The Marcels - Blue Moon 1961 (LP CP-416)- .wmv

Personnel :

Cornelius "Nini" Harp (Lead and Guitar)

Ronald "Bingo" Mundy (First Tenor)

Gene Bricker (Second Tenor) & after Walt Maddox (Second Tenor)

Richard Knauss (Baritone) & after Allen Johnson (Baritone)

Fred Johnson (Bass)
The group was named by Fred Johnson's younger sister Priscilla, after a popular hair style of the day (the Marcell wave). In 1961 many were shocked to hear a new version of the ballad, "Blue Moon" that began with the bass singer saying, "bomp-baba-bomp" and "dip-da-dip." Still, the record sold a million copies and is featured in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.




The disc climbed all the way to number one in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart. In their U.S. homeland, additional revivals in the same vein as "Blue Moon" - "Heartaches" and "Melancholy Baby" - were less successful, although the former peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually sold over one million copies worldwide. The group had two other singles that hit No. 78 and No. 58 on the same chart.


In August 1961, due to problems encountered in the Deep South while touring because of the group being bi-racial, the white members, Knauss and Bricker left and were replaced by Allen Johnson (brother of Fred) and Walt Maddox. Mundy left soon after, leaving the group a quartet.




In 1962, Harp and Allen Johnson left, and were replaced by Richard Harris and William Herndon. There was a brief reunion of the original members in 1973. The group made several recordings in 1975 with Harp back on lead.




Original member Gene Bricker died in 1983. Allen Johnson died in 1995.
By the early 1990s the group included Johnson, Maddox, Harris, Jules Hopson, and Richard Merritt.

The group split around 1995. Fred Johnson formed his own group with new members, while the other four members recruited new bass Ted Smith. Maddox won a lawsuit against Sunny James Svetnic, the manager of Johnson's group, for trademark infringement in 1996. Svetnic died in 2002.
Johnson reunited with Harp, Mundy, and Knauss in 1999 for the PBS special Doo Wop 50 with a fifth member.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• The
• Marcels
• Blue
• Moon
• Rock
• 'n'
• Roll
• 60s
• Classic
• Hits

[TJCATLOVER]

Absolutely fabulous song!!!!!!!!!!!

[raredoowop]

@TJCATLOVER ,,it's my pleasure..thanks,

[geoffhudd]

love this song

[raredoowop]

@geoffhudd ,,it's my pleasure..thanks,

[NewWaveTH]

This video shows the group after two members quit.

When this song was recorded, the group had two

white members. The photos are on youtube.

[5871248]

my memory of car load of sailors we were pounding down 101 back and forth from san diego and LA. This was cranked up -- a LOT and also Do you love me-- about that time

old guy ex sailor and ex marine .. not too many of us around haha

[TheSlash290]

oohrah--------------slash290

[SpeegBJ]

1962 and 14 yrs. old. An 8-room school-house in rural Indiana. A gym exactly like the one in the film "Hoosiers". We didn't know much, but had every single hit 45 record ever heard on the radio. Our tiny sock hops brought us to fall on the floor at the end of the night due to NEVER stopping still to this kind of sound for HOURS.

[hpro010]

blue,moon ,moon,blue moon

[SerpensSolida]

1961, no doubt the best music has already been done.

[chkjns]

@baldur1377 You then, of all people, should buy Stu's book, shipped & autographed for $21. Available at his website, stuwho dot com. You will not be disappointed. I've thought about doing a book review of it and posting it. It's a very revealing book about the highs and lows of the music business. He was only hired as A&R man at Colpix by chance. The Marcels literally appeared on his doorstep one freezing day & only learned Blue Moon hours before they recorded it. chuck