The Ron Hicklin Singers were a group of Los Angeles studio singers contracted and organized by Ron Hicklin. They are mostly known as the real singers behind the background vocals on The Partridge Family recordings.
In Los Angeles studio circles in the 1960s through 1980s, they were the vocal equivalent of (and often worked with) The Wrecking Crew, performing backup vocals on thousands of songs, TV and movie themes, and as lead (while remaining anonymous) singers on thousands of radio and television commercials.
The core group usually consisted of (by voice type):
However, this core group was often augmented with other specialist vocalists such as:
The group performed themes for major motion pictures in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
The group also sang the themes for major hit-TV shows of the period:
In addition, they sang many commercial vocals, including United States advertising campaigns for:
Radio and television station-ID jingle companies throughout the last four decades of the 20th century used the group in their productions, including:
The group also sang on recordings credited to:[3]
The Bähler Brothers were part of the singing group hired by Ron Hicklin on Hugo Montenegro's Albums.
The Bähler Brothers, Jackie Ward, and Ron Hicklin joined David Cassidy as the singers on the Partridge Family.
Member Jackie Ward also had a hit on her own as Robin Ward with the 1963 hit "Wonderful Summer".
Below information current as of August, 2023.
John Bähler lives in Branson, Missouri and conducts the "new" Lawrence Welk orchestra as well as running Portraits By Bähler.
Bähler's wife, Janet Lennon-Bähler of the Lennon Sisters, still tours in casinos and resorts around the country as part of an extensive nostalgia circuit, bringing music of the 1940s and 1950s to a new audience.
Tom Bähler, a long-time close associate of composer Quincy Jones as well as being associate producer and arranger of "We Are the World", lives in California's Santa Ynez Valley north of Los Angeles and continues to occasionally produce as well as record. He is also a songwriter of renown, having penned the Bobby Sherman hit "Julie, Do Ya Love Me" and Michael Jackson's "She's Out of My Life".
Ron Hicklin himself retired from the business in the mid-1990s, and lives in Vonore, Tennessee and Ko Olina (on Oahu) with his wife, Trudi.
Partial chronological list of albums containing one or more cuts with one or more Ron Hicklin Singers:[14]
| 1960 | Crazy Times | Gene Vincent | Capitol | ||
| 1960 | Along The Trail | The Eligibles | Capitol | ||
| 1960 | Love Is A Gamble | The Eligibles | Capitol | ||
| 1961 | When I Fall in Love | The Lettermen | Capitol | ||
| 1962 | Mike Fright | The Eligibles | Capitol | ||
| 1964 | Mustang! | The Zip-Codes | Liberty | ||
| 1965 | This Diamond Ring | Gary Lewis & The Playboys | Liberty | ||
| 1965 | Everybody Love's a Clown | Gary Lewis & The Playboys | Liberty | ||
| 1965 | A Session With Gary Lewis and the Playboys | Gary Lewis & The Playboys | Liberty | ||
| 1966 | She's Just My Style | Gary Lewis & The Playboys | Liberty | ||
| 1966 | The Monkees | The Monkees | Colgems | 5× Platinum | |
| 1967 | More Of The Monkees | The Monkees | Colgems | 5× Platinum | |
| 1967 | The Yellow Balloon | The Yellow Balloon | Canterbury | ||
| 1968 | Woman, Woman | Gary Puckett & The Union Gap | Columbia | ||
| 1968 | Gary Puckett & The Union Gap | Gary Puckett & The Union Gap | Columbia | ||
| 1968 | Incredible | Gary Puckett & The Union Gap | Columbia | ||
| 1968 | On Tap, In The Can, Or In The Bottle | Hank Thompson and The Brazos Valley Boys | Dot | ||
| 1969 | Hair | Stan Kenton | Capitol | ||
| 1969 | Moog Power | Hugo Montenegro | RCA | ||
| 1969 | Touching You, Touching Me | Neil Diamond | Uni | ||
| 1970 | Let It Be | Bud Shank with The Bob Alcivar Singers | World Pacific Jazz | ||
| 1970 | The Partridge Family Album | The Partridge Family | Bell | Gold | |
| 1970 | Young | Ralph Carmichael and The Young People | Light | ||
| 1971 | Up to Date | The Partridge Family | Bell | Gold | |
| 1971 | Sound Magazine | The Partridge Family | Bell | Gold | |
| 1971 | A Partridge Family Christmas Card | The Partridge Family | Bell | Gold | |
| 1971 | His Great Hits | Gábor Szabó | Impulse! | ||
| 1971 | On Any Sunday | Dominic Frontiere | Bell | ||
| 1971 | Indian Reservation | Paul Revere & the Raiders | Columbia | ||
| 1971 | Gandharva | Beaver & Krause | Warner Bros | ||
| 1971 | Wings | Michel Colombier | A&M | ||
| 1971 | The Class of Nineteen Hundred and Seventy One | Jack Daugherty | A&M | ||
| 1972 | Shopping Bag | The Partridge Family | Bell | Gold | |
| 1972 | The Partridge Family Notebook | The Partridge Family | Bell | Gold | |
| 1972 | Climax featuring Sonny Geraci | Climax | Rocky Road Records | ||
| 1972 | Billie Joe Thomas | B.J. Thomas | Scepter Records | ||
| 1972 | Raised on Records | P.F. Sloan | Mums | ||
| 1972 | D/B/A Crow | David Wagner | Amaretto | ||
| 1972 | Orchestra Arranged and Conducted By Michel Legrand | Sarah Vaughan | Mainstream Records | ||
| 1972 | Without You | Ray Conniff Singers | CBS | ||
| 1972 | After The Lovin' | Ray Conniff Singers | Columbia | ||
| 1972 | Love Theme From The Godfather | Ray Conniff Singers | Columbia | ||
| 1973 | Crossword Puzzle | The Partridge Family | Bell | Gold | |
| 1973 | Gram Parsons | Gram Parsons | Reprise | ||
| 1973 | Ringo | Ringo Starr | Apple | ||
| 1973 | Live at the Greek Theatre | Vikki Carr | Columbia | ||
| 1973 | The Last Thing On My Mind | Austin Roberts | Chelsea | ||
| 1973 | Miss America | Vikki Carr | Columbia | ||
| 1973 | Vagabonds Roost | Sherman Hayes | Capitol | ||
| 1973 | Naturally | Judy Lynn | Amaretto | ||
| 1974 | Grievous Angel | Gram Parsons | Reprise | ||
| 1974 | Dark Lady | Cher | MCA Records | ||
| 1974 | Stop and Smell the Roses | Mac Davis | Columbia | ||
| 1974 | A Little Bit Of Love | Paul Williams | A&M | ||
| 1974 | Touch Me | John Davidson | 20th Century | ||
| 1975 | Rich Man's Woman | Elkie Brooks | A&M | ||
| 1975 | What I Did For Love | Jack Jones | RCA Victor | ||
| 1975 | John R. Cash | Johnny Cash | Columbia | ||
| 1975 | Introducing Sparks | Sparks | Columbia | ||
| 1975 | Ordinary Fool | Paul Williams | A&M | ||
| 1975 | Un Tonto Común | Paul Williams | A&M | ||
| 1975 | Two Sides of the Moon | Keith Moon | MCA/Polydor | ||
| 1976 | Act like Nothing's Wrong | Al Kooper | United Artists | ||
| 1976 | Making Our Dreams Come True | Cyndi Grecco | Private | ||
| 1976 | Shaun Cassidy | Shaun Cassidy | Warner Bros | Platinum | |
| 1976 | Slow Down World | Donovan | Epic | ||
| 1976 | Cry Tough | Nils Lofgren | A&M | ||
| 1976 | Blue Moves | Elton John | MCA/Rocket | Platinum | |
| 1976 | Young and Rich | The Tubes | A&M | ||
| 1976 | A Song Is A Gentle Thing | Deanna Edwards | Teleketics | ||
| 1976 | Pictures & Rhymes | Jim Weatherly | ABC | ||
| 1976 | A Little Bit Of Love | Paul Williams | A&M | ||
| 1976 | Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart | Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart | Capitol | ||
| 1977 | He Touched Me | Tennessee Ernie Ford | Capitol | ||
| 1977 | Crepusculo En Oklahoma = Oklahoma Twilight | Wayne Parker | Ariola America | ||
| 1977 | Washington: Behind Closed Doors (Original Music From) | Dominic Frontiere | ABC | ||
| 1977 | The Full Life | Jack Jones | RCA Victor | ||
| 1977 | Born Late | Shaun Cassidy | Warner Bros | Platinum | |
| 1978 | Under Wraps | Shaun Cassidy | Warner Bros | ||
| 1978 | Dream | Captain and Tennille | A&M | ||
| 1978 | Leif Garrett | Leif Garrett | Atlantic | ||
| 1978 | Hard Love | Shaun Cassidy | Warner Bros | ||
| 1978 | Jaded Virgin | Marshall Chapman | Epic | ||
| 1978 | Grease | Grease | RSO | 8× Platinum | |
| 1978 | You Don't Bring Me Flowers | Neil Diamond | Columbia | 2× Platinum | |
| 1978 | Ray Conniff Plays The Bee Gees & Other Great Hits | Ray Conniff Singers | Discos CBS | ||
| 1979 | Groovin' You | Harvey Mason | Arista | ||
| 1979 | No One Home | Lalo Schifrin | Tabu | ||
| 1979 | Gershwin '79 | Westside Strutters | Parachute | ||
| 1979 | Lucky Day | Alan Price | Jet | ||
| 1979 | Portrait Of Love | Jon Byron | Light | ||
| 1979 | Apocalypse Now - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | Carmine Coppola & Francis Coppola | Elektra | ||
| 1979 | Jerry Lee Lewis | Jerry Lee Lewis | Warner Bros | ||
| 1980 | Ghost Riders | Outlaws | Arista | ||
| 1980 | Roadie (Original Motion Picture Sound Track) | Various | Warner Bros | ||
| 1980 | No More Dirty Deals | The Johnny Van Zant Band | Polydor | ||
| 1980 | The Lord's Prayer - Teach Us To Pray | Reba Rambo & Dony McGuire | Light | ||
| 1980 | Rising Sun | Alan Price | Jet | ||
| 1980 | Make Your Move | Captain & Tennille | RTV | Gold | |
| 1980 | Rise Again...He's Alive | Paul Johnson Vocal Band | MCA | ||
| 1980 | Trilogy: Past, Present & Future | Frank Sinatra | Reprise | ||
| 1981 | Made in America | The Carpenters | A&M | ||
| 1981 | Dark Orchid | Sammy Nestico | Palo Alto | ||
| 1981 | David Essex – Be-Bop The Future | David Essex | Mercury | ||
| 1982 | The Dukes Of Hazzard | Various | Scotti Bros | ||
| 1982 | So Far...So Good | Stella Parton | Town House | ||
| 1982 | The Best of Jerry Lee Lewis Featuring 39 and Holding | Jerry Lee Lewis | Elektra | ||
| 1982 | Messiah Bright Morning Star | Reba Rambo & Dony McGuire | Light | ||
| 1983 | Voices of the Heart | The Carpenters | A&M | Gold | |
| 1983 | Got My Eye On You | Johnny Koonce | A&M | ||
| 1984 | And I Love You So | Howard Keel | PolyTel | ||
| 1985 | With Love: For Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow | Howard Keel | PolyTel | ||
| 1993 | When My Heart Finds Christmas | Harry Connick Jr. | Columbia | 3× Platinum | |
| 1993 | Swing Kids (Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack) | James Horner | Milan | ||
| 1995 | When You Wish Upon A Chipmunk | The Chipmunks | Chipmunk | ||
| 1995 | Casper (Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack) | James Horner | MCA | ||
| 1995 | Apollo 13 (Music From The Motion Picture) | James Horner | MCA | ||
| 1996 | Live A Little, Love A Little & The Trouble With Girls & Charro! & Change Of Habit | Elvis Presley | RCA | ||
| 1998 | Breath Of Heaven: A Christmas Collection | Vince Gill with Patrick Williams and His Orchestra | MCA | ||
| 2004 | Come To The Sunshine: Soft Pop Nuggets From The WEA Vaults | Various | Rhino | ||
| 2006 | Here Comes Inspiration | Paul Williams | East Central One | ||
| 2008 | Ray Conniff Plays The Bee Gees & Other Great Hits / I Will Survive | Ray Conniff Singers | Sony BMG | ||
| 2010 | Carnival of Sound | Jan & Dean | Rhino |