Biography
The El Capris, a seven-member R&B ensemble from Pittsburgh, came together in the Hill District during 1954. As detailed in Marv Goldberg’s account posted on www.group-harmony.com, the founding members—lead tenor Eddie Jackson, first tenor James Scott, second tenor Theodore McCrary, baritone Leon Gray, baritone and conga player William Germany, bassist Larry Hill, and bassist-bongo player James Ward—were all between the ages of thirteen and fourteen when the group began. They adopted the name El Capris after a clumsy effort to give a Spanish flavor to their earlier choice, the Bluebirds. On Independence Day 1955 the septet captured first place in a neighborhood talent competition, which secured them an immediate hearing before Bullseye Records proprietor Woody Henderling.
Impressed on the spot, Henderling arranged a recording session back in Pittsburgh before the year ended, yielding the group’s first release, “(Shimmy Shimmy) Ko Ko Wop.” The single appeared in spring 1956 but failed to attract attention, prompting a switch to the local Fee Bee label for the 1957 follow-up “Your Star.” Despite promotional appearances that included a stop at Harlem’s landmark Apollo Theatre, that record fared no better; a third effort, “Safari,” issued on Fee Bee’s sister imprint Ring-O, likewise stalled, and the original lineup began to dissolve. By 1958 only McCrary, Gray, and Germany remained, so they added first tenor Percy Wharton and bassist Sam Askue to record “Ivy League Clean” for Paris. Although the El Capris never returned to the studio, the revised unit kept performing on the East Coast club circuit through 1970. Twenty-five years afterward, co-founders Germany and Jackson reassembled for a series of revival shows that also featured second tenor Shane Plummer and bassist Doc Battle.
Impressed on the spot, Henderling arranged a recording session back in Pittsburgh before the year ended, yielding the group’s first release, “(Shimmy Shimmy) Ko Ko Wop.” The single appeared in spring 1956 but failed to attract attention, prompting a switch to the local Fee Bee label for the 1957 follow-up “Your Star.” Despite promotional appearances that included a stop at Harlem’s landmark Apollo Theatre, that record fared no better; a third effort, “Safari,” issued on Fee Bee’s sister imprint Ring-O, likewise stalled, and the original lineup began to dissolve. By 1958 only McCrary, Gray, and Germany remained, so they added first tenor Percy Wharton and bassist Sam Askue to record “Ivy League Clean” for Paris. Although the El Capris never returned to the studio, the revised unit kept performing on the East Coast club circuit through 1970. Twenty-five years afterward, co-founders Germany and Jackson reassembled for a series of revival shows that also featured second tenor Shane Plummer and bassist Doc Battle.