Biography
The Jive Five distinguished themselves as one of the rare vocal ensembles able to endure the shift from the 1950s into the 1960s, chiefly on the strength of their R&B chart-topping single “My True Story,” and in doing so forged an important connection between doo wop and the emerging soul style of the new decade.
Organized in Brooklyn, New York, the original lineup comprised Eugene Pitt on lead, Jerome Hanna and Richard Harris on tenor, Billy Prophet on baritone, and Norman Johnson on bass. Their debut success arrived with “My True Story,” which reached the top of the R&B listings and climbed to number three on the pop charts during summer 1961; later releases, among them the modest 1962 R&B entry “These Golden Rings,” failed to match that impact, yet the group sustained its live work and studio activity. Guided by Eugene Pitt and Norman Johnson, the Jive Five reinvented their sound as a soul outfit in 1964, recruiting Casey Spencer and Webster Harris on tenor plus Beatrice Best on baritone, then secured a contract with United Artists Records. Their sole chart entry for the label proved to be 1965’s “I’m a Happy Man.”
Departing United Artists for Musicor in 1966, they scored the 1968 R&B hit “Sugar (Don’t Take Away My Candy).” Another move in 1970 took them to Decca, where they simultaneously altered their name to the Jyve Fyve to project a fresher image; under the new spelling they managed only one modest R&B success, “I Want You to Be My Baby,” also issued that year.
Throughout the remainder of the 1970s they continued performing and cutting sides for assorted independent imprints without further chart results, with Eugene Pitt remaining the sole consistent presence. In 1975 Pitt rechristened the act Ebony, Ivory & Jade, though the venture attracted little notice. He restored the original name in 1982, after which the Jive Five completed a pair of albums for the independent Ambient Sound label. In subsequent years the group remained active on the oldies circuit, and in 2003 they released the CD single “It’s Christmas” on Doesn’t Matter Music under the billing Eugene Pitt & the Jive Five. Eugene Pitt passed away in June 2018 at age 80.
Organized in Brooklyn, New York, the original lineup comprised Eugene Pitt on lead, Jerome Hanna and Richard Harris on tenor, Billy Prophet on baritone, and Norman Johnson on bass. Their debut success arrived with “My True Story,” which reached the top of the R&B listings and climbed to number three on the pop charts during summer 1961; later releases, among them the modest 1962 R&B entry “These Golden Rings,” failed to match that impact, yet the group sustained its live work and studio activity. Guided by Eugene Pitt and Norman Johnson, the Jive Five reinvented their sound as a soul outfit in 1964, recruiting Casey Spencer and Webster Harris on tenor plus Beatrice Best on baritone, then secured a contract with United Artists Records. Their sole chart entry for the label proved to be 1965’s “I’m a Happy Man.”
Departing United Artists for Musicor in 1966, they scored the 1968 R&B hit “Sugar (Don’t Take Away My Candy).” Another move in 1970 took them to Decca, where they simultaneously altered their name to the Jyve Fyve to project a fresher image; under the new spelling they managed only one modest R&B success, “I Want You to Be My Baby,” also issued that year.
Throughout the remainder of the 1970s they continued performing and cutting sides for assorted independent imprints without further chart results, with Eugene Pitt remaining the sole consistent presence. In 1975 Pitt rechristened the act Ebony, Ivory & Jade, though the venture attracted little notice. He restored the original name in 1982, after which the Jive Five completed a pair of albums for the independent Ambient Sound label. In subsequent years the group remained active on the oldies circuit, and in 2003 they released the CD single “It’s Christmas” on Doesn’t Matter Music under the billing Eugene Pitt & the Jive Five. Eugene Pitt passed away in June 2018 at age 80.
Albums
