By Marv Goldberg
Based on interviews with Emanuel "Doc" Robinson
and Charles "Stony" Dimbo
The Master-Tones formed in 1951 or 1952, in White Plains (only a few miles north of New York City). All the guys were attending various high schools at the time, but they met when they attended night roller skating held at Battle Hill Elementary School. While they could have skated, they usually ended up harmonizing in the school's hallways.
The five guys who haunted the corridors of Battle Hill were: Clarence "Pop" Gray (tenor lead and guitar), George "Bronx" Rivers (first tenor), Emanuel "Doc" Robinson (second tenor), Frank McRae (baritone), and Charles "Stony" Dimbo (bass). They all lived in White Plains, except for George Rivers, who lived in nearby Greenburgh. (Since the Bronx River runs through this area, it isn't hard to account for George's nickname. "Bronx" was also a cousin of Harold Winley, bass of the Clovers.)
Calling themselves the Hearts (because they loved romantic songs), they practiced the R&B and Pop hits of the day (especially those of the Orioles, the 5 Keys, and any group with Clyde McPhatter). The Hearts played lots of little clubs in the White Plains and New Rochelle area: Doc recalled the Little Red Rose, the Parkway Casino, and the Pathfinders Club. A friend of theirs, Billy Barrels, acted as their manager and got them bookings.
Finally in the late Spring of 1954, they felt they were ready for the big time and entered the Apollo Theater's Wednesday night Amateur Show. Nervously singing their arrangement of the Drifters' "Money Honey," they won first place. There were always talent scouts backstage at the Apollo, and this night was no exception. They met a representative of Bruce Records (owned by Monte Bruce, Morty Craft, and Leo Rogers), who set up an audition for them.
When the big day came, they showed up with four original songs, from which Bruce's management picked out "Tell Me" (written by Pop Gray's brother Gene) and "What'll You Do?" (written by George Rivers and Pop Gray). School was out for the summer and the Hearts spent four nights a week at Bruce's offices (at 1650 Broadway in Manhattan) practicing. Doc Robinson's brother, Robert, was the one who drove them down to the City.
The only problem for the Hearts at this point was the persistent rumors that there was another group with the same name. (This was, of course, Joyce West and the Hearts, who would go on to record "Lonely Nights" for Baton in another six months or so; it's possible that they'd already auditioned for Monte Bruce.) Therefore, the guys needed a new name. The "tones" part was almost a given, since Bruce's own Harptones were their favorite group. Pretty soon, someone suggested the "Master-Tones" and everyone agreed on it.
In June 1954, Morty Craft announced the signing of the Master-Tones (knowing how these things work, it's possible that they'd already recorded their tunes before the signing was reported).
The night of the session, the Master-Tones were happy to see that their idols the Harptones were at the Bruce studios (in the same building as their offices). There's no way to tell the exact date, so the Harptones could have been recording "Forever Mine" or "Since I Fell For You" that night. Harptones' arranger Raoul Cita helped set up the Master-Tones' session, which was backed up by a small combo (organ and drums is all that can be heard on the songs) led by bandleader Jimmy Smith (whose recording of "Dancing On The Ceiling" would be released right after "Tell Me").
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The Four Aces - Dream (1954)by CatsPjamas11,548 views
what an awesome channel please do not ever close it!
paulspydar 1 month ago
Beautiful.
Keysta7 4 months ago