The Clovers

Within R&B's historical narrative, the Clovers command significant recognition, though casual audiences rarely acknowledge this status beyond dedicated enthusiasts of the genre's past, as the Drifters often overshadow them due to an extended timeline and numerous successes from their 1960s lineup. In reality, the Clovers preceded every other performer signed to Atlantic and amassed a greater number of chart entries across their initial half-decade on the imprint compared to all other rhythm and blues artists associated with the company.

The ensemble's roots, much like those of countless vocal groups in the field, trace to the middle teenage years of its participants. Tenor/baritone Harold "Hal" Lucas, tenor Billy Shelton, and bass Robert Woods attended Armstrong High School in Washington, D.C., during the mid-'40s, where they established a trio under Lucas's direction; he also devised the name the Clovers. Tenor John "Buddy" Bailey later joined as the primary vocalist while Lucas shifted to baritone, their initial approach drawing from professional ensembles of the period such as the Orioles and the Ravens.

R&B's development extends beyond the post-World War II period when it gained wider traction. The Clovers evolved over subsequent years as Woods left and Matthew McQuater took his place, Shelton gave way to Harold Winley, and guitarist Bill Harris joined in 1949. Their selections during this span largely mirrored those of the Orioles and the Ravens, yet as the 1950s began the ensemble adopted a harder, more aggressive style of R&B that featured bolder embellishments. Baltimore-based entrepreneur Lou Krefetz discovered them performing at a Washington club and secured their debut on the small Rainbow Records label with "Yes Sir, That's My Baby." Ahmet Ertegun, founder of the newly established Atlantic label, intervened to bring the group aboard and supplied them with rougher, rhythm-driven songs, among them the first composition Ertegun himself wrote, "Don't You Know I Love You." As Nick Tosches noted, that single marked the first recording by an R&B quartet to integrate a saxophone solo by Frank Culley; it reached number one on the R&B charts in the summer of 1951 and signaled a fresh direction in popular music that shaped a decade of subsequent hits. Some observers regard it as the earliest identifiable rock & roll single.

Producer/songwriter Jesse Stone (also known as Charles Calhoun) took charge of the group, and together with Ertegun he steered them deeper into the territory they had begun to pioneer. "One Mint Julep" climbed to number two in April 1952, followed in July by "Ting-a-Ling," which also peaked at number two. The Clovers maintained momentum until Bailey entered the military in the summer of 1952, after which no major success occurred until the summer of 1953, when "Good Lovin'" reached number two featuring Charlie White, formerly of Billy Ward's group the Dominoes. They returned to the charts at number three in spring 1954 with "Lovey Dovey," after which Billy Mitchell assumed lead vocals for "Your Cash Ain't Nothin' but Trash." That single achieved only modest placement in summer 1954 yet secured the group an appearance in the early rock & roll/R&B short film Rock 'n' Roll Revue. From 1955 onward, following Bailey's discharge, he and Mitchell shared lead vocal duties.

The Clovers shifted toward ballads in 1955 with "Blue Velvet," which reached number 14 on the R&B listings. Their next release, "Devil or Angel"—an unsolicited submission from amateur songwriter Blanche Carter—rose to number three, after which their string of Atlantic hits concluded. Ironically, these final two singles, least characteristic of their established sound, became their most widely recognized through extensive airplay, although Bobby Vee's later version of "Devil or Angel" ultimately surpassed the original. As the rock & roll surge increasingly centered on white performers, guitar-driven ensembles, and novelty material, the Clovers encountered commercial decline and stopped charting. After two further years of efforts, Atlantic issued the bluesy sleeper "Down in the Alley" (1957), among the period's most suggestive songs directed at mainstream listeners, notable for its deliberate, unhurried projection of desire.

Rather than withdraw, the group, supported by manager Lou Krefetz, pursued a more assertive path. Krefetz established Poplar Records and arranged for the Clovers to record a full LP—an uncommon prospect for an act not then enjoying peak chart placement, given that even the Drifters had not yet released an original album, only compilations of prior singles. The LP and its single "Pennies From Heaven" performed well, suggesting a possible recovery. Krefetz then accepted an offer to head sales at the newly formed United Artists Records, backed by substantial Hollywood studio resources, and incorporated the Clovers along with their Poplar recordings into the larger operation. He next paired them with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, yielding the group's highest pop-charting single, "Love Potion No. 9," performed by Billy Mitchell, which reached number 23 on both the pop and R&B charts.

This proved their final major achievement. Subsequent attempts with other producers proved less fruitful than those with Leiber and Stoller, Ertegun, or Stone, and even reunions with Stone, including re-recordings of earlier material such as "One Mint Julep," failed to register. By 1961 the group had left United Artists and entered a period of diminishing prospects marked by contracts with progressively smaller labels and the departure of Matthew McQuater. The ensemble fragmented as Billy Mitchell and Harold Lucas reformed the lineup with James "Toy" Walton and Robert Russell from another act, the Bachelors. A brief 1961 return to Atlantic produced no renewed sales, after which competing lineups complicated matters: alongside Mitchell's version appeared "the Fabulous Clovers" led by Bailey. Roosevelt "Tippie" Hubbard replaced Mitchell in a quartet billed at times as "Tippie and the Clovers," which recorded for Leiber and Stoller's Tiger label, including "Bossa Nova Baby," later performed by Elvis Presley.

By the rock & roll revival spanning the late 1960s into the 1970s, the Clovers' circumstances had grown comparably intricate to those of the Drifters, with multiple ensembles using the name across performances and recordings. The original recordings nonetheless maintained an independent existence apart from any appearances by former members or claimants. The Rhythm-and-Blues Foundation presented surviving members Bailey, McQuater, Lucas, and Winley with a Pioneer Award in 1988, and the CD era has rendered their classic Atlantic sides more accessible since the 1990s than at any point since the mid-'50s, with Rhino Records maintaining two hits collections and Collectables Records reissuing their two Atlantic LPs together on a single disc.