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===Sweethearts of the Apollo=== Following several releases such as "Academy Award" and "Tear After Tear", the group recorded their first national hit under their new name in 1963 with the release of the ballad, "Down the Aisle (The Wedding Song)", first released under Newtown, before it received national distribution from [[King Records (United States)|King Records]].<ref name="LarkinSM"/> As a result, the record reached the top 40 on both the pop and R&B charts, formally launching the group to national stardom. Frequent performances at the [[Apollo Theater]] helped to give the group the nickname "Sweethearts of the Apollo". Newtown released two albums on the group before Harold Robinson sold Newtown in 1963. [[Cameo-Parkway]] soon signed them and re-released the Newtown single, "[[You'll Never Walk Alone]]", at the end of the year.<ref name="LarkinSM"/> The record became another top-40 hit for the group in 1964 and became one of Patti LaBelle's first signature performances. They later recorded another charted hit with "[[Danny Boy]]".<ref name="LarkinSM"/> In 1965, the group opened for [[the Rolling Stones]] during a lengthy American tour. Shortly afterwards, [[Atlantic Records]] signed the act to the label, in hopes of bringing the group mainstream success. Their first Atlantic single, "All or Nothing", briefly made a dent on the pop charts in 1966. They had a notable entry as background singers of [[Wilson Pickett]]'s first major hit, "[[634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.)]]". In 1966, Atlantic released the group's first studio album, ''Over the Rainbow'', which included "All or Nothing" and the title track, later to be a standard for Patti. Around this time, the group also began touring Europe, mainly in the UK, where they performed on the show, ''[[Ready, Steady, Go]]''.<ref name="LarkinSM"/> During club performances, the group was backed up musically by a pub band called [[Bluesology]], whose pianist was a teenager named [[Elton John|Reg Dwight]], later known as Elton John. Following the UK tour, the group kept in touch with one of the show's producers, [[Vicki Wickham]].<ref name="LarkinSM"/> In early 1967, the group had another charted single with the song "Take Me for a Little While" and released their second Atlantic album, ''Dreamer''. Around this time, [[Aretha Franklin]] had signed with Atlantic Records, leading Atlantic to focus its efforts on her rather than on the Blue Belles. That same year, Cindy Birdsong abruptly left the group to join [[The Supremes]], replacing original member [[Florence Ballard]].<ref name="LarkinSM"/> After completing a tour where Sundray Tucker briefly rejoined the group to fill in for Birdsong, the remaining members carried on as a trio.<ref name="LarkinSM"/> As grittier soul and heavy rock dominated much of Atlantic's time, the group was let go from their contract in 1970. Bernard Montague, who was managing groups such as [[The Delfonics]], also left them, leaving them seeking new managers. After nearly signing a contract with Herb Hamlett and [[Frankie Crocker]], they eventually picked Vicki Wickham to work with them.<ref name="LarkinSM"/> Wickham later credited [[Dusty Springfield]] with convincing her to hire the group to perform on ''Ready, Steady, Go'' in London.
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