The Moonglows

File:Rock, Rock, Rock! (1956).ogv

The Moonglows, "I Knew from the Start", 1956

File:Rock, Rock, Rock! (1956).ogv

The Moonglows, "Over and Over Again", 1956

The Moonglows were an American R&B group in the 1950s. Their song "Sincerely" went to number 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and number 20 on the Billboard Juke Box chart.

They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.<ref name="rock hall">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career

Early years

Fresh from a stint in the U.S. Army, two friends, Harvey Fuqua and Bobby Lester, formed a duo in 1949 in Louisville, Kentucky, United States.<ref name="marv goldberg">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1951, Fuqua moved to Cleveland and formed the Crazy Sounds with the singers Danny Coggins and Prentiss Barnes.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> Lester joined them later.<ref name="marv goldberg"/>

In 1952, while performing at a Cleveland club, the Crazy Sounds auditioned for the club's management. They soon got in contact with the radio host Alan Freed, who upon hearing them became the group's manager.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> Freed renamed the group the Moonglows, after his own nickname, Moondog.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> They signed with Freed's Champagne label, but their recordings for the label failed to make the charts. Coggins left the group and was replaced by Alexander Walton, who was sometimes known as Pete Graves or Pete Walton.<ref name="marv goldberg"/>

In 1953, they recorded for another small label, Chance, but like their Champagne recordings, their records had little success; their cover of Doris Day's "Secret Love" was their most successful for Chance.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> In September 1953, Freed obtained a contract with the New York radio station WINS. His success as a broadcaster and host of the station led to a contract for the Moonglows with Chess Records.<ref name="marv goldberg"/>

Success

Their first Chess single, "Sincerely", led by Lester, reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart and the top 20 of the pop chart. The song was later a crossover success in a cover version by the McGuire Sisters.<ref name="NME Rock 'N' Roll Years">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1955, the band picked the guitarist Billy Johnson to be their fifth member after Wayne Bennett left the group following their engagement at the Apollo Theater.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> That same year, the group had another R&B hit with "Most of All", followed by a more modest success with "We Go Together" in 1956.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> Chess issued some of their recordings with the group credited as the Moonlighters.<ref name="marv goldberg"/>

For most of the Moonglows' tenure, the lead vocals were split between Lester and Fuqua. Lester preferred doo-wop ballads, whereas Fuqua preferred rock-and-roll songs.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> The two also recorded vocal duets.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> Their next hits, in 1956, included "See Saw", which peaked at number five R&B and number 25 on the Billboard Top 100, and "When I'm with You". which reached number 15 on the R&B chart.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> In August 1956, the band appeared in one of the first rock-and-roll movies, Rock, Rock, Rock, lip-syncing "Over and Over Again" and "I Knew From The Start".<ref name="marv goldberg"/>

By December 1956, Fuqua had begun to sing most of the vocal leads.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> In June 1957, the Moonglows had an R&B hit with their cover of Percy Mayfield's "Please Send Me Someone to Love". In late 1958, the Fuqua-led "Ten Commandments of Love" (used in soundtrack of "A Bronx Tale"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>) reached number nine R&B and number 22 pop; the group was billed as Harvey and the Moonglows.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> Chess released two EPs and an album, Look, It's the Moonglows, during that period.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> Following that release, the original group broke up at the end of the year, performing together only for contractual reasons.<ref name="marv goldberg"/>

Spinoff groups

In 1959, Lester began a solo career.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> That same year, Harvey Fuqua, following the advice of another Chess artist, Bo Diddley, worked with the Marquees, where Fuqua first met Marvin Gaye. Relocating the group from their hometown of Washington, D.C., to Chicago, Fuqua soon brought Chuck Barksdale into the group after Barksdale's group, the Dells, was temporarily on a break following a car crash involving one of its members.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> Fuqua renamed the group Harvey and the New Moonglows.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> In April 1959, Fuqua sang lead on the ballad "Twelve Months of the Year", which included a spoken recitation by Gaye, repeating an early trademark of the Moonglows in "Ten Commandments of Love".<ref name="marv goldberg"/> Later in 1959, Chess issued the songs "Unemployment" and "Mama Loocie", which was Gaye's first lead vocal.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> Most of the time, Fuqua recorded solo numbers and often promoted his and the New Moonglows' songs on TV and in movies.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> During this time, the group recorded background vocals for the likes of Etta James and Chuck Berry.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Lester later formed his own Moonglows group. In 1959, he made headlines after he was arrested on a narcotics charge in Beaumont, Texas.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> In early 1960, James Nolan left Fuqua's group, as did Reese Palmer. According to Palmer, they left to raise their families.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> Chuck Barksdale also left to rejoin the revived Dells.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> In late 1960, Gaye, Chester Simmons and Fuqua recorded (along with, presumably, members of the Spinners) the last New Moonglows recordings, including "Junior" and "Beatnik".<ref name="marv goldberg"/> Afterwards, Gaye relocated to Detroit and later signed with Tamla, a subsidiary of Motown Records.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> In February 1961, Fuqua left Chess and worked on his own Detroit labels, Harvey and Tri-Phi, until he joined Motown's production team.<ref name="Larkin"/> He left Motown for RCA in 1970.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> In 1969, Prentiss Barnes retired from show business after complications of injuries from a car crash.

Reunion

In 1970, Harvey Fuqua, Bobby Lester and Pete Graves reunited as the Moonglows with Doc Williams and Chuck Lewis.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> In 1972, they recorded "Sincerely '72" for Big P Records.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> RCA soon bought Big P and reissued "Sincerely '72", which reached number 43 on the R&B chart.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> The album The Return of the Moonglows was also released that year.<ref name="marv goldberg"/> The reunion proved to be short-lived.<ref name="marv goldberg"/>

Final years and deaths

Danny Coggins died On July 27, 1972, due to a heart attack.<ref name="marv goldberg" />

Bobby Lester continued to sing lead for his own Moonglows group until he succumbed to complications of cancer in 1980, at the age of 49.<ref name="Larkin">Template:Cite book</ref> He was replaced by Billy McPhatter, son of Clyde McPhatter.

Fuqua performed with Bobby Lester's Moonglows at the 1983 Grammy Awards ceremony, and the group toured as Harvey and the Moonglows until 1986. Bobby Lester, Jr., replaced McPhatter as lead singer of Bobby Lester's Moonglows.<ref>Warner, Jay. American Singing Groups: A History from 1940 to Today. Hal Leonard. Template:ISBN. Google Books link</ref>

They also Performed at Doo Wop 50, where they sang Sincerely & Ten Commandments Of Love. The Line-up was Harvey Fuqua, Bruce Martin, Gene Kelley, Peter Crawford, and Gary Rodgers.

Billy Johnson died in Los Angeles on April 28, 1987.<ref name="Larkin"/>

Chester Simmons died On September 26, 1988.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Gary Rodgers died on June 25, 2005.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Citation</ref>

Gene Kelley died In 2008<ref name=":0" />

Reese Palmer died on October 27, 2011.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Prentiss Barnes and Pete Graves died in 2006.<ref name="marv goldberg" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Fuqua, the last surviving original member of the group, died on July 6, 2010, in Detroit.<ref name="marv goldberg" />

Legacy

The Moonglows' singing style is known as "blow" harmony, based on the technical method used by the backing vocalists.<ref name="Larkin"/>

The Moonglows were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.<ref name="rock hall"/>

The group are mentioned in Paul Simon's 1983 song "René and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War".

Members

• Harvey Fuqua, vocals (1953–1958)
• Bobby Lester, vocals (1953–1958)
• Alexander "Pete" Walton (or Graves), vocals (1953–1958)
• Prentiss Barnes, vocals (1953–1958)
• Billy Johnson, guitar (1953–1958)
• Danny Coggins, vocals (1953)<ref name="Larkin"/>

Singles

Year	Single (A-side, B-side) Both sides from same album except where indicated	Chart positions		Album
		US	US R&B
1953	"Just a Lonely Christmas" b/w "Hey, Santa Claus"	—	—	Non-album tracks
1954	"Secret Love" b/w "Real Gone Mama"	—	—
	"I Was Wrong" b/w "Ooo Rockin' Daddy"	—	—
	"219 Train" b/w "My Gal"	—	—
	"Sincerely" b/w "Tempting" (Non-album track)	20	1	"Rock, Rock, Rock" soundtrack
1955	"Most Of All" b/w "She's Gone" (Non-album track)	—	5	Bunch of Goodies
	"Starlite" b/w "In Love"	—	—	Non-album tracks
	"Lover, Love Me" b/w "In My Diary" (from Bunch of Goodies)	—	—
1956	"We Go Together" b/w "Chickie Um Bah" (Non-album track)	—	9	Bunch of Goodies
	"When I'm With You" /	—	15	Look! It's The Moonglows
	"See Saw"	25	6	"Rock, Rock, Rock" soundtrack
	"Over and Over Again" b/w "I Knew From The Start"	—	—
1957	"Don't Say Goodbye" b/w "I'm Afraid The Masquerade Is Over" (Non-album track)	—	-	Look! It's The Moonglows
	"Please Send Me Someone to Love" b/w "Mr. Engineer (Bring Her Back To Me)" (Non-album track)	73	5	Bunch of Goodies
	"The Beating Of My Heart" b/w "Confess It To Your Heart"	—	—	Non-album tracks
1958	"Here I Am" b/w "Too Late"	—	—
	"In the Middle of the Night" b/w "Soda Pop"	—	—
	"Ten Commandments of Love" b/w "Mean Old Blues"	22	9	Look! It's The Moonglows
1959	"Mama Loocie" b/w "Unemployment"	—	—	Non-album tracks
1972	"Sincerely" b/w "I Was Wrong"	—	43	The Return Of The Moonglows

External links

• Both Sides Now Publications, Chess Album Discography, Part 1
• Vocal Group Hall of Fame page on the Moonglows
• The Moonglows
• Rockabilly.NL page on the Moonglows
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• Prentiss Barnes page