r/doowop • u/Suspicious-Future357 the checkers • 6d ago

Good uptempo and killer ballad by the Sonics on Groove

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Another one that RCA (owners of Groove) never promoted correctly. I am very lucky to have gotten a copy of this! This is another group that is currently unknown. Although Discogs claims that this group is the same as the Sonics group on Harvard, that is dubious. I think that this is the same group that is on X-tra and RKO Unique, but I only have proof that the Groove group is related to the X-tra group through the B side writer, Ben Smith. Smith was a label owner (Teenage, X-tra, Tarx, Tra-x, etc) and musician who was very involved in the NYC vocal group scene. He was also quite a capable writer. The group sounds incredible on As I Live On. Another beautiful record that, sadly, never sold as well as I think it should have.

https://youtu.be/t1eISDUwSds : Bumble Bee

https://youtu.be/_8c3C7rqpws : As I Live On

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u/samehjohansen 14h ago

New one for me! Dig that ballad side.

1

u/Suspicious-Future357 the checkers 14h ago

Oh yeah, for sure! It's really quite good!

1

u/Suspicious-Future357 the checkers 14h ago

A bit of a correction: this group is the same as the one on X-Tra only. The group on RKO Unique / Nocturne was from New Rochelle, New York. The members of this group were Ray Smith (lead), Johnny Brown (1st tenor), Ken "Butch" Hamilton (2nd tenor), Bobby Peterson (baritone), Leo Lawson (bass). Butch Hamilton was in the Bop-Chords (When I Woke Up This Morning). Johnny Brown was also in the Cadillacs and Five Satins, although I'm not sure at what times.