From:  "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Wed Jun 2, 2004  1:31 am
Subject:  This Is My Story : The Diamonds
 
THE DIAMONDS

In the fifties, there were two vocal groups called The Diamonds : a New York
City rhythm and blues group that recorded for Atlantic and a white Canadian
group who specialized in covers of R&B hits. My story will deal with the latter
group.

The Diamonds have taken their share of the blame heaped upon white artists
of the 1950s who made their living covering the records of black singers. Still,
they were the most succesful white pop group of the mid-fifties and, unlike that
other Canadian group on Mercury, the Crew-Cuts, their covers were generally
very good, in some cases surpassing the originals. From late 1957 onwards,
the Diamonds recorded mostly original songs. But they were not exactly
innovators and most rock 'n' roll historians dismiss the group as unimportant.

The original members of the group were David Somerville (lead), Phil Leavitt
(baritone), Ted Kowalski (tenor) and Bill Reed (bass). They were students at
the University of Toronto, who practiced several different vocal group styles,
including four-part "barbershop" harmony. By the summer of 1955 the group
had crossed the U.S. border with their new manager Nat Goodman. He got
the group an audition at Coral Records in NYC, which resulted in their first
single, "Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots"/"Nip Sip". Nobody told
The Diamonds that these songs had already been recorded by the Cheers and
the Clovers respectively. Their versions were no match for the originals and
Coral showed no interest to retain the group. With the help of influential DJ
Bill Randle from Cleveland, the Diamonds then signed with Mercury Records,
a label that knew how to exploit the (then substantial) market for cover discs.
Their first four singles for Mercury in 1956 (all Top 40 hits) were "Why Do Fools
Fall In Love", "Church Bells May Ring", "Love, Love, Love" and "Ka-Ding-Dong",
originally recorded by the Teenagers, the Willows, the Clovers and the G-Clefs
respectively. The Diamonds' versions of the two latter songs even scored on the
R&B charts. Crossing back to the black market with a white cover was something
unheard of in 1956, but the Diamonds started to make a regular practice of it.
The key might have been Dave Somerville, whose vocal timbre fell somewhat
between white pop and black rhythm and blues and may have fooled the black
public into thinking the group was black.

After the next two singles had flopped completely, the group seemed on the way
out. Enter "Little Darlin'". Nat Goodman felt that this record by Maurice Williams
and the Gladiolas would be a smash for his group to cover. Legend has it that
prior to the recording session, Goodman had the group rehearsing the song all
night in their hotel room. They became so fed up with it that they exaggerated
the bass and falsetto parts in an attempt to turn the song into a satire of
itself.

The now classic bass talking bridge (on the original Maurice Williams did the
bridge in his natural tenor voice) was certainly an improvement on the Gladiolas'
recording and showed that the group was not devoid of musical creativity. "Little
Darlin'" became the Diamonds' biggest hit, peaking at # 2 in Billboard (both pop
and R&B!) and at # 3 in the UK, where it was their only hit.

After succesful covers of "Words Of Love" (Buddy Holly) and "Silhouettes" (The
Rays), the Diamonds had to face the fact that the cover era was coming to an
end. They began looking for original material and were approached by tunesmith
Clyde Otis, who had composed a song based on a new dance craze, "The Stroll".
Popularized by Dick Clark's American Bandstand, the song went to # 4. Soon after
this smash, Kowalski and Reed departed and were replaced by Evan Fisher and
John Felton, both from California. From this point on, the Diamonds' singles were
predominantly originals, but their popularity waned. They continued issuing singles,
some of which were cover tunes ("Walking Along", "One Summer Night"). By mid-
1959, after "She Say (Oom Dooby Doom)" (Barry Mann's first success as a writer),
the group's popularity had run its course. The group disbanded in 1962, but the
members remained in touch and reunited for a TV special in 1974. In 1987 they
released "Diamonds Are Forever", an album aimed at the country market. Two
singles from the LP did well enough to be listed on various country charts. Over
the years, the original members of the group retired for one reason or another.

Dave Somerville embarked upon a solo career as David Troy, before joining the
Four Preps in 1967. That group was history by 1969, but in 1993 Somerville joined
the New Four Preps with original Preps Ed Cobb and Bruce Belland and Jim
Yester, ex-lead singer of The Association. After the death of Ed Cobb in 1999, the
three remaining members continued as Yester, Belland & Somerville (aka Triple
Gold) : http://www.ybsgold.com/ybs3tenors.htm

CD: The Best of the Diamonds : The Mercury Years (Polygram, 1996).