The Fleetwoods stood apart through their polished vocal approach, which steered clear of the coarser textures common among doo wop acts. Few white vocal groups from the late 1950s and early 1960s matched their crossover appeal, landing hits on both the pop and R&B charts. Ballads defined their output, beginning with the 1959 debut single “Come Softly to Me,” which launched a three-year run of mostly ballad-driven successes. Although the group disbanded in 1963, songs such as “Come Softly to Me” later earned recognition as pop/rock standards from the pre-British Invasion years.
While attending high school in Olympia, WA, Gretchen Christopher, Barbara Ellis, and Gary Troxell formed the Fleetwoods. The lineup started with just Christopher and Ellis, who soon invited Troxell to join on trumpet. After the others heard part of a song he had composed, Troxell set the trumpet aside and focused on vocals. Working with key input from Christopher and Ellis, the trio developed “Come Softly to Me” and performed it at local events in Olympia, eventually drawing interest from Bob Reisdorff of the Seattle-based Dolphin Records.
Dolphin issued “Come Softly to Me” in early 1959, and the track quickly rose to number one on the pop charts and number five on the R&B charts while also reaching the U.K. Top Ten. Follow-up singles initially failed to match that debut impact, yet the third release, “Mr. Blue,” claimed the top pop spot and a Top Five R&B position in the U.S. by late 1959. Around the time of its appearance, Dolphin rebranded as Dolton. Over the next three years the Fleetwoods continued issuing minor pop hits, though consistent high-chart placements proved elusive once Troxell was drafted into the Navy near the close of 1959. Vic Dana stepped in as his replacement and would later score his own string of early-’60s hits.
“Tragedy” marked the group’s final Top Ten single when it charted in spring 1961. Two years afterward the Fleetwoods disbanded following their last single, a cover of Jesse Belvin’s “Goodnight My Love.” Occasional reunions for concerts and oldies revues occurred over the next three decades. In 1973 the group cut an album under producer Jerry Dennon, but the tracks failed to gain traction. The Fleetwoods, now featuring Christopher, Troxell, and Cheryl Huggins in place of Ellis, returned to the American oldies circuit in 1990 after Rhino issued the compact disc collection The Best of the Fleetwoods.
