Biography
Spanning the late 1950s into the 1980s, the Dubs sustained a lengthy presence in music, though their reputation rests chiefly on the lasting Top 40 doo wop staple "Could This Be Magic," among the standout tracks of 1957. During the early 1950s the ensemble took shape from two fleeting vocal outfits, the Five Wings and the Scale-Tones. Harlem's Five Wings, first known as the Five Stars, consisted of Jackie Rue on lead, Frank Edwards as first tenor, Billy Carlisle handling second tenor, Melvin Flood on baritone, and Tommy Grate supplying bass; the unit cut several singles for King Records, among them two 1955 posthumous tributes to Johnny Ace. When Edwards, Flood, and Rue departed—the last of whom would front Jackie and the Starlites for "Valerie"—Carlisle and Grate aligned with Kenny "Butch" Hamilton, previously of the Sonics on Groove, and soon enlisted backing vocalist Billy Nelson. Following their first November 1955 session, Carlisle's cousin Richard Blandon, fresh from the Air Force, entered the lineup, restoring the quintet. In February 1956 they issued "Walk Along."
The Five Wings then encountered Harlem's Scale-Tones, who had just completed their sole single for Joe Davis' Jay Dee label, featuring Cleveland Still on lead, James Montgomery on tenor, Jake Miller (also known as James Miller) on baritone, and Thomas Gardner on bass. Prompted by Blandon's wish to assume lead duties, the two ensembles merged into a fresh configuration: Richard Blandon (lead), Billy Carlisle (second tenor), Cleveland Still (first tenor), Jake Miller (baritone), and Thomas Gardner (bass). Hiram Johnson, brother of bandleader Buddy Johnson and manager of the Five Wings, agreed to oversee the new act, while the leftover members scattered—Grate to the Vocaltones on Apollo and Butch Hamilton to the Bop Chords on Holiday.
Initially performing as the Marvels (distinct from the Mar-Vells), the Blandon-led group drew influence from the Harptones, the Wanderers, and the Spaniels. They secured a contract with ABC Paramount Records late in 1956 and delivered their debut single that November. Johnson soon launched his own Johnson Records imprint; early in 1957 the Marvels adopted the name the Dubs.
Their opening release on the new label, Blandon's own "Don't Ask Me to Be Lonely," appeared in March. Airplay surged at once, turning the track into a local success that demanded wider distribution. Johnson approached George Goldner of the Gee/Gone/Tico enterprises, placing the Dubs on the Gone roster. Five months after its first pressing, on July 15 the single reached the national pop charts at number 74, though it attained Top Ten status on numerous East Coast stations. In August, before the group reentered the studio, bassman Thomas Gardner exited and was succeeded by Tommy Grate, the former Five Wings bassist.
Blandon's "Could This Be Magic" followed; by the first week of November the Dubs notched their second national pop Top 40 entry of the year, ultimately climbing to number 23 and becoming their signature success. Notably, neither this nor any subsequent Dubs single registered on the R&B charts.
The group maintained extensive tours across the United States and Canada, yet later releases failed to register. After "Chapel of Dreams" drew scant attention in November 1958, the members, discouraged by limited earnings, disbanded.
Eight months after its original appearance, "Chapel of Dreams" was reissued in July 1959; by then Cleveland Still, employed as a shipping clerk, heard the track on the radio. The single entered the Top 100 on August 24, peaked at number 74 six weeks later, and marked the Dubs' final chart appearance despite the group's prior dissolution. Still dismissed the broadcast at first, yet the others recognized an opportunity and regrouped, substituting Cordell Brown for Still and returning to ABC Paramount—three years after their Marvels tenure. Although their five subsequent ABC singles proved solid, the two-year span from November 1959 to November 1961 produced no commercial traction. Still rejoined for one last ABC-Paramount outing, "Down Down Down I Go." Early in 1962 they revisited Goldner for single releases on End, Gone, and Wilshire. In 1963 Cordell Brown replaced Still a second time, and the Dubs recorded one side of the Josie album The Dubs Meet the Shells, following the model of The Paragons Meet the Jesters.
Into the 1970s the Dubs persisted as a trio of Blandon, Still, and tenor Kirk Harris, issuing an LP of earlier material on Candlelite. David Shelly joined on baritone in 1973 for two further singles, though chart impact remained absent. That same year four previously unreleased sides from the 1957 Hiram Johnson session surfaced on Johnson Records, attracting mainly collector interest.
Across ten labels from the 1950s through the mid-1970s, the Dubs lineups fronted by Richard Blandon achieved little mainstream success and stayed confined to doo wop audiences. During the 1980s Cleveland Still assembled his own Dubs oldies unit with Bernard Jones of Doc Green's Drifters, Steve Brown and John Truesdale of the Charts, and Leslie Anderson.
The Five Wings then encountered Harlem's Scale-Tones, who had just completed their sole single for Joe Davis' Jay Dee label, featuring Cleveland Still on lead, James Montgomery on tenor, Jake Miller (also known as James Miller) on baritone, and Thomas Gardner on bass. Prompted by Blandon's wish to assume lead duties, the two ensembles merged into a fresh configuration: Richard Blandon (lead), Billy Carlisle (second tenor), Cleveland Still (first tenor), Jake Miller (baritone), and Thomas Gardner (bass). Hiram Johnson, brother of bandleader Buddy Johnson and manager of the Five Wings, agreed to oversee the new act, while the leftover members scattered—Grate to the Vocaltones on Apollo and Butch Hamilton to the Bop Chords on Holiday.
Initially performing as the Marvels (distinct from the Mar-Vells), the Blandon-led group drew influence from the Harptones, the Wanderers, and the Spaniels. They secured a contract with ABC Paramount Records late in 1956 and delivered their debut single that November. Johnson soon launched his own Johnson Records imprint; early in 1957 the Marvels adopted the name the Dubs.
Their opening release on the new label, Blandon's own "Don't Ask Me to Be Lonely," appeared in March. Airplay surged at once, turning the track into a local success that demanded wider distribution. Johnson approached George Goldner of the Gee/Gone/Tico enterprises, placing the Dubs on the Gone roster. Five months after its first pressing, on July 15 the single reached the national pop charts at number 74, though it attained Top Ten status on numerous East Coast stations. In August, before the group reentered the studio, bassman Thomas Gardner exited and was succeeded by Tommy Grate, the former Five Wings bassist.
Blandon's "Could This Be Magic" followed; by the first week of November the Dubs notched their second national pop Top 40 entry of the year, ultimately climbing to number 23 and becoming their signature success. Notably, neither this nor any subsequent Dubs single registered on the R&B charts.
The group maintained extensive tours across the United States and Canada, yet later releases failed to register. After "Chapel of Dreams" drew scant attention in November 1958, the members, discouraged by limited earnings, disbanded.
Eight months after its original appearance, "Chapel of Dreams" was reissued in July 1959; by then Cleveland Still, employed as a shipping clerk, heard the track on the radio. The single entered the Top 100 on August 24, peaked at number 74 six weeks later, and marked the Dubs' final chart appearance despite the group's prior dissolution. Still dismissed the broadcast at first, yet the others recognized an opportunity and regrouped, substituting Cordell Brown for Still and returning to ABC Paramount—three years after their Marvels tenure. Although their five subsequent ABC singles proved solid, the two-year span from November 1959 to November 1961 produced no commercial traction. Still rejoined for one last ABC-Paramount outing, "Down Down Down I Go." Early in 1962 they revisited Goldner for single releases on End, Gone, and Wilshire. In 1963 Cordell Brown replaced Still a second time, and the Dubs recorded one side of the Josie album The Dubs Meet the Shells, following the model of The Paragons Meet the Jesters.
Into the 1970s the Dubs persisted as a trio of Blandon, Still, and tenor Kirk Harris, issuing an LP of earlier material on Candlelite. David Shelly joined on baritone in 1973 for two further singles, though chart impact remained absent. That same year four previously unreleased sides from the 1957 Hiram Johnson session surfaced on Johnson Records, attracting mainly collector interest.
Across ten labels from the 1950s through the mid-1970s, the Dubs lineups fronted by Richard Blandon achieved little mainstream success and stayed confined to doo wop audiences. During the 1980s Cleveland Still assembled his own Dubs oldies unit with Bernard Jones of Doc Green's Drifters, Steve Brown and John Truesdale of the Charts, and Leslie Anderson.
Albums
