The Manhattans
are a popular R&B vocal group with a string of hit records over three decades, but best known for their million-selling songs "Kiss and Say Goodbye" and "Shining Star" in 1976 and 1980, respectively.
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THE MANHATTANS TICKETS
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Early history
The Manhattans, originally from
Jersey City, New Jersey, formed in 1962 with members George "Smitty" Smith,
Edward "Sonny" Bivins (born
15 January 1942, in
Macon, Georgia), Winfred "Blue" Lovett (born
16 November 1943), Kenny "Wally" Kelley (born Kenneth Kelley,
9 January 1943 in
New Jersey), and Richard "Ricky" Taylor. Bivins, Lovett, and Kelley were graduating from
Lincoln High School, whilst Taylor and Smith were graduating from Snyder High School. All five enlisted in the
armed forces, and came together as a
group following their discharges from their respective branches.
The group's first
single was "For The First Time", released in 1964 by
Carnival Records. Many consider
August 15 1964, the date of recording, to be the official start of the group. The group continued
recording with great success, with the
songs written by various members of the group. In 1968, the group received the award "Most Promising Group" by NATRA. In 1969, the group moved to the
Deluxe record label of
King Records. They then went on a college tour. While playing at Kittrell College in
North Carolina, the group met another group, the New Imperials, who featured a member
Gerald Alston, nephew of
The Shirelles'
lead singer,
Shirley Alston-Reeves. They were so impressed with Alston that they asked him to join the group, but he declined.
Tragedy struck the group late in 1970 when George Smith fell down a flight of stairs and later took ill. Unable to perform, the group began to search for a new lead. They originally tried for The Cymballs' lead, Lee Williams, but he was not willing to leave them. The group then renewed their request to Gerald Alston (born
8 November 1951, in
North Carolina), who accepted, and took over the lead spot. George Smith died of a brain tumor
December 16 1970.
The group continued recording through the 1970s with Alston on lead. They hit it big in 1976 with "
Kiss and Say Goodbye", written by Blue Lovett and arranged/co-produced with the group by top Philadelphia-based musician/producer Bobby Martin, a former member of the MFSB band of session musicians. The song, with an impassioned vocal by Alston and a memorable opening rap by Lovett, quickly became a #1 chart-topper on both the
Billboard Pop and
R&B charts. It also became only the second single ever to go
platinum. Taylor left in 1976 to concentrate on his conversion to
Islam, (but died in 1987 after a long illness). The group continued as a
quartet and hit it big again in March of 1980, with the release of "Shining Star", which reached #5 on the Billboard pop charts and #4 on the R & B chart. Produced and co-written by established Chicago producer, Leo Graham, it received a
Grammy award the following year.
The group celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1985 with the release of
Too Hot To Stop It
. It included the Bivins/Smith
penned tune "We Were Made As One", originally recorded in 1966, but covered in an
a cappella,
doo wop style, to emphasize the group's doo wop roots. The album was also dedicated to George Smith.
The group continued until 1988. That year, Alston left to record as a
soloist, scoring with several major R & B hits in the late 80s and early 90s for Motown.
Roger Harris was then recruited as the new lead
singer for the group who moved to new label, Valley Vue when their Columbia contract expired.
Later history
The group's largest shake-up occurred in 1990, when Blue Lovett left due to health problems, and Kenny Kelley returned to college, for his
PhD. Bivins, now the only original member left, took over
management of the group. He recruited new members Alvin Pazant, Harsey Hemphill, and Charles Hardy. This brought the group back to a quintet. Harris proved to be only a short-term lead, however, as he left in 1991, and was replaced by new lead Wade Taylor. Taylor also only remained for a short time, leaving just a few months later. Bivins then recruited Lee Williams, the person who they had originally wanted to replace George Smith.
The current line-up of the group is Sonny Bivins, Lee Williams, Alvin Pazant, Harsey Hemphill, and Charles Hardy. They released the
CD Manhattans Now
in 1994, and in recent years, the group has been featured in the
play,
Girl, He Ain't Worth It
. In 1996, they began recording under their own label, Manhattans Entertainment Inc. The Manhattans continued to tour and record.
For what would be their 30th reunion, former member Blue Lovett decided to return to the music scene with his own Manhattans in 1995, bringing back Gerald Alston to be lead in his group. They are currently a quartet with Troy May and David Tyson, brother of
The Temptations'
Ron Tyson. In the past, the group also featured Eban Brown, now the lead of
The Stylistics. This group has also released some CDs, including
Even Now
. This group was featured in two
PBS specials.
Gerald Alston appeared on
Wu-Tang Clan's album
8 Diagrams on the song "Stick Me For My Riches" in 2007.
Discography
Albums
- 1966: Dedicated to You
(Carnival) - R&B #19
- 1970: With These Hands
(Deluxe)
- 1972: A Million to One
(Deluxe) - R&B #35
- 1973: There's No Me Without You
(Columbia) - US #150, R&B #19
- 1974: Summertime in the City
(CBS)
- 1975: That's How Much I Love You
(Columbia) - US #160, R&B #59
- 1976: The Manhattans
(Columbia) - US #16, R&B #6, UK #37
- 1977: It Feels So Good
(Columbia) - US #68, R&B #12
- 1978: There's No Good in Goodbye
(Columbia) - US #78, R&B #18
- 1979: Love Talk
(Columbia) - US #141, R&B #20
- 1980: After Midnight
(Columbia) - US #24, R&B #4
- 1980: Greatest Hits
- US #87, R&B #18
- 1981: Black Tie
(Columbia) - US #86, R&B #21
- 1983: Forever by Your Side
(Columbia) - US #104, R&B #17
- 1985: Too Hot to Stop It
(Columbia) - US #171, R&B #44
- 1986: Back to Basics
(Columbia)
- 1989: Sweet Talk
(Valley Vue)
- 1993: Black Tie
(Sony)
- 1995: The Best of the Manhattans: Kiss and Say Goodbye
(Columbia/Legacy)
- 1999: Live from South Africa
(Classic World; Blue Lovett's Manhattans)
- 2001: Even Now
(Beemark; Blue Lovett's Manhattans)
- 2007: Reachin' For the Sky
(KRB Music)
- 2008: Men Cry Too
(S-D-E-G) (re-release of Lovett's Even Now
with bonus tracks and one new song)
Singles
- 1965: "Follow Your Heart" - US #92, R&B #20
- 1965: "Searchin' For My Baby" - R&B #20
- 1966: "Baby I Need You" - US #96, R&B #22
- 1966: "Can I" - R&B #23
- 1967: "When We're Made As One" - R&B #31
- 1968: "I Call It Love" - US #96, R&B #24
- 1970: "If My Heart Could Speak" - US #98
- 1972: "One Life To Live" - R&B #3
- 1973: "There's No Me Without You" - US #43, R&B #3
- 1973: "You'd Better Believe It" - US #77, R&B #18
- 1974: "Summertime In The City" - R&B #45
- 1974: "Wish That Your Were Mine" - R&B #17
- 1975: "Don't Take Your Love From Me" - US #37, R&B #7
- 1975: "Hurt" - US #97, R&B #10, UK #4 (1976 release)
- 1976: "I Kinda Miss You" - US #46, R&B #7
- 1976: "Kiss and Say Goodbye" - US #1, R&B #1, UK #4
- 1977: "It's You" - UK #43
- 1977: "It Feels So Good to Be Loved So Bad" - US #66, R&B #6
- 1977: "We Never Danced to a Love Song" - US #93, R&B #10
- 1978: "Am I Losing You" - R&B #6
- 1978: "Everybody Has A Dream" - R&B #65
- 1979: "Here Comes That Hurt Again" - R&B #29
- 1979: "The Way We Were/Memories" - R&B #33
- 1980: "Girl Of My Dream" - R&B #30
- 1980: "I'll Never Find Another (Find Another Like You)" - R&B #12
- 1980: "Shining Star" - US #5, R&B #4, UK #45
- 1981: "Just One Moment Away" - R&B #19
- 1981: "Let Your Love Come Down" - R&B #77
- 1982: "Honey, Honey" - R&B #25
- 1983: "Crazy" - US #72, R&B #4, UK #63
- 1983: "Forever By Your Side" - R&B #30
- 1985: "Don't Say No" - R&B #60
- 1985: "You Send Me" - US #81, R&B #20
- 1986: "Where Did We Go Wrong" - R&B #42
- 1987: "All I Need Is Your Love" - R&B #41
- 1989: "Sweet Talk" - R&B #67
- 1989: "Why You Wanna Love Me Like That" - R&B #62
- 1990: "I Won't Stop" - R&B #79
References