Little Caesar & The Romans

Late in the doo wop period, the Los Angeles ensemble Little Caesar & the Romans reached the Top Ten via the wistful piano ballad "Those Oldies But Goodies (Reminds Me of You)," whose sound seemed to link the Five Satins with Little Anthony & the Imperials. By the time the track succeeded in 1961, doo wop was already fading, and the song's title soon served as shorthand for any earlier rock single that had slipped off the charts. The group cut several singles plus one LP for Del-Fi across 1961 and 1962; a portion of these sides adopted a quaint vocal-group style clearly modeled on "Those Oldies But Goodies," while others adopted a harder, faster R&B approach reminiscent of fellow Los Angeles act the Olympics. "Hully Gully Again" became their next dance-oriented single to land in the middle of the Top 100, whereas "Memories of Those Oldies But Goodies" peaked at #101 and proved even more backward-looking than the original hit. After appearing onstage in togas for a stretch, the act disbanded in 1962, owing in part to an absurd argument between lead singer Carl Barnett and David Johnson—the performer of the spoken bridge on "Those Oldies But Goodies"—over which of them was the genuine Little Caesar.