Name The Band...

Hey, did you ever wonder how some of the local groups picked up their names? In the course of researching the blog and some other projects, Google has given us some answers:

The Del Vikings: There are several stories behind their name. One claims that the group members were fans of the tales of the old-time marauding Vikings; another says that they were fond of the paperback books published by the Viking press that so many servicemen read to pass the off-duty time, and another believes the name was taken from a Brooklyn club/basketball team called the Vikings that Clarence Quick belonged to, and that’s the more likely tale of the three.

The Mellows - Four Dots - Four Troys: The late Fletcher Williams & The Four Dots started out as the Mellows in 1950, about as generic a group name as one could imagine. They were eventually represented by Don DeCarlo, who suggested that they change their name to the Four Dots, piggybacking on the hot-selling and eminently bookable Ink Spots.The Four Dots played the area hops & club circuit while releasing a couple of singles on the Bullseye label

In 1959, just about at the end of their career, the group inked a deal with Freedom Records, who already had a California-based Four Dots as part of their roster. Because of that, the Four Dots released their last wax as the Four Troys (no one remembers how that name was chosen). Did that end the confusion? Nah. The West Coast Four Dots released “Pleading For Your Love,” a ‘Burgh favorite. The local Four Dots hit the oldies circuit, and guess what their top request was? “Pleading” became part of their play list.

The Houserockers: Many remember Joe Grushecky’s Brick Alley Band, named after a McKeesport red light district, taking off as the Iron City Houserockers, a name given to them by Pittsburgh native and Cleveland International Records head Steve Popovich. Cleveland International was of course based in Ohio and Popovich had the band tour the midwest to support their records. But the Pittsburgh-Cleveland rivalry extended beyond football. Their name caused some problems when touring outside their hometown, and when they played Cleveland their van tires were slashed. So they switched in the early eighties to the region-neutral Houserockers brand.

Lugee Becomes Lou: Born Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco, the stage name of Lou Christie wasn’t Sacco’s choice; it was more or less foisted on him. When “The Gypsy Cried” was released in 1962 on the local Co&Ce label, the record was credited to “Lou Christie” without Sacco's knowledge or permission. Sacco had been working on his own list of stage names, and said "I was pissed off about it for 20 years. I wanted to keep my name and be a one-named performer, just 'Lugee'." We’re glad he’s finally over it.

The Marcels: When the Oliver High gang first formed and was rehearsing, the group was coined "The Marcels" by Fred Johnson's little sister Priscilla. She was inspired by a popular hair style of the day, the marcel wave, sported by lead singer Cornelius Harp.  

The Skyliners: They collectively came up with their name after the 1958 Capitol Studios "Since I Don't Have You" recording session when the master came back without an artist credit. The singers were a mixture of the South Hills Crescents and El Rios groups, and manager Joe Rock, with their input, christened them “The Skyliners” after the 1945 Charlie Barnet hit song according to their official history, although we're told by Ed Salamon that they were named for the car per Jackie Taylor.


The Vogues: Originally known as The Val-Aires (a combination, we’ve been told, of the names of the two high school groups the members had first sang with), the Vogues got their name from manager Elmer Willett’s nightspot and studio, East McKeesport’s Vogue Terrace. The group didn't have a vote; when "You're The One" was released, it was credited to the Vogues by the Co&Ce label. At least one member, Hugh Geyer, didn't find out about the name until he heard the song on the radio.

The Best Pittsburgh Oldie...

OK, we're gonna try something a little different today. Old Mon is posting five oldies - the cut off date is 1961; only fifty year-old+ songs need apply - and letting his readers select the top one. Three were chart busters; two were purely local hits. The voting box is on the right; here are the tunes:

The Chaps (Sonny DiNunzio) "They'll Never Be" 1960


The Del-Vikings (Norman Wright) "Come Go With Me" 1957


The Marcels (Cornelius Harp) "Blue Moon" 1961


The Skyliners (Jimmy Beaumont) "Since I Don't Have You" 1958


The Splendors (Herb Marshall) "The Golden Years" 1958


Vote early and often. It's the Pittsburgh way.

Richie Merritt

Richie Merritt photo from The Marcels
Richie Merritt is on the short list of local doo-woppers and soulmen that no one outside the industry has ever heard of.

He still sings occasionally with The Marcels, and has performed with The Clovers, The Memories, and The Drifters.

Since moving to Florida, he's put together his own show for the Sunshine State region audiences, hitting the stage as "Richie Merritt Solo" or as “Richie Merritt & The Gems,” featuring a revue that salutes Little Anthony, Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson, served along with classic R&B, soul, and some oldies' tunes.

Merritt got his start in his native river town of Donora, where he sang in his father's Pentecostal Church as a three-year old. Better know for churning out baseball players like Stan Musial and Ken Griffey, father and son, than singers, Donora still proved to be a fruitful launching pad for Merritt.

He formed his first group there while a grade-school kid, the El Qunitones. In 1960 and attending junior high, Merritt put together The Dragons, named after the DHS mascot. The group included Ted "Reno" Smith, still a Marcel's band-mate, and they stayed together until graduation day.

After earning his sheepskin in 1966, Merritt enrolled in the Army and sang on a USO tour in Germany, where he got the chance to perform with another GI on his way to bigger and better things, Aaron Neville.

After his discharge in 1968, Merritt joined The Electrons as lead singer (after "It Ain't No Big Thing"), remaining with the group for five years. Throughout the following decades, Merritt sang with a "Who's Who" of local groups.

After the Electrons, he moved to the Vibrators, a hot local act during the seventies. They broke up in 1979, and Merritt went on to sing for High Society, primarily a standards band, and The Laurels and The Memories, which were show bands with an emphasis on Motown and slick choreography. He also found time to open a short-lived night club.

He got a little solo love too, when in 1990 "Where Did I Go Wrong?", a song Merritt wrote and recorded, landed in the Top 10 of the Northern Soul-crazed United Kingdom. (It was later released on the 1998 CD "Richie Merritt - Then & Now").

In 1992, Merritt, then with the Memories, was approached by Johnny Mason about joining The Clovers. The wooing eventually worked when in the fall of 1993, he signed on with the band as lead tenor.

The Clovers were booked for Atlantic City six months a year, were regulars on the Carolina "shag circuit," appeared regularly in Vegas, and played in venues across the country.

The group performed on the PBS special, "Doo Wop 51," in 2000. The Clovers were inducted to the Doo Wop Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002. The VGHOF induction performance was Merritt's last as a Clover.

But Merritt didn't have to worry about filing for unemployment after he left. Walt Maddox had a spot saved for him with The Marcels, which Merritt had appeared with during prior performances as a fill-in tenor.

Now, nearly a decade later, he still does special performances with The Marcels (they just did an Erie gig in January at the Presque Isle Track & Casino), and does his own Gulf Coast thing out of his home base of Tampa.

And hey, it doesn't get much better for a sixty-ish Pittsburgh doo-wopper. A resume that runs from the Electrons to the Clovers, a regular schedule of bookings, enough to keep you busy without competing with your tee-times, and a home in the Golden State.

It's a long way from Donora.


"Where Did I Go Wrong?" - Richie Merritt

Walt Maddox

Walt Maddox
Walt Maddox started singing as a teenager on the street corners of Manchester with a group called The Blenders. The group was a staple of the City's then-bustling lounge circuit, and by 1960, Maddox had cut his first single, released on the local Calico label, "Pinch Me" b/w "Would I?" (CSM 118).

He made his claim to fame when he joined The Marcels in May of 1961, after original members Richard Knauss and Gene Bricker jumped ship.

The group recorded “Heartaches” (Colpix 612), their second big hit, in September of 1961, with Maddox singing as second tenor.

And it's turned into a heck of a long-term relationship. Maddox sang with the group, through its many permutations, for four decades before becoming its manager and producer in 1999. And what a history.

In the early 1990s the group included Maddox, Fred Johnson, Richard Harris, Jules Hopson, and Richie Merritt, a pretty fair collection of Pittsburgh doo-wop All-Stars.

The Marcels split in 1995, when Fred Johnson formed his own group with a new cast. The rest of the gang replaced him with bass man Ted "Reno" Smith. And hey, you know it had to end up in court; how many Marcels can the oldies circuit stand?

Maddox won a lawsuit against now-departed Sunny James Svetnic, the manager of Johnson's group, for trademark infringement in 1996. In February of 2004, after a waging yet another court battle, Maddox was awarded all legal rights to the Marcels.

The Marcels are probably hotter now than in their heyday. The group was elected to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002, and they gigged nationally for 20 weeks last year, hitting clubs from Atlantic City to Las Vegas while touring.

Last year, they performed at the Arena for the annual Christmas-time doo-wop blowout. They cut a track on 2004's "Pittsburgh Music Legends," a disk made to benefit the local Boys and Girls Clubs. But Maddox is much more than the Marcels.

He's gone on stage as a solo act, and his “Tribute to Nat King Cole” show was a huge success. Maddox performed it with the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Wheeling Symphony, and the Westmoreland Symphony. Maddox took the hit show overseas to St. Thomas, Aruba, Tokyo and Okinawa.

You can catch his act in local clubs, too. When he has the time, the Walt Maddox Revue plays the region's venues.

He's active in the production end of the business. His Super M label churns out local acts - in fact, his last CD, “Walt Maddox Sings Favorites and More,” was released on the impress.

Maddox still bird-dogs local talent. He pushed the career of Beaver Fall's child prodigy Vanessa Campagna, a country songbird who's opened for Wynona Judd, Clint Black, Vince Gill and Reba McIntire. His label also records up-and comers like Alexa Magnotto, Kelsey Wilson, B. Elle, and Brittany Ulrich.

Maddox, like so many other Pittsburgh musicians, is a home boy who gives back to the community. He produces and performs an anti-drug school assembly program, “Wake Up Your Dreams.” That show may be his greatest achievement; thousands of students in Pittsburgh, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Nevada, Arizona, California and as far away as Okinawa have been exposed to his upbeat message.

In fact, he had a hand in the superstar Christina Aguilera's rise during the early stages of her career, when she opened regularly for his “Wake Up Your Dreams” concerts with The Marcels.

Singer for a Hall of Fame band, Northside Old Timers Lifetime Achievement awardee (even though he lives in Ross now), producer, operator of his own label - Walt Maddox is Pittsburgh's one-man music majordomo - literally, The Mayor of the Palace. And that is who he is.

bomp baba bomp

The Original Marcels from Singers
In 1959 Cornelius "Neeny" Harp, Fred Johnson, Gene Bricker, Ron "Bingo" Mundy and Dick Knauss, (Harp, Johnson and Mundy were cousins; all five were schoolmates at Oliver High on Allegheny Avenue in North Side) decided to put their voices together and form a group.

They would practice in Johnson's Woods Run house, often singing for a one-man audience of Jules Kruspir, who would one day run local label St. Clair. He became their manager, and Johnson's little sister Priscella came up with the name when she dubbed the quintet The Marcels, after the hair style of Harp (he was sporting a Marcelle wave.)

The Marcels were a cover band, and Kruspir sent a tape of seven tunes originally done by the Del Vikings, Imperials, Harptones, Spaniels, and other big doo-wop acts of the era to Colpix, a subsidiary of the Columbia label in 1961. Stu Phillips, the A&R director of the label, was impressed enough to invite them to New York to audition. They arrived during a blizzard, and Phillips didn't have any studio time set aside for them.

He hustled them into the RCA studio after the Cadillacs were done with it, and in their remaining eight minutes had them tape a song, in two takes. They decided to do a real oldie, "Blue Moon," (the Marcels didn't know the words to the original choice of "Heart and Soul") and Phillips had Fred Johnson scat the  bass line from the Cadillac's "Zoom," one of their demo tracks. It ended up a pretty worthwhile eight minutes.

A promo guy for Colpix picked up the tape and played it for WINS jock Murray the K. He liked "Blue Moon" so much that he played the bootleg 26 times during his four hour show. Even with the overkill, the fans couldn't get enough of it. Colpix signed the group, started pressing wax, and in a month it was #1 on both the pop and R&B charts. "Blue Moon" topped the US chart for  three weeks, displacing Elvis Presley’s "Surrender," and was on top of the R&B charts for two weeks.

It was a worldwide hit, too, landing in the top ten in England, Australia, Holland, Sweden, France, Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Israel, Spain, and South Africa.

The record was a million seller. The R&R Hall of Fame would later select Blue Moon as one of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll. The Pittsburgh boys did themselves and the city proud.

They cut an album called "Blue Moon" (what else?) that also included the modest hit "Summertime" that charted in the Top 100. They were in a movie called "Twist Around the Clock" with Dion and Chubby Checker. But their fifteen minutes as hitmakers were ticking away for the North Side group.

The LP was the last recording from the original Marcels. Knauss and Bricker left the band after feuding with Kruspir following a southern swing. The Marcels encountered overall problems with bookings in that era as a biracial group, and live shows were the bread-and-butter paydays. Fred's brother Allen Johnson and Walt Maddox took their place, and cranked out another big hit with "Heartache," a million seller that reached #7, and another song that made the charts, "My Melancholy Baby."

Mundy left at the end of 1961, and lead baritone Harp joined him a year later. Allen Johnson dropped out in 1964, and they picked up a couple of local singers from the Altairs, Fred Herndon and Richard Harris. But their heyday had run its' course, and they hit the oldies circuit.

In 1973, the five original members got together one last time at the Villa Madrid bar on the North Side. Mundy and Knauss then went back to their then-current group, the Memories. The four remaining members would sing once more in 1999 (Bricker died in 1983) for the PBS Doo Wop 50 show. And they were recognized by being elected to the Vocalist Hall of Fame in 2002.

The current version of The Marcels is managed by Walt Maddox, and consists of members Jules Hopson, Kenny Mitchell, Richard Harris and Ted "Reno" Smith, all who have been around the local R&B/doo-wop block a few times. They're still quite a popular act on the oldies circuit.

As for the other members:

Harp passed away in 2013. At last report, Mundy was a PAT bus driver, Knauss a school custodian (both retired by now, we'd hope), Maddox sings and manages the current Marcels act, and Fred Johnson is fronting his version of the Marcels. Rich Merritt is still singing and swinging in Florida, Gene Bricker passed away in 1983 and Allen Johnson, who worked at Pitt, died in 1995.

Bomp-baba-bomp, ba bomp ba bomp bomp, baba bomp baba bomp, da dang da dang dang, da ding dong ding...Bluuuuuue Moon.

(If you want to find out what the current Blue Moon crooners are doing, check out the Marcels.com)


"Blue Moon" by the Marcels - 1961