter. He had a younger sister, Dorothy, and a younger brother, Nicholas A. Veliotes, who became the U.S. Ambassador to Jordan (1978–1981) and Egypt (1984–1986). Johnny grew up in a predomina ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Please, Please, Please
"Please, Please, Please" is a rhythm and blues song performed by James Brown and the Famous Flames. Written by Brown and Johnny Terry and released as a single on Federal Records in 1956, it reached No. 6 on the R&B charts. The group's debut recording and first chart hit, it has come to be recognized as their signature song. Background In 1952, James Brown was released from a youth detention center in Toccoa, Georgia after Bobby Byrd and his family sponsored him. Brown's warden agreed to the release on the condition that Brown not return to Augusta. After his release, Brown briefly pursued a career in sports before starting his musical career as a gospel vocalist with the group the Ever-Ready Gospel Singers. When a member of Bobby Byrd's vocal group, the Avons, died in 1954, Byrd asked Brown to join his group. A year later, after performing as the Five Royals, they became the Flames, playing all over Georgia and South Carolina. According to Etta James, Brown and his group ca ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area and is the largest city within the greater Mojave Desert. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city, known primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and nightlife. The Las Vegas Valley as a whole serves as the leading financial, commercial, and cultural center for Nevada. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous for its luxurious and extremely large casino-hotels together with their associated activities. It is a top three destination in the United States for business conventions and a global leader in the hospitality industry, claiming more AAA Five Diamond hotels than any other city in the world. Today, Las Vegas annually ranks ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mike Stoller
Lyricist Jerome Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933) were American songwriting and record producing partners. They found success as the writers of such Crossover music, crossover hit songs as "Hound Dog (song), Hound Dog" (1952) and "Kansas City (Leiber and Stoller song), Kansas City" (1952). Later in the 1950s, particularly through their work with The Coasters, they created a string of ground-breaking hits—including "Young Blood (The Coasters song), Young Blood" (1957), "Searchin'" (1957), and "Yakety Yak" (1958)—that used the humorous vernacular of teenagers sung in a style that was openly theatrical rather than personal. Leiber and Stoller wrote hits for Elvis Presley, including "Love Me (Leiber/Stoller song), Love Me" (1956), "Jailhouse Rock (song), Jailhouse Rock" (1957), "Loving You (Elvis Presley song), Loving You", "Don't (Leiber/Stoller song), Don't", and "King Creole (song), King Creole". They also collaborate ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Earl Nelson (singer)
Earl Lee Nelson (September 8, 1928 – July 12, 2008), who also performed as Jackie Lee, was an American soul singer and songwriter. He started his career in the doo-wop group the Hollywood Flames in the 1950s before founding the R&B duo Bob & Earl with Bobby Byrd. As Jackie Lee, he's best known for his hit song "The Duck" (#14 Pop, #4 R&B). Biography Earl Lee Nelson was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana on September 8, 1928. He sang in his church's gospel choir in his youth before his family relocated to Los Angeles in 1937. Nelson enlisted in the U.S. Army at the age of 17, working on the construction of the Panama Canal. In the 1950s he began singing doo-wop and joined the Hollywood Flames. He sang lead on the 1957 single " Buzz Buzz Buzz" which reached #11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #5 on the R&B chart. Nelson and Bobby Byrd, not Bobby Byrd of the Famous Flames, collaborated as Bobby "Baby Face" Byrd & the Birds as well as Bobby Day & the Satellites. In 1957, Nelso ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bobby Day
Robert James Byrd (July 1, 1930 – July 27, 1990), known by the stage name Bobby Day, was an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, and songwriter. He is best known for his hit record " Rockin' Robin", written by Leon René under the pseudonym Jimmie Thomas. Biography Born in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, Day moved to Los Angeles, California, at the age of 15. His first recording was "Young Girl" in 1949 in the R&B group, The Hollywood Flames, released in 1950 on the Selective Label. He went several years with minor musical success limited to the West Coast. He recorded under numerous other names: The Jets, The Voices, The Sounds, The Crescendos, and as the original "Bob" in the duo Bob & Earl with singer Earl Nelson. As a member of The Flames, he used the stage name Bobby Day. His penned song, "Buzz Buzz Buzz" was that outfit's first and biggest success. In 1957, Day formed his own band called the Satellites, following which he recorded three songs th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Searchin'
"Searchin'" is a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller specifically for the Coasters. Atco Records released it as a single in March 1957, which topped the R&B Chart for twelve weeks. It also reached number three on the ''Billboard'' singles chart. Although the Coasters had previously done well on the R&B charts, it was "Searchin'" (along with " Young Blood" on the flip side) that sparked the group's rock and roll fame. Composition The lyrics, written by Leiber, use vernacular phrasing. The plot revolves around the singer's determination to find his love wherever she may be, even if he must resort to detective work. The song's gimmick was to cite law-enforcement figures from popular culture such as Sherlock Holmes, Charlie Chan, Joe Friday, Sam Spade, Boston Blackie, Bulldog Drummond, and the North-West Mounted Police (the Mounties). The vocals of the Coasters' lead singer Billy Guy are raw and insistent. Driving the song is a pounding piano rhythm of two bass notes al ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Coasters
The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with " Searchin'" and " Young Blood" in 1957, their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producing team of Leiber and Stoller. Although the Coasters originated outside of mainstream doo-wop, their records were so frequently imitated that they became an important part of the doo-wop legacy through the 1960s. In 1987, they were the first group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. History The Coasters were formed on October 12, 1955, when two of The Robins, a Los Angeles–based rhythm-and-blues group, joined Atlantic Records. They were dubbed The Coasters because they went from the west coast to the east. The Robins included Carl Gardner and Bobby Nunn. The original Coasters were Gardner, Nunn, Billy Guy, Leon Hughes (who was replaced by Young Jessie on a couple of their early Los Angeles recordings), and the guitaris ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bobby Nunn (Doowop Musician)
Ulysses B. "Bobby" Nunn Sr. (September 20, 1925 – November 5, 1986) was an American R&B singer with the musical groups The Robins and original bass vocalist of The Coasters. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, and died of heart failure in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, U.S. Biography Nunn was a welterweight boxing champion in the United States Air Force, U.S. Air Force. After his Military discharge, discharge in 1947 he moved to Watts, California. He became a member of the A-Sharp Trio with Billy Richards, Roy Richards, and Ty Terrell, and they eventually became The Robins. Nunn would sound recording and reproduction, record some duet (music), duets with Little Esther as well as some solo (music), solo recordings in the early 1950s. In 1952 he recorded for Sage & Sand Records with Bobby Byrd and Ty Terrell. Bobby Byrd is better known as Bobby Day of "Rockin' Robin (song), Rockin' Robin" fame. In 1955, Nunn and Carl Gardner split from The Robins to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. In 1937, anticipating Nazi aggression leading to World War II, Lewis sold American Decca and the link between the U.K. and U.S. Decca labels was broken for several decades. The British label was renowned for its development of recording methods, while the American company developed the concept of cast albums in the musical genre. Both wings are now part of the Universal Music Group. The U.S. Decca label was the foundation company that evolved into UMG (Universal Music Group). Label name The name dates back to a portable gramophone called the "Decca Dulcephone" patented in 1914 by musical instrument makers Barnett Samuel and Sons. The name "Decca" was coined by Wilfred S. Samuel by merging the word "Mecca" with the initial D of their log ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |