The Emersons, originally The Demens, were a mid-20th-century

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

vocal group A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, musical group, or a band is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrume ...

. The original members, Jimmy Caines (first tenor), brothers Thomas Cook (second tenor, lead) and Frankie Cook (baritone), Tommy Outlaw (bass), and Outlaw's cousin Douggy Williams (second tenor), formed in 1957 in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

and began singing on street corners around 61st Street and Columbus Avenue. They became a quartet later that year when Outlaw and Williams left the group and tenor Eddie "California" Jones joined as lead singer. The Demens issued their first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, "Take Me As I Am" / "You Broke My Heart" on Teenage Records in August 1957, followed by "The Greatest of Them All" / "Hey Young Girl". Teenage disappeared soon after that, and the group renamed themselves the Emersons in order to sign with Newport Records for "Hungry" / "Joannie, Joannie", issued in 1958. Although it was the group's most highly acclaimed record, Newport went bust after its release. (Another version of "Hungry" was recorded by

Billy Guy Billy Guy (June 20, 1936 – November 5, 2002) was an American singer, best known as a lead singer for the Coasters. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Biography Born Frank Phillips in Texas, Guy is best known as a memb ...

of the Coasters in 1963.) The Emersons kept going for a couple of years more, but disbanded after a 1961 release from

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

went no further than any of their previous records.

Recordings

*Teenage Records (The Demens) **1006 "Take Me As I Am" / "You Broke My Heart" — August 1957 **1008 "The Greatest of Them All" / "Hey Young Girl" — 1957 *Newport Records (The Emersons) **7004 "Hungry" / "Joannie, Joannie" — October 1958 *Cub Records (The Emersons) **9027 "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" / "The Hokey Pokey" — March 1959 *

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1958 ...

(The Emersons) **379 "Down in the Valley" / "Loneliness" — November 1961 *Kairay Records (The Demons) **1003 "The Greatest of Them All" (Eddie Jones & Demons) / "Long Tall Texan" (Jim Mann & Demons)

References

External links

Marv Goldberg's R & B Notebooks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emersons (Vocal Group) Doo-wop groups Musical groups established in 1957 Musical groups from New York City 1957 establishments in New York City