Cat. No. VV 1247: THE CLOVERS ~ THEIR GREATEST RECORDINGS - THE EARLY YEARS. ATCO RECORDS SD 33-374.
USED VINYL RECORD. PART OF A COLLECTION NOW UP FOR SALE.
THIS SELECTION IS VOLUME 4 IN THE SIX VOLUME SERIES BY ATCO RECORDS RELEASED IN 1971. THIS TIME THE FOCUS IS ON THE CLOVERS.
THE CLOVERS GROUP WAS FORMED AS A TRIO AT ARMSTRONG HIGH SCHOOL IN ASHINGTON, D.C. IN 1946 BY HAROLD LUCAS (BARITONE), BILLY SHELTON AND THOMAS WOODS. SHORTLY AFTER THEY EXPANDED TO A QUARTET WHEN JOINED BY JOHN "BUDDY" BAILEY AND THEY BEGAN CALLING THEMSELVES THE FOUR CLOVERS. BILLY SHELTON WAS REPLACED BY MATTHEW McQUALTER (TENOR) IN 1948. AS THE FOUR CLOVERS, THE GROUP STARTED TO APPEAR AT LOCAL AMATEUR MUSIC SHOWS INCLUDING THE "WWDC AMATEUR HOUR" SHOW. THAT BROUGHT THEM TO THE ATTENTION OF HAROLD WINLEY (BASS) WHO INTRODUCED HIMSELF TO THE GROUP. BY THE END OF 1948 WOODS HAD BEEN REPLACED BY WINLEY. THEY FIRST RECORDED FOR NEW YORK'S RAINBOW RECORDS AND THE RELEASE OF ONE SINGLE IN NOVEMBER 1950, "YES SIR, THAT'S MY BABY" B/W "WHEN YOU COME BACK TO ME".
IN FEBRUARY 1951, THE GROUP WAS SIGNED TO ATLANTIC RECORDS AND ON 22 FEBRUARY, 1951 THEY WENT INTO THE STUDIO FOR THEIR FIRST RECORDING SESSION FOR ATLANTIC. "DON'T YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU" B/W "SKYLARK" BECAME THE FIRST TOP-TEN R&B HIT FOR THE LABEL AND REMAINED ON THE R&B CHART FOR FIVE MONTHS.
THEIR SECOND RECORDING SESSION RESULTED IN THE RELEASE OF "FOOL, FOOL, FOOL" IN AUGUST 1951, WHICH, BY SEPTEMBER, HAD REACHED NUMBER 1 ON THE R&B CHART. SEVERAL LINEUP CHANGES OCCURED BEFORE THE GROUP WENT BACK INTO THE STUDIO FOR THEIR NEXT SESSION WHICH RESULTED IN "ONE MINUTE JULEP" B/W "MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT" BEING RELEASED ON A 10" VINYL SINGLE BOTH OF WHICH WERE HITS ON THE R&B CHART. MANY MORE HITS FOLLOWED FOR THE CLOVERS INCLUDING "TING-A-LING" (#2 ON THE BILLBOARD R&B CHART AND #1 ON THE BILLBOARD JUKE BOX CHART). THEN CAME "HEY, MISS FANNIE", "GOOD LOVIN'", "LITTLE MAMA", "LOVEY DOVEY", "BLUE VELVET", "DEVIL OR ANGEL", "LOVE, LOVE, LOVE", "YOUR CASH AIN'T NOTHIN' BUT TRASH", "I'VE GOT MY EYES ON YOU" AND THE LIST GOES ON. THE CLOVERS' ATLANTIC CONTRACT EXPIRED IN JULY 1957. IN MAY 1958, THE GROUP WAS SIGNED TO POPLAR RECORDS.
AS WITH THE PREVIOUS SELECTIONS IN THIS SERIES THE SLEEVE IS BI-FOLD WITH EXTENSIVE LINER NOTES BY "DR. DEMENTO" OF KMPX-FM, SAN FRANCISCO. THERE IS ONLY VERY, VERY MINOR SIGNS OF WEAR ALONG THE EDGES. THE RECORD IS GRADED AS NEAR MINT CONDITION.
TRACK LISTING: Side 1 - Little Mama / Devil Or Angel / Good Lovin' / Blue Velvet / Lovey Dovey / Ting-A-Ling / Hey, Miss Fanny . Side 2 - Don't You Know I Love You / Fool. Fool, Fool / One Minute Julep / Love Potion Number Nine / Down In The Alley / Your Cash Ain't Nothin' But Trash / Love, Love, Love.
12" VINYL RECORD
