| The Diamonds | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | Canada |
| Genre: | Pop[1] |
| Years Active: | 1953–present |
| Label: | Mercury |
| Current Members: | Gary Owens Julian McCleary Daniel Peter Vissers Jeff Dolan |
| Past Members: | Dave Somerville Michael Lawrence Adam Marino Ted Kowalski Phil Levitt Bill Reed Bill New Bob Duncan Glenn Stetson Mike Douglas John Felten Jim Malone Sean Sooter Jerry Siggins Bobby Poynton Evan Fisher Steve Smith Gary Cech Harry Harding Danny Rankin Joe Derise Jerry Honeycutt John Wagner Ron Neuman Don Wade Jim Blaine Mike Dorsey Don Weir Joe Finetti Marty Davis |
The Diamonds are a Canadian vocal quartet that rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s with 16 Billboard hit records. The original members were Dave Somerville (lead), Ted Kowalski (tenor), Phil Levitt (baritone), and Bill Reed (bass).[2] They were most noted for interpreting and introducing rhythm and blues vocal group music to the wider pop music audience. Contrary to a popular myth, the father of Tom Hanks was never a member of the group.[3]
In 1953, Dave Somerville, while working as a sound engineer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, met three other young singers. They decided to form a stand-up quartet called the Diamonds. The group's first performance was in the basement of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Toronto singing in a Christmas minstrel show. The audience's reaction to the Somerville-led group was so positive that they decided that night they would turn professional.
After 18 months of rehearsal, they drove to New York and tied for 1st Place on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. The prize of being guest artist for a week on Godfrey's show led to a recording contract with Coral Records. Professional musician Nat Goodman became their manager. Coral released four songs, the most notable being "Black Denim Trousers & Motorcycle Boots", written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.[2]
The next big step was an audition with Cleveland, Ohio, radio disc jockey, Bill Randle, who had aided in the success of some popular groups, such as The Crew-Cuts. Randle was impressed with the Diamonds and introduced them to a producer at Mercury Records who signed the group to a recording contract.[2]
The Diamonds’ first recording for Mercury was "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" (originated by Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers),[2] [1] which reached No. 12 in the U.S. as their first hit, and their follow-up hit single, "The Church Bells May Ring" (originally by The Willows),[2] reached No. 14 in the U.S.[4]
The Diamonds' biggest hits were 1957's "Little Darlin'" (originally recorded by The Gladiolas, written by Maurice Williams) and "The Stroll" (1957), an original song written for the group by Clyde Otis, from an idea by Dick Clark.[5]
Although they were signed to do rock and roll, Mercury also paired them with jazz composer and arranger Pete Rugolo, in one of his Meet series recordings. The album, entitled The Diamonds Meet Pete Rugolo, allowed them to return to their roots and do some established standards.
The group sang "Little Darlin'" and "Where Mary Go" in the film The Big Beat. They sang the theme song to the 1958 film, Kathy O’.
Their television appearances included the TV shows of Steve Allen, Perry Como, Vic Damone, Tony Bennett, Eddy Arnold, and Paul Winchell. They also appeared on American Bandstand.
In the late 1950s, Reed, Kowalski and Levitt left the group and were replaced by Mike Douglas, John Felten, and Evan Fisher.[2]
Despite the ever-changing style of rock & roll and their Mercury contract expiring, the Diamonds continued touring the country. After Dave Somerville left the group in 1961[1] to pursue a folk singing career as "David Troy", he was replaced by Jim Malone. There were no more hit records by the Diamonds after Somerville left.[6]
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s the Diamonds performed mostly in Las Vegas led, at first, by Mike Douglas, later being continued by Glenn Stetson. At one time, there were at least two groups performing under the Diamonds name, the other principally being led by John Felten until his death on May 17, 1982, in a plane crash.[2] This created an issue in the late 1980s that ultimately went to court. The right to the use of the name "The Diamonds" was awarded to Gary Owens (a member of Felten's group) with the original members being allowed to use their name on special occasions each year. Owens, along with members Bob Duncan, Steve Smith (both former members of Lawrence Welk's band and television program), and Gary Cech, released an album in 1987, "Diamonds Are Forever", which contained two songs that entered the lower reaches of the Country Music Charts, "Just a Little Bit" and "Two Kinds of Women".[7] [8]
In 1986, Glenn Stetson and Dick Malono opened up Little Darlin's Rock and Roll Palace near Disney in Orlando, Florida which was a magical success for all the acts of that era to perform. The Country Music Network also starting videos of the groups that went on the TV network. In 1983, the Diamonds with Glenn Stetson were the first rock and roll group to go on the Country Music Network on a show called Nashville Now with Ralph Emory.
The Diamonds received national attention once again in 2000, when the original members were invited to sing in TJ Lubinsky’s PBS production of Doo-Wop 51, and again in the PBS production entitled Magic Moments - The Best of '50s Pop in 2004.
Stetson received a heart transplant in 2000, and died in 2003. Original member Kowalski died on August 8, 2010, from heart disease, at the age of 79.[9]
In 2012, the Diamonds were listed as guest stars with The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies at the Plaza Theatre in Palm Springs, California.
Douglas died in a car accident on July 2, 2012, at age 78.[10]
Somerville died on July 14, 2015, in Santa Barbara, California.[11]
The Diamonds continue to tour to this day with the line-up of Gary Owens (baritone), Dan Vissers (tenor), Julian McCleary (lead) and Jeff Dolan (bass), although none of the members are from the original group which recorded for Mercury Records.
| Year | Titles (A-side, B-side) Both sides from same album except where indicated | Chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop [13] | US Cashbox | US R&B | UK [14] | ||||
| 1955 | "Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots" b/w "Nip Sip" | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | |
| 1956 | "Smooch Me" b/w "Be My Lovin' Baby" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" b/w "You Baby You" (from America's Favorite Song Stylists) | 12 | 2 | — | — | Collection of Golden Hits (Mercury various artists compilation) | ||
| "The Church Bells May Ring" b/w "Little Girl of Mine" (from Pop Hits) | 14 | 23 | — | — | |||
| "Love, Love, Love" b/w "Every Night About This Time" (from America's Favorite Song Stylists) | 30 | — | 14 | — | |||
| "Soft Summer Breeze" / | 34 | — | — | — | Non-album track | ||
| "Ka-Ding-Dong" | 35 | 17 | 8 | — | America's Favorite Song Stylists | ||
| "My Judge and My Jury" b/w "Put Your House in Order" | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | ||
| "A Thousand Miles Away" b/w "Every Minute of the Day" | — | — | — | — | America's Favorite Song Stylists | ||
| 1957 | "Little Darlin'" b/w "Faithful and True" | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ||
| "Words of Love" b/w "Don't Say Goodbye" | 13 | 47 | 12 | — | Pop Hits | ||
| "Zip Zip" b/w "Oh How I Wish" | 16 | 36 | 12 | — | The Diamonds | ||
| "Silhouettes" b/w "Honey Bird" | 10 | — | 6 | — | America's Favorite Song Stylists | ||
| "The Stroll" b/w "Land of Beauty" (from Pop Hits) | 4 | 1 | 5 | — | |||
| 1958 | "High Sign" b/w "Chick-Lets (Don't Let Me Down)" | 37 | 21 | — | — | Pop Hits | |
| "Kathy-O" / | 16 | 37 | — | — | Non-album tracks | ||
| "Happy Years" | 73 | — | — | — | |||
| "Walking Along" b/w "Eternal Lovers" (from Pop Hits) | 29 | 19 | — | — | |||
| 1959 | "She Say (Oom Dooby Doom)" b/w "From the Bottom of My Heart" | 18 | 12 | — | — | ||
| "Gretchen" b/w "A Mother's Love" | — | 95 | — | — | |||
| "Sneaky Alligator" b/w "Holding Your Hand" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Young in Years" b/w "The Twenty-Second Day" | — | 80 | — | — | |||
| "Walkin' the Stroll" b/w "Batman, Wolfman, Frankenstein or Dracula" | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1960 | "Tell the Truth" b/w "Real True Love" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Slave Girl" b/w "The Pencil Song" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "You'd Be Mine" b/w "The Crumble" | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1961 | "You Short Changed Me" b/w "I Sho' Lawd Will" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "The Munch" b/w "Woomai-Ling" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "One Summer Night" b/w "It's a Doggone Shame" | 22 | 43 | — | — | |||
| 1962 | "The Horizontal Lieutenant" b/w "Vanishing American" | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963 | "The Slide" b/w "Melody of Love" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||