The Flares

The Flares earned recognition through their infectious 1961 up-tempo dance doo wop single "Foot Stompin', Pt. 1." Though connected to the 1950s Los Angeles doo wop act the Flairs, the two groups were not identical. Tracking membership shifts across both ensembles proves complicated, yet the Flairs originated among L.A. teenagers during the early 1950s under the guidance of Cornell Gunter, who later joined the Coasters. Buck Ram, best known for guiding the Platters, served as manager while the Flairs cut sides for Modern, ABC-Paramount, and Antler. By 1960 only Tommy Miller and George Hollis remained from the original lineup; the group had grown into a quintet that included female vocalist Beverly Harris. At that juncture they were releasing material on Felsted and adopted the name the Flares.

"Foot Stompin', Pt. 1" highlighted lively exchanges among the lead harmonizers and the bass singer, augmented by rhythms produced through actual foot stomps, and climbed to number 25 by the close of 1961. No comparable success followed, though the Flares issued more than half a dozen additional singles over the ensuing couple of years, sometimes appearing under the Peppers moniker. Many of those tracks offered comparable explorations of the early soul-dance craze that had propelled "Foot Stompin', Pt. 1," occasionally spotlighting lead female vocals. Aaron Collins, who composed much of the Flares' output including "Foot Stompin', Pt. 1," and Willie Davis both contributed vocals and shared the lead on the hit, even when publicity omitted their names. Several women also recorded and appeared with the group, which press photographs presented as a five-piece unit comprising four men and one woman. The lineup that toured did not always match the studio personnel. By roughly 1964 the ensemble had ceased activity.