The Harptones That's The Way It Goes Rama 203 A

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The Harptones That's The Way It Goes Rama 203 A 1956

Here, again, are The Harptones with, "That's the Way It Goes" on a nice piece of shellac pressed back in 1956 courtesy of Rama Records. Please Enjoy!

Of all the R&B groups to come out of New York City in the 1950s, without a doubt the Harptones are the most beloved. In the UGHA survey of the top 500 vocal group recordings (held in 2000), the Harptones, while not having the number one record, placed more songs (14) in the top 500 than any other group.

The story of the Harptones goes back to the streets of Harlem in the early 50s. First, there was a group called the Skylarks, comprised of William Dempsey James (always known as "William Dempsey"), Curtis Cherebin, and Freddy Taylor.

Another group around at the time was the Winfield Brothers, which consisted of Willie Winfield, his brothers Clyde and Jimmy, his brother-in-law Johnny Bronson, and William "Dicey" Galloway. Singing seems to be in the Winfield blood: one of Willie's cousins (although by marriage) was Dickie Smith of the 5 Keys; another was George Winfield of the Chateaus. Actually the Winfield Brothers were an oddity, one of the few Manhattan R&B groups that didn't come from Harlem (all but Dicey were from the Lower East Side). Because Dicey lived in Harlem, he also occasionally sang with Dempsey's Skylarks.

In time, members of both groups combined, under the tutelage of pianist/arranger Raoul Cita. When the dust settled, the members were: Willie Winfield (tenor), Billy Brown (bass; a friend of Curtis Cherebin, whose mother wanted him to finish school instead of singing), Claudie "Nicky" Clark (a first tenor whom they stole from the 5 Crowns), William Dempsey (second tenor), William "Dicey" Galloway (baritone), and Raoul Cita (accompanist, arranger, and occasional tenor/baritone).

Cita chose the name "Harps" for the new group, which sang on street corners, hallways, subway stations, anywhere they could.


By the end of the year, Leo Rogers had pulled the Harptones away from Old Town. He had just set up Andrea Records (with new partner Sid Arky), and the Harptones ended up having a single Andrea release, issued in March 1956: "What Is Your Decision" and "Gimmie Some" (both fronted by Willie). Additionally, they recorded another version of "My Memories Of You" and "High Flyin' Baby."

In May of 1956, Cita put together the "Royale Cita Chorus," consisting of the three groups he rehearsed: the Harptones, the Joytones (Vickie Burgess, Barbara Brown, and Margaret Moore), and the Lyrics. The Lyrics, who never recorded except as part of the chorus, consisted of Ronald "Tweetie" Ellis (lead), Willie Boddie (second tenor), Freddy Taylor (tenor/baritone/bass), and Curtis Cherebin (baritone/bass). Freddy and Curtis, of course, had been singing together since the days of the Skylarks.

Cita now had a dozen singers at his disposal and he brought them to the attention of George Goldner, owner of Rama and Gee; both the Harptones and the Joytones ended up with Rama recording contracts. The chorus first recorded on May 2, 1956, the day when the Joytones recorded "Gee What A Boy!" On that day, they backed up Mabel King on "Symbol Of Love." Their next session was on August 7, when the Harptones recorded "That's The Way It Goes" for Rama; Cita used the chorus to fill out the sound on that side (but not on the flip, "Three Wishes"). That same day, they backed up Mabel King again, this time on "Second Hand Love." Finally, they recorded "I Understand" and "Chang Chang A-Lang" under the name of the "Royale Cita Chorus." All of these songs were released in August 1956.

A few weeks later, the Harptones were part of Alan Freed's Labor Day show at the Brooklyn Paramount. Other acts included Mabel King, the Joytones, the Teenagers, the Cleftones (all Goldner acts), Fats Domino, the Penguins, and Joe Turner.

On September 11, the Harptones had another session for Goldner. The three songs recorded were: "On Sunday Afternoon," "The Shrine Of Saint Cecilia," and "Ou Wee Baby" (all led by Willie). Before anything was released from this session, however, Leo Rogers issued "My Memories Of You" and "High Flyin' Baby" (both of which had been recorded at the Andrea session in the spring). These tunes came out on Rogers and Arky's new Tip Top label in September.


Turntable used: Audio Technica AT-LP120 USB Direct Drive inputted straight into the sound card using the built-in pre-amp from the turntable.


Cartridge used: ATP-2XN using 78 3 mil needle.