From:  "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Wed Feb 23, 2005  1:31 am 
Subject:  This Is My Story : The Tokens
 
THE TOKENS

The Tokens - originally called the Linc-Tones - formed in 1956, at Abraham
Lincoln High School in Brooklyn. Its original members were Neil Sedaka,
his classmate Hank Medress, Cynthia Zolitin and Eddie Rabkin. In that year
they recorded a solitary single for Morty Craft's short-lived Melba label,
"While I Dream"/"I Love My Baby" (Melba 104). The A-side featured the
distinctive lead voice of Neil Sedaka, who co-wrote both sides with Howard
Greenfield. Two other tracks from this session, "Don't Go" and "Come Back
Joe" (also Sedaka-Greenfield compositions) appeared later on Guest Star
G 1448. All four tracks are available on Neil's Bear Family box-set.
Eddie Rabkin went off to college and was replaced by Jay Siegel, also from
Lincoln High School. After Sedaka departed in early 1958 to pursue a highly
successful solo career, Medress and Siegel formed a new foursome, Darrell
and the Oxfords, with Warren Schwartz and Fred Kalkstein. They had an
East Coast hit with the Roulette single "Picture in Your Wallet" (featuring
Siegel's instantly identifiable falsetto lead), which was followed by the less
successful "Your Mother Said No", after which the group disintegrated.

A new chapter in the history of the Tokens began in December 1959,
when Hank Medress and Jay Siegel invited 12-year old Mitch Margo and
his brother Phil to participate in the formation of a new group. They cut
"Tonight I Fell in Love" independently and took it to their old contact Morty
Craft, now running Warwick Records. Craft waited six months before he
released the track, which was credited to The Tokens, the old group name.
A snappy production highlighting Jay Siegel's falsetto laid over a catchy
hook, "Tonight I Fell in Love" rose to # 15 on the charts in the spring of
1961. Before Warwick were able to issue to follow-up, the Tokens had
moved to RCA Records, where they forged a creative partnership with
producers and songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. That pair,
along with songwriter George Weiss, reworked the old folk song "Wimoweh"
(itself reworked by the folk group the Weavers from a 30s South African
song called "Mbube"), into "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", their third RCA
single. The record peaked at # 1 in December 1961 and was an inter-
national hit (# 11 in the UK, # 2 in Australia and # 1 in several European
countries), selling over three and a half million copies. The whole world
was now aware of Jay Siegel's trademark falsetto and the Tokens'
unusual harmony blend.

They tried to repeat the success of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" by
reworking another African folk song, "B'wa Nina", employing the same
high yodeling technique, but it reached only # 55 in Billboard. A remake
of "La Bomba" (the Ritchie Valens hit with a slight spelling change) sold
even fewer copies, stalling at # 85. The group was now thoroughly
immersed in producing, signing a production deal with Capitol and
establishing Big Time Productions in New York. Capitol had first option
on anything the Tokens produced, but they passed on "He's So Fine"
by the Chiffons. Issued on Laurie Records, this became the first number
one (in March 1963) for a vocal group to be produced by another vocal
group. Later in 1963, the Tokens formed their own B.T. Puppy label,
scoring hits with their own "He's in Town" (1964) and "I Hear Trumpets
Blow" (1966), but the biggest hit on B.T. Puppy - and the first one to go
Top 10 - was "See You in September" by the Happenings (# 3, 1966).
Members of the Tokens also sang on many sessions for other artists
in the 1960s, including Bob Dylan ("Highway 61 Revisited"), Del Shannon,
Connie Francis and the Blues Project.

By 1973, the Tokens had transformed into a Crosby, Stills and Nash-styled
contemporary rock group called Cross Country. As such, they placed one
single on the charts, a remake of the Wilson Pickett hit "In the Midnight
Hour" (# 30, 1973). Meanwhile, Hank Medress continued to be successful
as a producer, most notably with Tony Orlando and Dawn ("Tie A Yellow
Ribbon" etc.), a group he co-produced with Dave Appell, formerly with
Cameo-Parkway. Medress also produced a 1972 remake of "The Lion
Sleeps Tonight" by Robert John (aka Bobby Pedrick, Jr), which reached
# 3 in the USA.

A reunion concert in October 1981 featured the Margo brothers, Medress
and Siegel. During the 1980s, some of the group members, particularly
Mitch Margo, attempted to keep the Tokens name alive by forming new
groups, and one even re-recorded "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in 1988 for
the small Downtown label. Phil Margo went on to become a manager of
rock bands, Jay Siegel became owner/manager of a recording studio in
New York.

Further reading: Jay Warner, The Billboard book of American singing
groups (1992), page 466-469.

CD: Wimoweh : The Best of the Tokens (RCA, 1994). 20 tracks.

Dik