From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Thu Sep 25, 2003  9:53 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : James Sheppard
 
JAMES SHEPPARD (By Shaun Mather)

Born James Shane Sheppard, 24 September 1935, Queens, New 
York City, New York
Died 24 January 1970, New York City, New York

James "Shep" Sheppard possessed a beautiful velvety voice and 
was able to write some stunning doo-wop classics. He will always 
be remembered for some of the greatest doo-wop ballads ever 
recorded, like "A Thousand Miles Away" and "Daddy's Home". 

A street corner battle of the bands saw him join the Queens, New 
York quintet, The Heartbeats during the mid-'50s. The rest of the 
band included Wally Roker, Robbie Adams, Vernon Walker, and 
Walter Crump. With Al Browne & His Orchestra in support, they cut
a string of outstanding singles for Hull like "Crazy for You" and 
"Darling How Long". They reached a climax in 1956 when they 
scored a # 5 rhythm and blues hit with "A Thousand Miles Away," 
a magnificently constructed number that was pure doo-wop magic. 
First released on Hull, then on Rama, the record also crept to # 53 
on the pop charts in January 1957. A love-torn Shep wrote the song 
when his girlfriend moved from New York to Texas. Six months later 
they had their second hit, when "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" (not
the Connie Francis tune) managed to reach # 78 pop. During the next
half decade together they recorded for Hull, Rama, Roulette, Gee, and
Guyden. 
In 1961 he formed Shep & the Limelites and between '61 and '65 they
had a dozen releases on Hull. The peachiest singles for the group were
"Daddy's Home" (# 2 pop - # 4 R&B in June 1961), another gorgeous 
dip into vocal harmony heaven, and "Our Anniversary" (# 59 pop) from 
1962. Their only other chart entries were "What Did Daddy Do?" (# 94 
pop in June 1962) and "Remember Baby" (# 91 pop in February 1963). 
That Shep Sheppard failed to hit the charts regularly is a mystery, 
because his songs always seemed a bit above the ordinary, plus he
had a great voice. The group disbanded in 1966, but Shep reformed 
them in early 1970 to perform on the oldies circuit, but the venture never
had chance to take off as he was stabbed to death in his car on the Long 
Island Expressway. 

Recommended listening:
Daddy's Home to Stay - Westside (2cd - 42 tracks)