The Moonglows

The Moonglows
The Moonglows in 1956
Background information
Origin	Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Genres	R&B,doo-wop
Years active	1953–1958; 1970-1972
Labels	Champaign, Chance, Chess, RCA
Associated acts	Alan Freed
Past members	Harvey Fuqua Bobby Lester Pete Graves Prentiss Barnes Billy Johnson Marvin Gaye Danny Coggins

The Moonglows were an American R&B group in the 1950s. Their song "Sincerely" went to number 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and number 20 on the Billboard Juke Box chart.

They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

Fresh from a stint in the U.S. Army, two friends, Harvey Fuqua and Bobby Lester, formed a duo in 1949 in Louisville KY. In 1951, Fuqua moved to Cleveland and formed the Crazy Sounds with the singers Danny Coggins and Prentiss Barnes. Lester joined them later.

In 1952, while performing at a Cleveland club, the Crazy Sounds auditioned for the club's management. They soon got in contact with the radio host Alan Freed, who upon hearing them became the group's manager. In 1953, Freed renamed the group the Moonglows, after his own nickname, Moondog. They signed with Freed's Champagne label, but their recordings for the label failed to make the charts. Coggins left the group and was replaced by Alexander Walton, who was sometimes known as Pete Graves or Pete Walton.

In 1953, they recorded for another small label, Chance, but like their Champagne recordings, their records had little success; their cover of Doris Day's "Secret Love" was their most successful for Chance. In September 1953, Freed obtained a contract with the New York radio station WINS. His success as a broadcaster and host of the station led to a contract for the Moonglows with Chess Records.

Their first Chess single, "Sincerely", led by Lester, reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart and the top 20 of the pop chart. The song was later a crossover success in a cover version by the McGuire Sisters. In 1955, the band picked the guitarist Billy Johnson to be their fifth member after Wayne Bennett left the group following their engagement at the Apollo Theater. That same year, the group had another R&B hit with "Most of All", followed by a more modest success with "We Go Together" in 1956. Chess issued some of their recordings with the group credited as the Moonlighters.