The Charts' 1957 hit "Deserie" endures as a doo wop classic, despite the fact that it failed to chart. Formed in 1956, the Harlem-born group -- led by lead vocalist Joseph Grier and featuring Leroy Binns, Ross Buford, and Glenmore Jackson -- were managed by musician Les Cooper, a native of Norfolk, VA, who had previously been a member of the Empires and the Whirlers, and by the mid-'50s was already a longtime scenemaker on New York's doo wop scene.

Cleftones

The Cleftones were formed in 1955 by a group of friends at Jamaica High School in Queens, New York. They were Herbie Cox, Charles James, Berman Patterson, Buzzy McClain and Warren Corbin .

Corsairs

This early 60's group consisted of brothers Jay "Bird" (lead singer), James and Moses Uzzell and cousin Geroge Wooten. They first recorded with Smash Records in 1961.

Del Vikings

The group formed in 1955 at Pittsburgh Air Force Base, where five Black enlisted men, Corinthian “Kripp” Johnson (first tenor), Clarence E. Quick (bass), Don Jackson (second tenor), Bernard Robertson, and Samuel Paterson, began singing at the camp hall. They won a talent contest on the base in early 1956, and then competed nationally in New York and Bermuda, where they placed first and second.

Dubs

The Dubs had a long career, from the late '50s through the '80s, but are best remembered for their enduring Top 40 doo wop classic "Could This Be Magic," one of the more memorable songs of 1957. During the early '50s, the group developed out of two short-lived vocal acts: the Five Wings and the Scale-Tones. The Harlem-based Five Wings (originally "the Five Stars") were Jackie Rue (lead), Frank Edwards (first tenor), Billy Carlisle (second tenor), Melvin Flood (baritone), and Tommy Grate (bass).

Flamingos

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Both prolific and seminal in their influence and impact, the Flamingos may have been the greatest harmonizing vocal ensemble ever, and were certainly among the premier units of the doo wop/RB era. Cousins Jake and Zeke Carey moved to Chicago from Baltimore in 1950. They met Paul Wilson and Johnny Carter at the Church of God and Saints of Christ Congregation, a black Jewish church. They began singing in the choir, and the foursome met Earl Lewis (not the Channels' lead vocalist) through one of the members' sisters, who was his girlfriend at the time. They originally called themselves the Swallows, but had to change names when they found out that a Baltimore group already had the name. Carter suggested El Flamingos, which was changed to the Five Flamingos, and later the Flamingos.

Heartbeats

Lead singer James "Shep" Sheppard co-wrote a series of velvety doo wop ballads for the Heartbeats during the mid-'50s; one entry, "A Thousand Miles Away," was a huge RB seller in 1956. The Queens, NY, quintet began their string of street-corner classics with "Crazy for You" and "Darling How Long," culminating with "A Thousand Miles Away." the Heartbeats recorded for Hull, Rama, Roulette, Gee, and Guyden before packing it in. In 1961 the lead singer formed a new trio, Shep the Limelites, and scored on the charts with a heartwarming sequel to his first hit, "Daddy's Home," for Hull. "Our Anniversary" also sold well for the trio the next year, but they broke up soon thereafter. Sheppard was found dead in his auto on the Long Island Expressway in 1970.

Jaguars

The Jaguars came together on the campus of L.A.'s Fremont High, home to some of the finest doo wop groups, including contemporaries like Dootones, Calvanes, Meadowlarks, Medallions, and Penguins. The school was one of the first high schools in the United States to integrate their classes, in 1954, and the Jaguars were themselves one of the very first racially integrated vocal groups of the '50s: Texas-born lead tenor Herman Chaney (aka Sonny Chaney) and Louisiana-born bass singer Charles Middleton were both black, while Detroit-born second tenor Valerio "Val" Poliuto was white and baritone Manuel "Manny" Chavez was a Hispanic and the only native Californian in the group.

Jarmels

The Jarmels came from Richmond, Virginia, where the five members had all begun singing together in church and school. Nathaniel Ruff (b. 1939), Ray Smith (b. 1941), Paul Burnett (b. 1942), Earl Christian (b. 1940), and Tom Eldridge (b. 1941) may have come from Virginia, but the name of the group they formed in the late 1950s came from a street in Harlem.

Jive 5

Formed in Brooklyn, NY, the group originally consisted of Eugene Pitt (lead), Jerome Hanna (tenor), Richard Harris (tenor), Billy Prophet (baritone), and Norman Johnson (bass). the Jive Five's first hit, "My True Story," was their biggest, peaking at number one on the RB charts and number three on the pop charts in the summer of 1961.

Marcels

This Pittsburgh ensemble deserved a much better fate than being known primarily for a novelty-tinged cover of "Blue Moon." Baritone vocalist Richard F. Knauss teamed with Fred Johnson, Gene J. Bricker, Ron Mundy, and lead vocalist Cornelius Harp, an integrated ensemble. They named themselves after Harp's hairstyle, the marcel.

Moonglows

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The original lineup from Louisville included Bobby Lester, Harvey Fuqua, Alexander Graves, and Prentiss Barnes, with guitarist Billy Johnson. They were originally called the Crazy Sounds, but were renamed by disc jockey Alan Freed as the Moonglows. The group also cut some recordings as the Moonlighters. Their first major hit was the number one R&B gem "Sincerely" for Chess in 1954, which reached number 20 on the pop charts. They enjoyed five more Top Ten R&B hits on Chess from 1955 to 1958, among them "Most of All," "We Go Together," "See Saw," and "Please Send Me Someone to Love," as well as "Ten Commandments of Love." Fuqua, the nephew of Charlie Fuqua of the Ink Spots, left in 1958. He recorded "Ten Commandments of Love" as Harvey & the Moonglows with Marvin Gaye, Reese Palmner, James Knowland, and Chester Simmons before founding his own label, Tri-Phi. Fuqua created and produced the Spinners in 1961 and wrote and produced for Motown until the early '70s. The Moonglows disbanded in the '60s, then reunited in 1972 with Fuqua, Lester, Graves, Doc Williams, and Chuck Lewis.

Paradons

The Paradons are know best for the beautiful "Diamonds and Pearls," which reached number 18 on the pop chart in 1960, nine rungs higher than it registered on the RB chart. The quartet, comprised of friends William Powers and Bill Meyers plus Chuck Weldon and West Tyler, gigged at school dances and local clubs around Bakersfield, CA, singing what the audience requested until a chance to record came about with Milestone Records.

Paragons

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The Paragons, from Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant section, were a true New York raw street-corner phenomenon. Julius McMichael (lead tenor), Ben Frazier (tenor and second lead), Donald Travis (second tenor), Ricky Jackson (baritone), and Al Brown (bass) combined in 1956. When Paul Winley signed them the following year, they went on to create a true "New York sound."

Shep and the Limelites

Shep the Limelites' name will forever be etched in rock roll history for recording the endearing "Daddy's Home," a tender ballad about returning from war that soared to number two on the pop charts in May 1961. James Sheppard's career began with the Heartbeats, a band from Jamaica, Queens, NY. (They were the Hearts until a female group from Harlem with the same name scored a minor hit called "Lonely Nights" in early 1955.) the Hearts would mimic songs by the Orioles, the Ravens, Five Keys, the Moonglows, the Larks, the Flamingos, and others

Spaniels

The Spaniels are best known for their massive 1954 hit, "Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight" (number five RB).The story of how The Spaniels came to prominence begins in late 1952, when lead singer Hudson was convinced by four of his Roosevelt High classmates -- Ernest Warren (first tenor), Opal Courtney, Jr. (baritone), Willie Jackson (second tenor), and Gerald Gregory (bass) to join them for a school talent show. They had debuted as Pookie Hudson and the Hudsonaires for the Christmas show and fared so well they decided to continue. Not wanting to join the bird group club (Orioles, Ravens, etc.), they decided on the name Spaniels.

Tams

A "beach" music favorite, Atlanta's Tams were among the more popular up-tempo soul groups of the '60s, although they were never able to break Motown's pop stranglehold. Joseph Pope's gravelly voiced leads were their selling point. He was joined by his brother Charles, Robert Smith, Floyd Ashton, and Horace Key. They began on Swan in 1960, then landed their first hit with "Untie Me" for Arlen in 1962. It peaked at number 12 on the RB charts (number 11 pop). They moved to ABC-Paramount the next year, where they remained until 1968. They scored their biggest hit in 1963 with "What Kind of Fool (Do You Think I Am)."

Temptations