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on organ. The record was first released in late 1958 or early 1959 on the V-Tone label in
Philadelphia, possibly because of Barrett's connections with V-Tone's owner, Venton "Buddy" Caldwell. It was subsequently reissued on several other small labels, credited to Little Jimmy Rivers and the Tops
233:
The Tops continued to perform for a while, with
Bonelli's sister Eleanor Carter replacing Pat Smith. However, in 1963/64 both Moses Groves and Vernon Rivers were drafted, and the group split up. Jimmy Rivers performed as a solo artist, and worked as a voice coach. In 1966, the Rivers brothers,
180:), and began rehearsing and performing their own songs, many of which were co-written by their friend Ronnie Mack. Mack played piano with the group and acted as their mentor, suggesting that they add a girl singer, Sylvia Peterson (born September 30, 1946).
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The group originated in Harlem in the mid-1950s as the Young Lads, comprising Vernon Rivers (b. c.1941), his younger brother Jimmy Rivers (b. c.1944), Eddie
Bonelli (b.1941) and Louis Brown. The Rivers brothers were both born in
216:, and had a hit with Mack's song "He's So Fine". However, in late 1961 the Tops' record was re-promoted by Philadelphia radio DJs, and was reissued on the
208:. The record found little initial success. Bonelli left the group in 1960, and Peterson also left, being replaced by Pat Smith (a niece of saxophonist
199:. Barrett proposed that they be renamed the Tops, and arranged for them to record two of Mack's songs, "Puppy Love" and "Say You Love Me", with
176:, moving to New York around 1953; Bonelli and Brown were both from New York. They soon replaced Brown with bass singer Moses Groves (b. 1941,
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230:, without the other group members, to promote the record in early 1962, but it failed to break into the national charts.
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where he has continued to work as a voice coach. Moses Groves became an artist and art teacher in the Bronx.
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and elsewhere. At Mack's suggestion, they auditioned for
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Groves and Carter reformed, and renamed themselves the
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133:Little Jimmy Rivers & the Tops
20:Little Jimmy Rivers & the Tops
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220:label which had been co-owned by
314:"Little Jimmy & The Tops",
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329:Dik de Heer, "The Chiffons",
263:The Complete Book of Doo-wop
241:Jimmy Rivers later moved to
183:They changed their name to
174:Bishopville, South Carolina
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356:Musical groups from Harlem
299:. Retrieved August 8, 2016
178:Charleston, South Carolina
334:. Retrieved 9 August 2016
319:. Retrieved 9 August 2016
274:Blue Suede News 2004 p.28
212:); Peterson later joined
206:Little Jimmy and the Tops
35:Little Jimmy and the Tops
295:ClassicUrbanHarmony.net
261:Gribin, A. Schiff, M.
147:(later the writer of "
46:Harlem, New York City
331:Black Cat Rockabilly
185:Four Bees and a Gee
31:Four Bees and a Gee
227:American Bandstand
201:Dave "Baby" Cortez
135:were an American
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189:Apollo Theatre
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214:the Chiffons
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197:Gone Records
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161:The Chiffons
153:Philadelphia
149:He's So Fine
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118:Moses Groves
112:Jimmy Rivers
108:Past members
68:Years active
37:The Extroads
210:Red Prysock
159:, later of
155:in 1961.
145:Ronnie Mack
139:group from
345:Categories
265:2000 p.257
249:References
222:Dick Clark
124:Pat Smith
236:Extroads
95:V-Tone,
33:The Tops
243:Germany
167:History
137:doo-wop
82: (
74: (
61:R&B
57:Doo-wop
297:, 2016
92:Labels
53:Genres
42:Origin
80:–1964
218:Swan
97:Swan
84:1964
76:1958
72:1958
195:at
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304:^
279:^
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