Customer Reviews

The Very Best of the Swallows

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Collectables does a nice job with this retrospective on The Swallows, one of the premier R&B/Doo-Wop vocal groups of the early 1950s. The competition for air time and jukebox play, not to mention record sales, was fierce at the time with many such groups springing up all over the map, the most notable of which had to be The Dominoes, Orioles, Clovers, Four Buddies, Four Tunes, Five Keys, Robins and Drifters.

This particular gathering started out as 13-year-olds harmonizing on the street corners of Baltimore, eventually coalescing into a group they called The Oakaleers - lead tenor Lawrence Coxson, first and second tenor Earl Hurley (who also played the bongos), bass Norris "Bunky" Mack (also proficient at the piano as well as guitar and drums), and tenor/baritone Irving Turner. There was also an apparent fifth member known only as Gavin. Sometime in 1948 Gavin and Coxson were replaced by first tenor Eddie Rich and baritone Frederick Johnson (who also played the guitar and would eventually come to be called Money Guitar).

By the time they negotiated a contract with Syd Nathan's King Records, Turner had taken on the duties of valet and was replaced by second tenor/baritone Herman "Junior" Denby (although Turner, like Coxson, would fill in here and there when needed on tour). Their initial release, Will You Be Mine, came out in the summer of 1951 on King 45-4458 and by mid-August had risen to # 8 R&B. With "Dearest" as the flip it is now pretty much regarded as one of the most notable initial Doo-Wop tracks. Those sides, both here, were then followed by three straight chart failures, although local acceptance was decent: Since You've Been Away/Wishing For You (King 45-4466 in 1951); the deliciously wicked It Ain't The Meat/Eternally (King 45-4501 in 1952); and Tell Me Why/Roll, Roll Pretty Baby (King 45-4515 in 1952). Each is included here.

Almost exactly a year after their first hit, Beside You went it one better by reaching # 8 R&B in August 1952 on King 45-4525 b/w You Left Me, both of which are also here. After that it would be six long years before they saw the national charts again, although King kept releasing singles through to 1953 as they always did well locally. And every one of these is also included: from 1952 - I Only Have Eyes For You/You Walked In (King 45-4533) and Where Do I Go From Here?/Please, Baby, Please (King 45-4579); from 1953 - Laugh (Though You Want To Cry)/Our Love Is Dying (King 45-4612); Nobody's Lovin' Me/Bicycle Tillie (King 45-4632); Trust Me/Pleading Blues (King 45-4656); and I'll Be Waiting/It Feels So Good (King 45-4676).

In 1958, attempting to latch onto R&R, they had these releases on King's Federal subsidiary: Oh, Lonesome Me/Angel Baby (Federal 12319) - neither included here; We Want To Rock on Federal 12319, which is here, but the B-side, Rock-A-Bye-Baby Rock, is not; a re-making of Beside You b/w Laughing Boy on Federal 12329 - neither here; and Itchy Twitchy Feeling, which became their only Billboard Pop cross-over, barely making the Hot 100 at # 100 exactly in September 1958 on Federal 12333 b/w Who Knows, Do You? - both here.

Just a nice compact gathering of their music with great sound reproduction and liner notes by Victor Pearlin.