The Best of the Cadillacs

The Cadillacs

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 4, 1990)
• Original Release Date: May 1, 1990
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B0000032SG
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #132,206 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Gloria

2. No Chance

3. Down the Road

4. Window Lady

5. Speedoo

6. Zoom

7. You Are

8. Woe Is Me

9. Betty My Love

10. Girl I Love

11. Sugar-Sugar

12. My Girlfriend

13. Speedoo Is Back

14. Peek-A-Boo

15. Zoom-Boom-Zing

16. Please Mr. Johnson

17. Romeo

18. Tell Me Today

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent 50's Group Music, May 4, 1999

By A Customer

The Cadillacs were an immensely popular vocal group in New York City in the mid-50's despite achieving little national success. This CD contains the best of their releases on Josie between 1954 and 1960. Their only charted hits were "Speedo", uptempo doo-wop from 1955, and "Peek-A-Boo", uptempo Rock and Roll imitation of the Coasters from 1958. Other excellent tracks on this CD are "Gloria" - the classic doo-wop ballad, the uptempo doo-wop tunes "No Chance", "Down The Road", "Zoom" and "Woe Is Me", and the doo-wop ballad "You Are". Even the pop ballad number "Tell Me Today" with strings is a very good group effort. The only clunker track is the novelty tune "Please, Mr. Johnson" where the Cadillacs go too far imitating the Coasters. All other tracks are good to excellent 50's group music. The liner notes contain good historical information about the Cadillacs like the genesis of the two different touring/recording groups and lead singers using the Cadillac name, but there is no discography.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Two Charted Hits Missing And No Flipsides, July 28, 2007

By	A Customer - See all my reviews

Once again I have to find fault with a compilation that, although suggesting it represents "the best of" an artist, proceeds to leave off some bona fide hits. In this instance 50% of The Cadillacs' charters are omitted [with all due respect to the reviewer from Trenton, they had four charted hits].

From Harlem, New York, the group initially consisted of lead Earl Carroll, Gus Willingham, LaVern Drake, and John Clark, and they began their recording career with the Josie label in 1954 singing the slow doo-wop ballads that find so much favor among certain collectors today.

But they themselves preferred the faster, hard-rocking style epitomized in their first hit which came in 1956 - Speedoo (the nickname of lead Carroll). By this time Willingham and Clark had been replaced by Earl Wade, Robert Phillips, and Charles Brooks, and the song peaked at # 3 R&B/# 17 Billboard Top 100 in February 1956 b/w Let Me Explain (not here).

Ten months later they had their second hit with Gene Autry's Christmas classic, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer which, b/w Shacka Doo (neither included in this set), made it to # 11 R&B. On all four sides they were accompanied by Jesse Powell & His Orchestra.

A long stretch then ensued before they scored again with Peek-A-Boo. Backed by the Ossie Johnson Orchestra, and with new members James Bailey and Bobby Spencer replacing Drake and Brooks, it reached # 20 R&B/# 28 Billboard Hot 100 in January 1959 b/w Oh, Oh Lolita.

There would then be another two-year gap and a label switch to Smash before their last charter, What You Bet (# 30 R&B b/w You Are To Blame) - neither of which are in this set. By this time Carroll had left to join The Coasters and Spencer, who would go on to write My Boy Lollipop for Millie Small in 1964, became the new lead.

With a number of new personnel the Cadillacs would then go on to record, unsuccessfully insofar as charted hits are concerned, for Capitol, Mercury, and Polydor.

This is nice little collection that would have been made so much better by the inclusion of those missing hits and all four flipsides.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Earl's A Pearl, August 28, 2002

By	Bronx Baby Boomer (New York) - See all my reviews

Great CD for the DooWoppers that really displays the professionalism of this group. Would have gone for 5 stars if it had "Sympathy" on the CD but it does not. Excellent CD anyway with their usual full orchestration and wonderful harmony backround. Buy it!!!