The Chords (American band)

This article is about the U.S. doo-wop group who had a hit with "Sh-Boom". For the British band from the 1970s, see The Chords.

The Chords were a 1950s American doo-wop group, whose only hit was "Sh-Boom".

Career

The Chords, featured Carl Feaster (lead), Claude Feaster (baritone), Jimmy Keyes (first tenor), Floyd "Buddy" McRae (second tenor) and William "Ricky" Edwards (bass), were formed in 1951 in the Bronx, New York, but were not discovered until three years later when they were spotted singing in a subway station, a performance that ultimately landed them a recording contract with Atlantic Records' Cat Records label.

Jerry Wexler, Atlantic's A&R man, had The Chords cover a Patti Page hit, "Cross Over the Bridge" (it was also covered by The Flamingos for the Chance Records label), but it was the B-side, "Sh-Boom," a vocal tune with an a cappella catchy introduction that caught the imagination. After "Sh-Boom" became a hit, the A-side was replaced by the song "Little Maiden." A cover version later done by a white group called The Crew-Cuts, attempted to add their own spin on the song by seemingly adding nonsensical syllables ("shh-boom, shh-boom, yadda da da yadda da da da da da") that caused considerably more commotion. However the words ("Yadda da da yadda da da da da da") were never sung in the original version by The Chords.

"Sh-Boom"

By the end of June 1954, "Sh-Boom" had climbed up the charts nationwide, charting on both the R&B (#3) and pop (#9) lists. Along with The Crows' 1954 hit "Gee", "Sh-Boom" introduced a white audience to R&B music for the first time. While The Crows' "Gee" first appeared on the Billboard charts in March, 1954, other early songs by a black act to cross-over from the R&B charts to the pop charts were The Dominoes' "Sixty Minute Man", which made it to #17 on the charts in 1951, and The Orioles' "Crying in the Chapel", #11 in 1953.

Not everyone thought the song was a precursor of good things to come. Peter Potter, host of TV's popular "Juke Box Jury", was seemingly aghast at the state of this then-new trend in pop music and attacked "Sh-Boom" asking if anyone would remember the admittedly demented ditty in five, let alone 20 years time and whether any record label would even think to re-release it in the future.[1]

The songwriters were deluged by music publishing companies wanting to buy the rights to "Sh-Boom" in order to reap huge potential earnings (the group quickly came to an agreement with Hill & Range). Soon there were cover versions hitting radio stations across the country simultaneously with the original version by The Chords. The Billy Williams Quartet recorded a version for Coral Records, and the Crew-Cuts recorded one for Mercury. Stan Freberg recorded a parody in which the producer exhorted the singers to "mumble."[2]

Later Years

The Chords soon appeared on TV shows, although televisions were still uncommon in U.S. homes. The band was forced to change their name to The Chordcats when it learned there was a group already using the name The Chords.

Subsequent Atlantic Record advertisements noted that their group was the creators and originators of "Sh-Boom," even though the Canadian Crew-Cuts' paler pop version by then had knocked the Chords' R&B-styled version off the charts.

Atlantic released numerous additional singles which mostly failed to chart. Their another attempt to resurrect the act came in mid 1955 when the group renamed themselves The Sh-Booms after their big hit. The Chords/Chordcats/Sh-Booms went through several personnel changes during the late 1950s, recording a handful of records for Vik Records in 1957. In later years they changed their name again to The Sh-Booms, returned to Atlantic for one last recording in 1960 before finally disbanding in 1960.[3][4]

Original members

Floyd McRae, the last surviving original member, died on March 19, 2013, at a nursing home in the Bronx. He was 85.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-chords-mn0000070413/biography
  2. ↑ David Hinckley (2011-04-12). "Resolution would rename Bronx street in honor of 'Sh-Boom' group The Chords". Daily News. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  3. ↑ R.I.P. Floyd ‘Buddy’ McRae, Last Surviving Member Of The Chords - VVN Music, 21 March 2013
  4. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-chords-mn0000070413/biography
  5. ↑ David Hinckley (March 21, 2013). "Floyd 'Buddy' McRae, the last living member of the Chords and a singer on the song, 'Sh-Boom,' dies in Bronx hospital". Daily News. Retrieved April 10, 2015.

External links

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