From: "Dik de Heer" Date: Mon Oct 21, 2002 1:04 am Subject: Born To Be With You : Jimmy Beaumont JIMMY BEAUMONT (Skyliners) (By Shaun Mather) Born 21 October 1940, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania When I got married many arguments ago, my wife and I chose a song each for our first dance. Whilst I chose Jungle Rock by Hank Mizell, my wife chose When I Fall In Love by the Skyliners for our smoochie one. It's a fabulous version of the classic and one of the greatest moments in white doo-wop history. They had a really smooth, polished sound, and sounded like a white version of the Platters. Whereas the Platters had a guru in Buck Ram, the Skyliners had Joe Rock, a figure who has remained with Beaumont throughout his career. The original line-up of the group was: Jimmy Beaumont (lead), Janet Vogel (first tenor), Wally Lester (second tenor), Joe Verscharen (baritone) and Jackie Taylor (bass, guitarist). None other than Phil Spector is quoted as saying, "The Skyliners brought class to rock and roll and Jimmy Beaumont is one of the greatest lead singers in group history". Their biggest hit (# 12 pop, # 3 r&b) and a real '50s classic is their own Since I Don't Have You from 1959, which earned them national tv appearances and tours and has been used in countless films since. The writing credit goes to no less than seven people : the five group members for the words and Joe Rock and Lennie Martin for the music. Since I Don't Have You was the first successful rock 'n' roll ballad with strings, predating others such as The Drifters' There Goes My Baby. Other group highlights include This I Swear (# 26), Pennies From Heaven (# 24), Comes Love and How Much. Their last chart entry was The Loser which went into the R&B Top 40 in 1965 on Jubilee Records. By this time the only original group member left was Jackie Taylor. Beaumont reformed the original group (minus Taylor who was stationed in Vietnam) in 1970, for appearances on rock 'n' roll revival shows. This led to the recording of new albums and a minor hit with Where Have They Gone in 1975. Janet Vogel Rapp, whose career had been dogged by depression, committed suicide on 21 February 1980. She was replaced by Donna Guyver (now Donna Groom) who is still in the group today. The current Skyliners are a four-piece group, led by Beaumont. Recommended listening: Since I Don't Have You - Ace CDCH 78 Website: http://www.theskyliners.com/index.html