The Imperial Wonders surfaced in Cleveland, Ohio, as a polished quintet that mirrored the Temptations through Lester "Jelly" McKenzie's high, Eddie Kendricks-inspired falsetto, Avaughn Wells's resonant Melvin Franklin-style bass, and Leo Green's gritty Paul Williams-inflected baritone. The remaining members, Al Boyd—a onetime Rotation participant—and Walter Channey, rounded out the lineup. During the early 1970s the five-piece gained traction by issuing a succession of singles that moved from one imprint to the next with almost every release.
Daywood Records, a fleeting Cleveland concern run by Bob Davis and Melvin Wood, put out their first single in 1969; the buoyant "Just a Dream" carried an airy, enchanting quality that often distinguishes lasting records, yet the company possessed neither the know-how nor the capital to advance it. Their subsequent and perhaps best-known effort appeared on Tennessee's Black Prince Records. "Trying to Get to You" spotlighted McKenzie's glossy falsetto and followed a musical path close to the debut while adding a spoken passage from Wells; the flip side proved equally strong, a version of the standard "When I Fall in Love" fronted by Wells in a delivery indistinguishable from Melvin Franklin's. The record enjoyed solid R&B airplay in Cleveland and scattered spins elsewhere, though the group saw no financial return.
Bobby Massey, formerly of the O'Jays, produced a Musicor Records side that drew no notice even at home in Cleveland. Two final releases on the local Solid Foundation label, again produced by Massey, delivered one modest regional success, "Turned Around Over You."
Once the Imperial Wonders split, Green and Boyd performed with Truth. McKenzie supplied material for numerous Cleveland acts, among them the gentle "Son-In-Law" for the Elements, who also recorded as Moving Violation for Atco Records. McKenzie died in the mid-1990s; Green later settled in Atlanta, Georgia. Wells and Channey are believed to have relocated to the West Coast, where Al Boyd also resides. Boyd obtained a staff-writing post at Motown and composed such notable songs as "Shakey Ground," a hit for the Temptations and Phoebe Snow.
