The Diamonds

The Diamonds
The group in 1957.
Background information
Origin	Canada
Years active	1953–present
Website	www.thediamonds.cc
Members	Gary Owens Sean Sooter Jerry Siggins Jeff Dolan
Past members	Dave Somerville Ted Kowalski Phil Levitt Bill Reed Bill New Bob Duncan /> Glenn Stetson/>Mike Douglas John Felten Jim Malone

The Diamonds are a Canadian vocal quartet that rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s with 16 Billboard hit records. The original members were Dave Somerville (lead), Ted Kowalski (tenor), Phil Levitt (baritone), and Bill Reed (bass). They were most noted for interpreting and introducing rhythm and blues vocal group music to the wider pop music audience. Contrary to a popular myth, the father of Tom Hanks was never a member of the group.

In 1953 Dave Somerville, while working as a sound engineer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Toronto, Canada, met three other guys one evening who liked to sing as much as he did. They decided to form a stand-up quartet called The Diamonds. The group's first performance was in the basement of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Toronto singing in a Christmas minstrel show. The audience's reaction to the Somerville-led group was so positive that they decided that night they would turn professional.

After 18 months of rehearsal, they drove to New York and tied for 1st Place on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. The prize of being guest artist for a week on Godfrey’s show led to a recording contract with Coral Records. Professional musician Nat Goodman became their manager. Coral released four songs, the most notable being "Black Denim Trousers & Motorcycle Boots", written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

The next big step was an audition with Cleveland, Ohio, radio disc jockey, Bill Randle, who had aided in the success of some popular groups, such as The Crew-Cuts. Randle was impressed with The Diamonds and introduced them to a producer at Mercury Records who signed the group to a recording contract.