DOO-WOP : THE FOUR DUKES ON DUKE 78 116 - NEAR MINT
$
30
$ 30
Sold For
Dec 18, 2011
Sold Date
Dec 11, 2011
Start Date
1
Number Of Bids
USA
Country Of Seller
eBay
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Description
THE FOUR DUKES ON DUKE 116
- Titles are ‘Crying In The Chapel’ b/w ‘I Done Done It’ - this is a realy nice side and very bluesy with good guitar....................................................The Billy Dawn Quartet was formed in the late 40s in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. The personnel were: Billy Dawn Smith (lead), Donnie Sehested (tenor), Tommy Smith (baritone; Billy's brother), Edward "Sonny" Benton (bass), and pianist Al Browne. While Browne had his own dance band, he still appeared with the Billy Dawn Quartet whenever possible, sometimes filling in as second tenor if Tommy Smith couldn't make an engagement. (Even though Browne was an accomplished pianist, Billy was the one who had shown him how to play R&B piano.) In late 1952, the group came to the attention of Decatur Records, a tiny label that had had occasional releases for around a year. Located at 1650 Broadway, it was owned by David Levitt (future owner of Celeste Records), Jack Russell, and Chick Kardale. Decatur had the rights to a ballad entitled "This Is The Real Thing Now," and the Billy Dawn Quartet was chosen to record it. In early 1953, the Billy Dawn Quartet recorded four songs at the studio of Horace Holmes, who also owned a record shop on 124th Street. The songs were: "This Is The Real Thing Now," "Crying For My Baby," "Tonight Must Live On" (all led by Billy), and "You Will Always Find Me True" (with Sonny Benton out front). Note that "Tonight Must Live On" appears on the Relic Celeste CD with the incorrect title "Love Me, Kiss Me, Thrill Me." "This Is The Real Thing Now"/"Crying For My Baby" were released on Decatur in April 1953. However, the record wasn't sent out for review and got scant airplay. Along the way, Billy had met Irving Marcus, traveling sales manager for Don Robey's Houston-based Peacock/Duke Records. It was through Marcus' efforts that the Billy Dawn Quartet ended up on Duke records when the Decatur disc failed to take off. In a New York session held in July 1953, the Billy Dawn Quartet recorded "Crying In The Chapel" (led by Donnie Sehested), "I Done Done It" (fronted by Billy Dawn Smith), "I Gotta Holler," "Only A Hag Could Be Such A Drag," "I Wonder Can This Be Love," "Why Can't I Have You" (led by Sonny Benton), and "No Other Love" (led by Donnie Sehested). However, when it came time for a record to be released, the "Billy Dawn Quartet" had been magically transformed into the "4 Dukes. Duke had the guys record "Crying In The Chapel" to compete with the recently-released Orioles version. Although Duke couldn't compete nationally against the superior distribution of Jubilee Records, the 4 Dukes' version sold well in the South..........................thanks as always to Marv Goldberg and http://www.uncamarvy.com/BillyDawn/billydawn.html
- Here are the details:
- The record is in NM condition - yes it is very rare that I would ever grade a 78 this high but it is in beautiful condition with wonderful gloss and probably hardly ever played. There is just a light fade mark at the start of each side that does not affect play and the tiniest of warps .
- The label has an owner's stamp on side 1 that is not really intrusive.
- Shipping within the US will be $4.00 media mail. Rates outside the US are as advised but to Canada is only $12.00. If you plan to bid on more than one item I am more than happy to combine shipping to save you money.
- Full refund is given for any reason if goods are returned within 7 days of receipt
- Mail me if you would like further information
On Dec-11-11 at 15:00:00 PST, seller added the following information:
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