During the 1950s, Philadelphia’s Lee Andrews & the Hearts ranked among the era’s premier R&B vocal ensembles. Their specialty lay in polished ballads shaped by the harmonizing style of the Moonglows, Orioles, Drifters, 5 Royales, Five Keys, Midnighters, and Ravens, while frontman Lee Andrews drew his chief inspiration from solo performers Bing Crosby, Frankie Laine, Frank Sinatra, and, above all, Nat King Cole. The resulting blend—an intricate four-part vocal foundation anchored by a forceful yet tender tenor—produced a sound few rivals could match.
Within a twelve-month stretch from 1957 to 1958 the group placed three singles on the charts. “Long Lonely Nights,” cut for the modest Mainline imprint, edged out ex-Drifter Clyde McPhatter’s competing rendition by a slim margin, finishing at number 45 pop against McPhatter’s number 49 while reaching number 11 R&B. Their follow-up, “Teardrops,” also on Mainline, attracted national distribution from Chess and became their strongest seller, peaking at number 20 pop on 25 November 1957 before climbing to number 4 R&B by January 1958. A third entry, “Try the Impossible” on United Artists, entered the pop listings at number 33 on 22 June 1958.
Born Arthur Lee Andrew Thompson in Goldsboro, North Carolina, Lee Andrews grew up in a musical household; his father Beechie Thompson performed with the Dixie Hummingbirds. When young Thompson was two the family relocated to Philadelphia. By 1952, as a student at Bertram High School, he was harmonizing with Royalston “Roy” Calhoun (first tenor), Thomas “Butch” Curry (second tenor), James “Jimmy” McCalister (baritone), and John Young (bass). The neighborhood quintet from 49th and Woodland in South Philadelphia first performed as the Dreams, later adopting the Dreamers name.
Between 1952 and 1954 the Dreamers rehearsed after classes, often guided on spirituals by Curry’s aunt, before folding R&B elements into their repertoire. Early in 1954 they visited WHAT radio and drew the attention of on-air personality Kae Williams, who invited them to audition after local teenagers praised their sound. Williams was immediately struck by their distinctive approach and offered to manage them.
That spring Williams escorted the Dreamers to Reco Arts Studio for their first session, then took the masters to Eddie and Bobby Heller’s Rainbow Records, a tiny New York operation sharing quarters with Sonny’s Deli in Hell’s Kitchen. During the visit the group learned another act already used the Dreamers name; McCalister suggested the Hearts after noticing a plastic heart on a desk belonging to Heller’s wife. Thompson rearranged his own names to create the more striking billing Lee Andrews & the Hearts.
Rainbow issued the Hearts’ debut single, a spare piano-accompanied reading of the Orioles’ current hit “Maybe You’ll Be There,” in mid-May 1954. Though it garnered local Philadelphia airplay, the established Orioles version overshadowed it. A second release, “The White Cliffs of Dover,” showcased stronger ensemble work yet received scant spins. Their October 1954 outing, “The Bells of St. Mary’s,” competed directly with a superior Drifters recording of the same song, prompting Williams to withdraw the group from Rainbow after three attempts.
McCalister entered the Navy in 1955 and was replaced by fellow South Philadelphia neighbor Ted Weems. Now high-school graduates, the members sought steady work; Andrews and Calhoun joined Gotham Record Distributors, hoping for an audition with owner Ivan Ballen’s Gotham label. Discovering their earlier contract with Williams was invalid because all were minors at signing, they approached Ballen directly. Though Ballen’s primary focus remained gospel, he finally signed Lee Andrews & the Hearts on 3 January 1956 and recorded them at the label’s Federal Street studio.
Their Gotham debut, the Davies-Heyman standard “Bluebird of Happiness,” appeared in May but failed to chart. The follow-up, Andrews’ “Lonely Room,” closely mirrored the Larks’ 1952 Apollo release “In My Lonely Room” yet secured regional airplay across Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey. A third Gotham single, “Just Suppose,” credited to Andrews though reportedly written by Rita Sherwood, also missed the charts before year’s end.
Frustrated by unreleased Gotham material, the group auditioned in early 1957 at Weems’ home for Philadelphia/New York disc jockey Jocko Henderson, who, with partner Barry Golder, operated Mainline Record Distributors and planned to launch the Mainline label. Bass singer John Young departed for New York; replacements included pianist Gerald Thompson, Tom Hackett, and ultimately Roy’s brother Wendell “Breeze” Calhoun.
By mid-year “Long Lonely Nights” had begun attracting renewed interest. Mainline released a fresh Hearts version, while Atlantic had Clyde McPhatter record it and the Ravens, billed as the Kings, cut a version for Argo. Despite the crowded field, the Hearts’ rendition placed at number 45 pop and number 11 R&B, narrowly ahead of McPhatter’s number 49 pop showing; their original remains the favored oldies-radio choice.
Chess picked up national rights to the next single, “Teardrops,” issuing it on the Argo affiliate in Philadelphia under a Mainline distribution agreement. The track reached number 20 pop on 25 November 1957 and number 4 R&B by 6 January 1958.
After experiencing royalty shortfalls with Chess, Lee Andrews & the Hearts moved to United Artists, where “Try the Impossible” became their final chart entry, peaking at number 33 pop on 22 June 1958. Henderson secured local Philadelphia release on the Casino label, co-owned with Mickey Golder; the single never appeared on the R&B charts.
Extensive touring soon fractured the lineup. Weems enlisted in the army, and Andrews departed to pursue a solo career, later recording three Swan sides backed by an uncredited group subsequently identified as the Neons. Remaining members rebranded as the Five Hearts—Tommy White, Roy and Wendell Calhoun, Butch Curry, and Eddie Custus—and cut “It’s Unbelievable” for Arcade in 1959. Under manager Hy Lit they re-recorded the song for Chancellor as a quartet featuring Sonny Gordon instead of White. A 1962 reunion on Gowen yielded “Together Again” with Andrews, Curry, the Calhoun brothers, and Custus. Andrews issued “I’m Sorry Pillow” on Parkway in December 1962 with support from the Dreamlovers, Rick and the Masters, and assorted Hearts alumni, while the four singing Hearts released “Aisle of Love” on Guyden that November before disbanding.
By 1963 the original Hearts had dissolved, their Gotham masters becoming collector items; Grand Records licensed and reissued several sides. In summer 1966 Andrews assembled a new lineup—Booker, Mason, Robert Howard, and Victoria McCalister—for the RCA single “You’re Taking a Long Time Coming Back.” Subsequent sides appeared on Crimson and its parent Lost Night, culminating in a 1968 live album taped at a Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania club with Andrews, Howard, Booker, and Tommy White.
Andrews later opened a dress shop and, in a 1971 interview, mentioned forming First Born for an unissued Columbia project. Producer Billy Jackson encouraged a 5th Dimension-styled venture, Congress Alley, comprising Andrews, Booker, Jackie Andrews, and Karen Brisco; the Avco Embassy singles and album that followed met with limited success.
Collectible Records surfaced the original Gotham session tapes in 1981, issuing three singles including an alternate, piano-only “Long Lonely Nights.” The 1970s oldies revival prompted Andrews to assemble a final family-based Hearts—himself, wife Jackie, son Ahmir, and daughter Dawn.
Roy Calhoun perished in a 1979 apartment fire; Butch Curry battled multiple sclerosis; Wendell Calhoun remained in Philadelphia; Ted Weems joined the Pheasants in 1963 and later formed Tribute, though neither act scored hits.
