The Plants were a doo wop quartet, based out of Baltimore, Maryland and formed in 1955. James Lawson

James Lawson

James Morris Lawson, Jr. was a leading theoretician and tactician of nonviolence within the American Civil Rights Movement. He continues to be active in training activists in nonviolence.-Background:...

 (baritone), Thuman Thrower (bass), Steve McDowell (first tenor) and George Jackson

George Jackson

- People :* George Jackson , American MLB player from 1911–1913* George Jackson , U.S. Black Panther, prisoner, and author* George Jackson , English botanist...

 (lead) constituted the original line-up, who were known as The Equadors. They got their break from Zell Sanders, owner of J&S Records, performing for her backstage at the Royal Theatre

Royal Theatre (Baltimore)

The Royal Theatre, which first opened in 1922 as the black-owned Douglass Theatre, was the most famous theater along West Baltimore City's Pennsylvania Avenue, one of a circuit of five such theaters for black entertainment in big cities...

 during a concert by The Moonglows

The Moonglows

The Moonglows were an American R&B and doo-wop group based in Cleveland, Ohio.-Early years:Originally formed in their native Louisville, Kentucky as the Crazy Sounds, the group moved to Cleveland, where disc jockey Alan Freed renamed them 'the Moonglows'...

. They released their debut, "Dear I Swear" in autumn of 1957, but it failed to achieve national success despite being a regional hit. They released another failed single in 1958, "From Me", after appearing on The Buddy Dean Show, a major musical venue in Baltimore at the time. A new lineup was assemebled in 1958 by Zell Sanders, recording "I Searched the Seven Seas", while Jackson pursued a solo career, releasing a few singles during the 1960s.