Biography
In the 1950s and 1960s multiple R&B ensembles issued material under the name Elgins, among them an MGM act from 1958, a pair of Congress singles from 1964, and a Detroit soul quintet whose Tamla and V.I.P. sides culminated in the enduring favorite “Heaven Must Have Sent You.” Distinct from those earlier lineups was an unrelated southern California group that formed in 1959 when Jimmy Smith, William Devase, Darryl “Cappie” Lewis, Kenny Sinclair, and Oscar McDonald pooled their experience.
Lewis, Devase, and Sinclair had all studied at Centennial High School in Compton. Lewis and Sinclair had been founding members of the Six-Teens, whose twelve-year-old lead singer Trudy Williams was Lewis’s cousin; the group scored a major 1956 success with “A Casual Look” and continued releasing Flip Records follow-ups. Devase joined Sinclair in the Passions, whose “My Aching Heart” appeared on Era and was later reissued by Capitol; the other members were Sinclair’s brother Earl, Sammy Hardy, and Harold Garcia. After Earl Sinclair departed in 1959 the remaining Passions became the Colognes and cut “A River Flows” for Lummy Fowler’s new Lummtone imprint.
Jimmy Smith and Oscar McDonald had attended high school together in Beaumont, Texas. Smith later recalled placing second to Johnny Nash—soon to be known for “I Can See Clearly Now”—in several local talent contests. Moving to California in 1957 to further his studies and career, Smith recorded “I Cry and Cry Every Night” backed with “Night Time Is the Right Time” for Flip in 1959, supported by the female group the Lockettes. Around the same period he replaced Kenny Sinclair in the Six-Teens, appearing on their final Flip releases in 1960 before the group disbanded.
Still intent on performing, Darryl Lewis reassembled a new ensemble with Sinclair, Devase, his brother Carl Lewis, and Jimmy Smith on lead. Recording as the Elements, they released “Lonely Hearts Club” coupled with “Bad Man” on Titan in 1960 and also cut the unreleased “My Illness.” Carl Lewis soon exited to pursue acting, prompting Smith to recruit his Texas schoolmate Oscar McDonald. With the personnel change came both a new name—the Elgins—and a return to Flip Records.
The resulting single “Uncle Sam’s Man” backed with “Casey Cop” appeared in December 1960 and gained the group a solid West Coast following. George Brown at Titan, recalling the earlier Elements session, issued “My Illness” paired with “Extra Extra” in 1961 under the Elgins name; the following year the same coupling was reissued on Titan with the A-side retitled “Heartaches, Heartbreak.”
A 1962 move to Lummtone yielded “A Winner Never Quits” backed with “Finally,” the latter featuring Barbara Lewis—unrelated to Darryl—behind lead singer Darryl Lewis. Later pressings of Lummtone 109 substituted “Johnny I’m Sorry,” which was subsequently reissued as Lummtone 110 coupled with “You Got Your Magnet on Me Baby.” Devase rejoined for the next Lummtone outing, “I Left My Heart in the Big City,” whose flip revived “Finally”; the track later surfaced on the Lantam label as “Big City” by the Daniels and was eventually covered by Jermaine Jackson. The Elgins’ final Lummtone release, in 1963, was “Your Lovely Ways” backed with “Finding a Sweetheart.”
Their last contemporary recording, the pop-oriented “Street Scene” coupled with “You Found Yourself Another Fool,” appeared on Valiant in 1965 and later became prized among Northern Soul collectors. That same year Lummy Fowler paired two previously unissued Elgins masters—“Woman and Child” and “The Granny Dress”—and issued them as the Arrivals on Lummtone 118, another disc that acquired collectible status. Between 1968 and 1970 Sinclair, Devase, and McDonald recorded three singles for Double Shot as the Bagdads, the most notable being “Bring Back Those Doo-Wops.”
The original Elgins lineup reunited in the mid-1990s and has since performed regularly for appreciative audiences on both coasts.
Lewis, Devase, and Sinclair had all studied at Centennial High School in Compton. Lewis and Sinclair had been founding members of the Six-Teens, whose twelve-year-old lead singer Trudy Williams was Lewis’s cousin; the group scored a major 1956 success with “A Casual Look” and continued releasing Flip Records follow-ups. Devase joined Sinclair in the Passions, whose “My Aching Heart” appeared on Era and was later reissued by Capitol; the other members were Sinclair’s brother Earl, Sammy Hardy, and Harold Garcia. After Earl Sinclair departed in 1959 the remaining Passions became the Colognes and cut “A River Flows” for Lummy Fowler’s new Lummtone imprint.
Jimmy Smith and Oscar McDonald had attended high school together in Beaumont, Texas. Smith later recalled placing second to Johnny Nash—soon to be known for “I Can See Clearly Now”—in several local talent contests. Moving to California in 1957 to further his studies and career, Smith recorded “I Cry and Cry Every Night” backed with “Night Time Is the Right Time” for Flip in 1959, supported by the female group the Lockettes. Around the same period he replaced Kenny Sinclair in the Six-Teens, appearing on their final Flip releases in 1960 before the group disbanded.
Still intent on performing, Darryl Lewis reassembled a new ensemble with Sinclair, Devase, his brother Carl Lewis, and Jimmy Smith on lead. Recording as the Elements, they released “Lonely Hearts Club” coupled with “Bad Man” on Titan in 1960 and also cut the unreleased “My Illness.” Carl Lewis soon exited to pursue acting, prompting Smith to recruit his Texas schoolmate Oscar McDonald. With the personnel change came both a new name—the Elgins—and a return to Flip Records.
The resulting single “Uncle Sam’s Man” backed with “Casey Cop” appeared in December 1960 and gained the group a solid West Coast following. George Brown at Titan, recalling the earlier Elements session, issued “My Illness” paired with “Extra Extra” in 1961 under the Elgins name; the following year the same coupling was reissued on Titan with the A-side retitled “Heartaches, Heartbreak.”
A 1962 move to Lummtone yielded “A Winner Never Quits” backed with “Finally,” the latter featuring Barbara Lewis—unrelated to Darryl—behind lead singer Darryl Lewis. Later pressings of Lummtone 109 substituted “Johnny I’m Sorry,” which was subsequently reissued as Lummtone 110 coupled with “You Got Your Magnet on Me Baby.” Devase rejoined for the next Lummtone outing, “I Left My Heart in the Big City,” whose flip revived “Finally”; the track later surfaced on the Lantam label as “Big City” by the Daniels and was eventually covered by Jermaine Jackson. The Elgins’ final Lummtone release, in 1963, was “Your Lovely Ways” backed with “Finding a Sweetheart.”
Their last contemporary recording, the pop-oriented “Street Scene” coupled with “You Found Yourself Another Fool,” appeared on Valiant in 1965 and later became prized among Northern Soul collectors. That same year Lummy Fowler paired two previously unissued Elgins masters—“Woman and Child” and “The Granny Dress”—and issued them as the Arrivals on Lummtone 118, another disc that acquired collectible status. Between 1968 and 1970 Sinclair, Devase, and McDonald recorded three singles for Double Shot as the Bagdads, the most notable being “Bring Back Those Doo-Wops.”
The original Elgins lineup reunited in the mid-1990s and has since performed regularly for appreciative audiences on both coasts.
Albums
