The Jesters
Encyclopedia
The Jesters were a doo-wop
group based in New York City
who achieved success in the late 1950s. They were students at Cooper Junior High School in Harlem
who graduated from singing under an elevated train station near 120th Street
to the amateur night contest at the Apollo Theater
, where Paul Winley discovered them and signed them to his Winley Records
.
The Jesters' b-sides
often rivaled the lead cut. Their first three singles were all arranged by frequent Winley collaborator Davey Clowney, better known as Dave "Baby" Cortez, and all three—"So Strange" / "Love No One But You", "Please Let Me Love You" / "I'm Falling in Love" (both 1957) and "The Plea" / "Oh Baby" (1958)—made the outer reaches of the national Pop chart
, and generated considerable New York interest. Under a different line-up, The Jesters reached #110 on the Billboard chart
in 1960 with a version of The Diablo's "The Wind" backed with "Sally Green". Two lesser singles followed: "That's How It Goes" / "Tutti Frutti" (1960) and "Uncle Henry's Basement" / "Come Let Me Show You How" (1961). (Warner: 230–231)
Winley conceived of their making a compilation album
with their "equally fine" (Warner: 269) brother group The Paragons. The Paragons Meet The Jesters (1959), with its gang cover and vocal duels inspired by doo-wop's street corner singing battles and live show group competitions, was "one of the first rock and roll
compilation LPs
" (Warner: 231) and the most commercially successful doo-wop compilation ever released. (Warner: 270)
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
group based in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
who achieved success in the late 1950s. They were students at Cooper Junior High School in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
who graduated from singing under an elevated train station near 120th Street
120th Street (Manhattan)
120th Street runs from Riverside Drive, overlooking the Hudson River, to the East River, through the New York City borough of Manhattan. It traverses the neighborhoods of Morningside Heights, Harlem, and Spanish Harlem; the street is interrupted by Morningside Park...
to the amateur night contest at the Apollo Theater
Apollo Theater
The Apollo Theater in New York City is one of the most famous, and older, music halls in the United States, and the most famous club associated almost exclusively with Black performers...
, where Paul Winley discovered them and signed them to his Winley Records
Winley Records
Paul Winley Records Inc. was a doo-wop record label founded in 1956 that in 1979 became one of the earliest hip hop labels. It was situated on 125th Street, Harlem, New York City. Winley released doo-wop by The Paragons and The Jesters, and hip hop records by Paul Winley's daughters, Tanya and...
.
The Jesters' b-sides
B-Sides
B-Sides is an iTunes-exclusive album from the Coventry Trio The Enemy, consisting of ten songs that were B-sides to the single releases from their debut album We'll Live and Die in These Towns.-Track list:#Fear Killed the Youth of Our Nation...
often rivaled the lead cut. Their first three singles were all arranged by frequent Winley collaborator Davey Clowney, better known as Dave "Baby" Cortez, and all three—"So Strange" / "Love No One But You", "Please Let Me Love You" / "I'm Falling in Love" (both 1957) and "The Plea" / "Oh Baby" (1958)—made the outer reaches of the national Pop chart
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
, and generated considerable New York interest. Under a different line-up, The Jesters reached #110 on the Billboard chart
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
in 1960 with a version of The Diablo's "The Wind" backed with "Sally Green". Two lesser singles followed: "That's How It Goes" / "Tutti Frutti" (1960) and "Uncle Henry's Basement" / "Come Let Me Show You How" (1961). (Warner: 230–231)
Winley conceived of their making a compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
with their "equally fine" (Warner: 269) brother group The Paragons. The Paragons Meet The Jesters (1959), with its gang cover and vocal duels inspired by doo-wop's street corner singing battles and live show group competitions, was "one of the first rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
compilation LPs
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
" (Warner: 231) and the most commercially successful doo-wop compilation ever released. (Warner: 270)
Sources
- "Yukon Jack", "The Jesters", Destination Doo-Wop, August 9, 2005. Link retrieved September 21, 2008.
- Warner, Jay. (2006). American Singing Groups: A History from 1940s to Today, Milwaukie: Hal Leonard Corp. ISBN 978-0634099786