The Vogues

The Vogues
The Vogues in 1965
Background information
Origin	Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	Rock and roll, traditional pop music, blue eyed soul
Years active	1958–present
Labels	Co & Ce, Reprise
Members	Royce Taylor Bill Burkette Troy Elich Tom Lamb Artie Deleonardis Dean Mastrangelo Rich Gooch
Past members	Chuck Blasko Don Miller Jim Campagna Stan Elich Terry Brightbill Hugh Geyer

The Vogues are an American vocal group from Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The original group consisted of Bill Burkette (lead baritone), Don Miller (baritone), Hugh Geyer (first tenor) and Chuck Blasko (second tenor).

They are best known for their chart topping singles "You're The One", "Five O'Clock World", "Magic Town", and "Turn Around, Look At Me". In addition to touring the world, the group appeared on American Bandstand, The Tonight Show, and The Ed Sullivan Show. They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001.

The group, originally named the Val-Aires, formed in 1958 at Turtle Creek High School. They signed with Pittsburgh manager Elmer Willet, who produced their first recording release "Which One Will It Be/Laurie My Love". DJ Porky Chedwick became a supporter booking the group for his rock and roll shows and record hops. Chedwick put them on bills with the Drifters, the Platters, and the Dells. Clark Race of KDKA radio promoted the group on his KDKA TV dance show. Having strong regional sales it was picked up for national distribution by Coral Records.

After high school, several members of the group joined the Army while others went to college. A few years later with their enlistments completed and degrees in hand, they decided to record again. They pitched in $100 apiece to record a demo tape. They hired Nick Cenci, who had broken Lou Christie, to produce the recording. In 1965, Cenci produced recording sessions for the Val-Aires at Gateway Studios in Pittsburgh. The band recorded vocals for a cover of the Petula Clark song "You're The One." It was released on the band's own Blue Star label. Cenci persuaded John Rook, program director of KQV, to play the single. With local airplay and sales Cenci signed them to the Co & Ce label as the "Vogues". He had the single distributed nationally. The song became a national hit reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100. Later in 1965, Cenci produced another Vogues recording session giving the world the no. 4 Billboard hit, "Five O'Clock World".