The Solitaires

The Solitaires
The Solitaires in 1954. Top row: Herman Curtis, Pat Gaston, Bobby Baylor. Bottom row: Bobby Williams, Buzzy Willis.
Background information
Origin	Harlem, New York City, United States
Genres	Doo-wop
Years active	1953–present
Labels	Old Town Records Argo Records
Members	Milton Love Don Cruz Ray Goodwin Alvin Grant Frank Morrow
Past members	Nick Anderson Reggie Barnes Freddy Barksdale Bobby Baylor Herman Curtis Herman Curtis Pat Gaston Cecil Holmes California Jones George Magnezid Robbie Mansfield Roland Martinez Cathy Miller Angel Morgan Monte Owens Wally Roker Bobby Williams Harriet Williams Buzzy Willis

The Solitaires are an American doo-wop group, best known for their 1957 hit single "Walking Along". Although they never had a national chart hit, they were one of the most popular vocal groups in New York in the late 1950s.

The Solitaires formed in Harlem in 1953. They started as a street-corner singing group, one of many that used to congregate on 142nd Street. The original lineup consisted of Eddie "California" Jones (lead singer), Nick Anderson (first tenor), Winston "Buzzy" Willis (second tenor), Rudy "Angel" Morgan (baritone), and Pat Gaston (bass).

After a series of personnel changes, the group had six members: Herman Curtis, also known as Herman Dunham (lead singer/first tenor), Buzzy Willis (second tenor), Pat Gaston (bass), Monteith "Monte" Owens (tenor/guitar), Bobby Baylor (second tenor/baritone) and Bobby "Schubie" Williams (tenor/piano). Curtis had previously performed with the Vocaleers, Gaston with the Four Bells, Willis with the Crows, and Owens, Baylor and Williams with the Mello-Moods.

Willis happened to work for Hal Jackson, a famous disc jockey and radio personality at WLIB. With Jackson's help, the Solitaires landed an audition with record producer Hy Weiss in the fall of 1953. Weiss used to hold auditions in a local movie theater after it had closed for the night. Weiss was impressed with the young men's vocals. Just teenagers at the time, the Solitaires wrote most of their own material and had their own style of harmony, which helped distinguish them from the other street-corner singers. The group was signed to the Old Town record label, from which they issued a series of singles that included "Wonder Why", "Blue Valentine", and a cover version of the jazz standard, "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You". It was during this period that the group's best known publicity photo was taken, showing Curtis, Gaston, Baylor, Williams and Willis in white jackets procured for them by their manager at the time, Maurice Hines (father of the noted actor and dancer Gregory Hines).