The G-Clefs Biography
This US doo-wop-styled vocal group consisted of brothers Teddy, Chris, Timmy and Arnold Scott and friend Ray Gibson, all from Roxbury, Massachusetts, USA. The quintet, who began singing gospel, were spotted by Pilgrim Records' Jack Gould and in 1956 their first release, "Ka-Ding-Dong" (on which Freddy Cannon is reputed to have played guitar), reached the R&B Juke Box Top 10 and the US Top 40 pop chart. It probably would have been a bigger hit but for cover versions by two name acts, the Diamonds and Hilltoppers. Following another release on Pilgrim and two on Paris they decided to put their singing careers on ice and finish their schooling. After the youngest member Arnold left school in 1960 they re-formed and, with help from Gould, joined Terrace Records. Their first release, a version of the Four Tunes' song "I Understand" cleverly combined with the chorus of "Auld Lang Syne", gave them their only US Top 10 entry and five months later (around New Year) their sole UK Top 20 hit. The follow-up "A Girl Has To Know" charted, but later releases including ones on Loma, Regina and Veep brought them no further success. Freddie And The Dreamers had a UK Top 5 hit with a version of their arrangement of "I Understand" in 1964.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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