The Marcels
| The Marcels | |
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The Marcels with the Earth Angels, during their participation in the festival carried out at the Benedum Center during May 2010 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Genres | Doo-wop |
| Years active | 1959–1962, 1972 |
| Past members |
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The Marcels were an American doo-wop group known for turning popular music songs into rock and roll. The group formed in 1959 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and signed to Colpix Records, with lead Cornelius Harp, bass Fred Johnson, Gene Bricker, Ron Mundy, and Richard Knauss. The group was named after a popular hair style of the day, the marcel wave, by Fred Johnson's younger sister Priscilla.
In 1961 many were surprised to hear a new version of the ballad "Blue Moon", that began with the bass singer saying, "bomp-baba-bomp" and "dip-da-dip." The record sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. It is featured in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
The disc went to number one in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and UK Singles Chart. In the US, additional revivals in the same vein as "Blue Moon"--"Heartaches" and "Melancholy Baby"--were less successful, although "Heartaches" peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually sold over one million copies worldwide.
The introduction to "Blue Moon" was an excerpt of an original song that the group had in its act, a cover of "Zoom" by the Cadillacs. Colpix A&R director Stu Phillips transferred the introduction to "Blue Moon" in order to give the song additional flair. The Marcels recorded "Blue Moon" in two takes. A promotion man asked and got a copy of the finished tape, which found its way to legendary DJ 'Murray The K' (qv). He promoted it as an "exclusive" and reportedly played it 26 times on one show.
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