The Diamonds
were a Canadian quartet of the 1950s and early 1960s who rose to prominence performing mostly cover versions of songs by black musicians. The original members were: Dave Somerville - Lead, Ted Kowalski - Tenor, Phil Levitt - Baritone, and Bill Reed - Bass.
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THE DIAMONDS TICKETS
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History
In 1953,
Dave Somerville was working as a
sound engineer for the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in
Toronto,
Canada. One of the shows produced at the CBC was "Pick The Stars", a local talent show. He noticed four gentlemen practicing in the hallway for that show, and stopped to listen. After exchanging amenities, Somerville convinced the four that, in his opinion, they were not ready for the competition and offered to be their
manager. This group was composed of Stan Fisher, Ted Kowalski, Phil Levitt, and Bill Reed. They agreed and for the next several months, Somerville provided tutoring, and got practice time in un-occupied
studios at the CBC.
That
Christmas, the group was to sing for a Christmas party at a local church. That date conflicted with studies for a law exam of Stan Fisher, the lead singer and Fisher decided he needed the study time. Since Somerville knew all the songs, he took Fisher’s place. The audience reaction to the Dave Somerville led group was so tremendous, that the
group that night decided to turn professional. In one fateful decision Fisher decided to stay in law school and not continue with the group. Somerville became the permanent lead, and that was the night The Diamonds were born.
By 1955, all members of the group had left
college, and/or jobs, to sing full time. Professional musician Nat Goodman became their manager, and Goodman got the Diamonds onto
Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts on American television. The result of the contest was a stalemate between the Diamonds and another contestant. With the prize of being guest artist for a week on Godfrey’s show, this led to a
recording contract with
Coral Records. Coral released four songs, the most notable being "Black Denim Trousers & Motorcycle Boots", a
cover of a recording originally by
The Cheers. The Diamonds' version sold a few thousand copies, which was only enough to get them a little local recognition.
The next big step was an audition with
Cleveland,
Ohio, radio disc jockey
Bill Randle, who aided in the success of some popular groups, such as
The Crew Cuts. Randle was impressed with the Diamonds and introduced them to
Mercury Records, who signed the group to a recording contract. At this time, black artists were not played on white radio stations. Mercury Records, as well as other major
record companies, were designating white artists to cover the recordings of black artists for the purpose of expanding their listening audience.
The Diamonds’ first recording for Mercury was "
Why Do Fools Fall in Love," a cover of
Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers’s version, which reached #12 in the
U.S. as their first hit. They had a hit follow-up single, "The Church Bells May Ring" (originally by The Willows), which reached #14 in the U.S. They also covered songs by such black groups as
The Clovers and
The Heartbeats.
The Diamonds biggest hits were 1957's "
Little Darlin'" (originally recorded by the
The Gladiolas) and 1958's "
The Stroll", which was
not
a cover, but actually an original song written for the group by
Brook Benton, from an idea by
Dick Clark.
Although they were signed to do
rock & roll, Mercury also paired them with
Pete Rugolo in one of his "Meet" series. The album entitled "The Diamonds Meet Pete Rugolo" allowed The Diamonds to return to their roots and do some established standards.
The group sang "Little Darlin'" and "Where Mary Go" in the
movie, "
The Big Beat"
, and sang the
theme song for another
film,
"Kathy-O"
.
They had many
television appearances, including the TV shows of
Steve Allen,
Perry Como,
Vic Damone,
Tony Bennett,
Eddy Arnold and
Paul Winchell. They also appeared on
American Bandstand.
By 1961, all original members had left the group and were replaced. With the ever-changing style of rock & roll and their Mercury contract expired, the Diamonds continued touring the country. There is a popular belief that The Diamonds disbanded in the early sixties. This is untrue. After their Mercury contract expired, The group recorded a single (The Slide/Melody of Love) and an album for the independent NATHANIAL label. Lead singer Jimmy Malone and Tenor Evan Fisher left the group to perform as a duo in the mid sixties. Mike Douglas carried the torch throughout the sixties and seventies, working in some of the most prestigous lounges in Las Vegas. The Diamonds was one of the first groups to perform at Caesers Palace. At one time, there were at least two groups performing under the Diamonds' name, one led by
Glenn Stetson. Stetson's Diamonds worked prolifically in the 1970s and 1980s and were instrumental in the '50s Music revival. Stetson founded "Little Darlin's Rock-n-Roll Palace in Kissimmee, Florida which featured numerous artists of the 1950s and early 1960s era. This created an issue that was ultimately settled in court. The ruling determined who legally owned the Diamonds' name, and allowed the original four to use the name a few times each year.
The Diamonds received national attention once again in 2000, when the original members were invited to sing in
TJ Lubinsky’s
PBS production of “
Do-Wop 51”, and again in the PBS production entitled "Magic Moments-The Best Of '50s Pop" in 2004.
Original members
- Dave Somerville - Lead / Replaced by Jim Malone 1961
- Ted Kowalski - Tenor / Replaced by Evan Fisher 1958
- Phil Levitt - Baritone / Replaced by Mike Douglas 1957
- Bill Reed - Bass (died 2004) / Replaced by John Felten 1958 (died 1982)
Replacement members
- Glenn Stetson - Lead vocalist / Replaced John Felten in 1968. Mike Douglas remained with the group as the only original member that recorded for Mercury records in the fifties and early sixties. At this time, The Diamonds consisted of Glenn Stetson(Canada), Harry Harding (Canada),Danny Rankin(USA),Mike Douglas(Canada)
- Joe Derise - Vocalist and composer joined in 1969.
Discography
Original albums
- America's Number One Singing Stylists
- Meet Pete Rugolo
- Songs From The Old West
- Laughs, Singing, Laughs
Compilation albums
- America's Famous Song Stylists
- Pop Hits
- The Best of the Diamonds: The Mercury Years
- Little Darlin
- Scrapbook of Golden Hits
- Hall of Fame
- Best of the Diamonds
- The Diamonds Songbook
(2007)
Billboard charted singles
- "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" – Debut on 02/18/56, Peaked at #12. [1] [2]
- "The Church Bells May Ring" – Debut on 04/21/56, Peaked at #14
- "Love, Love, Love" – Debut 06/23/56, Peaked at #30
- "Ka-Ding-Dong" – Debut on 09/08/56, Peaked at #35
- "Soft Summer Breeze" – Debut on 09/22/56, Peaked at #34
- "Little Darlin'" – Debut on 03/16/57, Peaked at #2 for 8 weeks (Gold discs|Gold) [3]
- "Words Of Love" – Debut on 06/24/57, Peaked at #13
- "Zip Zip" – Debut on 08/26/57, Peaked at #16
- "Silhouettes" – Debut on 11/04/57, Peaked at #10
- "The Stroll" – Debut on 12/30/57, Peaked at #4 (Gold)
- "High Sign" – Debut on 04/14/58, Peaked at #37
- "Kathy-O" – Debut on 07/28/58, Peaked at #16
- "Happy Years" – Debut on 08/04/58, Peaked at #73
- "Walking Along" – Debut on 10/27/58, Peaked at #29
- "She Say (Oom Dooby Doom)" – Debut on 01/26/59, Peaked at #18
- "One Summer Night" - Debut 07/03/61, Peaked at #22
Film appearances
TV appearances
- The Steve Allen Show
(1957)
Awards and honours
- In 1984, the Canadian Juno "Hall of Fame" award by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. [4]
- In October, 2004, inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in Sharon, Pennsylvania. [5]
- In 2006 inducted into The Doo-Wop Hall of Fame.
Trivia
- Dave Somerville is a descendant of Charlemagne. In the year 1100, another relative, Gualter Somerville, is credited as killing the last dragon in Scotland.
- Phil Levitt’s last name is commonly misspelled as "Leavitt".
- Bill Reed was chased by a bear on the Paul Winchell Show.
- The Diamonds thought that the song "Faithful & True", the flip side of "Little Darlin’", would be the hit.
- The Diamonds credit a black gospel group from Detroit, The Revelaires, as the major influence on their singing.
- The band Diamond Nights were originally called Diamonds but were forced to change their name due to this group
- Joe Derise got his first break as a young vocalist with Tommy Dorsey
- Glenn Stetson was a featured performer in Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians in the mid-1960s
See also
- Canadian rock
- Music of Canada
References
- U.S Billboard chart rankings
- Canadian Charts from 1957 - 1986
- Gold & Platinum certification of albums at RIAA
- Juno Awards/Canadian Music Hall of Fame winner and nominations
- VocalGroup Hall of Fame inductees