The Ivy League

Formed in 1964, the Ivy League emerged as a British pop trio from the 1960s featuring John Carter, Ken Lewis—both previously active in Carter-Lewis and the Southerners—and Perry Ford. All three participants worked regularly as session singers and shared distinctive high-pitched voices. Their first single vanished without notice, yet the next effort, “Funny How Love Can Be,” climbed unexpectedly into the U.K. Top Ten. Subsequent releases maintained momentum, among them “That’s Why I’m Crying” and a version of “Tossin’ And Turnin’” that reached number three on the British charts. The founding lineup issued just one album, 1965’s This Is the Ivy League, before Carter and Lewis exited the following year. Tony Burrows and Neil Landon joined as replacements, allowing the group to record two additional albums: 1967’s Sounds of the Ivy League and 1969’s Tomorrow Is Another Day. Another modest success, “Willow Tree,” appeared before the act adopted the name the Flowerpot Men. During the 1980s a separate band performing under the Ivy League name played the original hits in nightclubs, though none of the earlier members took part, leaving longtime listeners puzzled. In the 1990s several retrospective collections appeared, including the 43-track Major League: the Collectors’ Ivy League issued in 1998.