arlene smith - THE chantels

Lead singer Arlene Smith of the Chantels shares how she channeled teenaged emotions to sing her soul-searing masterpiece. 

Arlene Smith co-founded The Chantels in 1957 with four girls from the Bronx, NYC. Their first record, He's Gone, was a major hit, followed by the unforgettable Maybe. Maybe became the first million-seller by an all-girl group. Rolling Stone Magazine called Arlene Smith "the best female vocalist in the history of Rock 'n Roll." She is recognized as "the Queen of Doo-Wop Music" and the founder of the "girl group" sound. The Chantels were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002.

EUGENE PIT - THE JIVE FIVE

Eugene Pitt of the Jive Five journeys to the Brooklyn neighborhood of his youth where the sound of harmonies could be heard lilting through the night air.

Eugene Pitt formed the Jive Five in Brooklyn, NY in the late 1950s with Jerome Hanna, Thurmon Prophet, Richard Harris and Norman Johnson- four friends with whom he sang on the streets of Brooklyn. Their first and biggest hit was My True Story, a lament of lost love written by Pitt. In 1961, the song reached Number 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and Number 3 on the pop chart. It became the Jive Five’s signature for the next five decades. The Jive Five ushered in today’s pop culture when they wrote and performed the theme song that launched Nickelodeon T.V.

Wally Roker - The Heartbeats

Wally Roker of the Heartbeats describes how the pure vibration of vocal harmony casts an unforgettable spell.

The Heartbeats began in 1953 in Jamaica, Queens, consisting of bass Wally Roker, baritone Vernon Sievers, first tenor Albert Crump, second tenor Robbie Tatum and lead vocalist James "Shep" Sheppard. Crazy For You became a local New York hit and put them on shows at the Apollo Theater in Harlem and with Alan Freed at the Brooklyn Paramount. In 1956, the group recorded what would become their biggest hit, A Thousand Miles Away.

Little Anthony & the Imperials

Little Anthony & the Imperials banter about how their unique harmony grows from their bonding over shared experiences.

The Imperials was formed in New York City in 1958. Original members Anthony Gourdine, Clarence Collins and Ernest Wright found instant success with their second single, Tears on My Pillow, a ballad fuelled by Gourdine’s falsetto. Influential radio disc jockey Alan Freed called the group Little Anthony and the Imperials, and the moniker stuck. Little Anthony and the Imperials were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.

Cleveland Still - The Dubs

Cleveland Still of the Dubs reveals how he was ripped off by managers and record company executives- as was Vance- and their shared laughter masks an unspoken loss.

The Dubs, formed in Harlem, NYC in 1957, consisted of lead Richard Blandon, first tenor Billy Carlisle, tenor Cleveland Still, baritone James ‘Jake’ Miller, and bass Thomas Gardner. Could This Be Magic has become a vocal group harmonies classic. The Dubs are also known for Don’t Ask Me To Be Lonely and Chapel of Dreams.

Phoebe Snow & Kenny Vance

Phoebe Snow gives a spectacular, spontaneous performance of Sam Cooke’s You Send Me, with Kenny Vance & the Planotones, at the Bitter End in Greenwich Village.

The legendary Phoebe Snow was a singer-songwriter and musician whose hit song Poetry Man, on her debut album, garnered a Grammy Award nomination for best new artist in 1974. Starting in downtown New York City coffeehouses, she took her stage name from a train that passed her New Jersey home. By the time she was 26, Snow had two gold records. Her voice, with its powerful, four-octave-plus range, has been called “a natural wonder” by Rolling Stone Magazine. Following her early successes, she intermittently retired for personal reasons, but her voice remains unforgettable.