Customer Reviews

Complete Recordings

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I must admit that, when I came across this compilation I was more than a bit surprised. Especially after having been told by several CD-distrubutor executives that we should not reasonably expect to see compilations for groups such as The Four Esquires and Applejacks [who each had three hits in the 1950s] since there was no real demand in the market for their hits which were, after all, only "minor."

Well, if that's the case, then why was this multi-track volume produced for a group whose name will forever appear near the top of any alphabetical listing of one-hit wonders? Because, that's all this Long Island, New York white doo-wop quartet could muster for the Fargo label.

The song, You, reached # 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1958 The flipside, also included here, was She's The One For Me.

Surprisingly, considering that many black doo-wop groups in this period were completely shut out on the R&B charts, it went even higher there, reaching # 11. Much of that was due to the soaring voice of female lead Lynn Nixon who had been trained as an operatic soprano, and this comes through in abundance on the other tracks as well. The others were co-lead Larry Vannata, David Goddard, and Eugene McCarthy.

The A-side is featured on several multi-artist compilations, including Ace of London's Golden Age Of American Rock & Roll series, but finding that AND the B-side in a CD with excellent sound reproduction and informative notes was such a bonus that I had to give it 5 stars.

Of course, I knew about "You," which was why I purchased the CD. What I didn't anticipate was the quality of the other cuts, none of which were even minor hits. Lynn Nixon's first-rate voice is the key to everything. The only reason for this that I can think of is insufficient promotion (airplay) in the late 1950s-early 1960s. I was there--in Southern California--and, after "You," I doubt that I heard (on L.A. radio stations) any of this group's would-be follow-ups. Had I, they would be in my extensive collection of 45 RPM records. Had the Aquatones received even moderate airplay, I believe that the group would have had a long, long string of hits. I can't change history, but I am most happy to have this collection of first-rate songs that, by the tastes of the times, should have been chart toppers.