Biography
During the closing years of the 1950s and opening stretch of the 1960s the Monotones produced an assortment of inventive novelty numbers, the standout being the lasting “(Who Wrote) The Book of Love?,” a major Top Ten entry that climbed to number five pop and number three R&B in 1958. The ensemble coalesced in 1955 when 17-year-old lead singer Charles Patrick joined forces with his brother James Patrick, 16-year-old first tenor Warren Davis, 15-year-old second tenor George Malone, 17-year-old bass singer John Smith, 18-year-old baritone Warren Ryanes, and Warren’s younger brother, 15-year-old second bass John Ryanes, all gathering inside Newark, New Jersey’s Baxter Terrace housing project.
Rehearsals took place inside the project’s recreation hall, where the singers drew influence from the Heartbeats, the Spaniels, the Moonglows, and the Cadillacs. They chose their name after an earlier group bearing the same title began to dissolve. The six neighbors and friends also performed with the New Hope Baptist Choir, sharing the stage with fellow members Dionne Warwick, Dee Dee Warwick, Judy Clay, Cissy Houston, Leroy Hutson of the Impressions, and several of the Sweet Inspirations; Houston served as choir director, and Dionne and Dee Dee were cousins of Jim and Charles Patrick, who led the Monotones.
By 1956 the group delivered the Cadillacs’ “Zoom” on Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour, capturing first prize and securing a return appearance the next week. James Patrick soon exited to join the Kodaks, another act that had appeared on the program from Charles Evans Hughes High School in Newark. Charles Patrick nevertheless pressed forward, composing fresh material that included the future hit “Who Wrote the Book of Love?”
One account holds that the lyrics originated after Patrick overheard a toothpaste jingle (“you’ll wonder where the yellow went”) on a radio broadcast inside a music store while examining sheet music for an Al Stillman composition by the Four Lads also titled “Book of Love.” The word “wonder” reportedly lingered in his mind, prompting him, Davis, and Malone to complete the song that same day. An alternate narrative credits 15-year-old Kodaks leader Pearl McKinnon with writing “Book of Love,” a composition later adapted by Charles Patrick with assistance from his brother James.
In any event the Monotones cut a demo during summer 1957 and circulated it among several labels, including Bobby Robinson’s Fury imprint, which had already signed the Kodaks following their Apollo appearance. Atlantic expressed interest yet sought the song for the Bobbettes. Convinced of its hit potential, the Monotones pursued their own version and, aided by James Patrick, obtained an audition with Bea Caslon’s Hull Records, the original home of the Heartbeats after James Sheppard’s group had moved on to Roulette. Caslon signed the act and tracked the song in September 1957.
A well-known anecdote from the session describes a baseball shattering a studio window and striking a wall with perfect timing during rehearsal of the introduction. Upon hearing the playback the singers heard the line “Oh, I wonder, wonder ohm ba doo doo who—who wrote the book of love?” punctuated by the impact; they retained the sound and added a single bass-drum kick at New York’s Bell Studios.
Three months later, in December 1957, “Book of Love” (its title now abbreviated) appeared on Hull’s Mascot subsidiary. By January the single had outgrown cash-strapped Hull, so the group assigned it to Chess Records, which placed it on the Argo label for a February 1958 release. On 24 March 1958 the track entered Billboard’s Top 100; by 7 April it registered on the R&B charts. Late spring found it peaking at number five pop and number three R&B, where it remained for 18 weeks, and it also reached number five in Australia.
On 1 June 1958 the Monotones returned to the studio to attempt further rock-and-roll novelties in search of another hit formula. Their follow-up, “Tom Foolery,” distinguished by abrupt stops and starts, made little impression. A July session produced additional material, among them the single “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” featuring rapid horse-hoof sound effects, yet these releases failed to attract listeners. Hull concentrated instead on promoting the Elegants’ “Little Star,” prompting the Monotones to move to Apt Records, which held the new sides until December 1958. Dissatisfied with the delay, the group licensed Apt another novelty, “The Ride of Paul Revere,” issued in October 1958 but credited to “the Terrace Tones”—an existing act comprising Robert Johnson and Andrew Cheatham, the song’s actual writers—creating confusion that contributed to its lack of success.
Four new tracks were cut on 4 June 1959; “Tell It to the Judge” backed with “Fools Will Be Fools,” the latter a “Why Do Fools Fall in Love?”–style imitation, appeared as a single on Apt, while “What Would You Do If There Wasn’t Any Rock & Roll?” remained unreleased until the 1980s, when Murray Hill included it on a Monotones anthology LP. The latter track may have served as a rejoinder to Danny & the Juniors’ prior-year hit “Rock & Roll Is Here to Stay.”
Early in 1960 the Monotones issued their first proper Hull single, the curious answer record “Reading the Book of Love,” arriving two years after their original hit. Their final single followed on 27 January, “Daddy’s Home, but Mama’s Gone,” itself an answer to Shep and the Limelites’ “Daddy’s Home,” which had answered “A Thousand Miles Away.”
The group’s last session, dated 14 February 1962, yielded “Book of Dance” and “Toast to Lovers,” both held until a Hull compilation LP in late 1962. By then the Monotones had chosen to disband. A later lineup recorded one single for Hickory in 1964, though details remain sparse.
Various members reunited during the 1970s and 1980s for oldies-revival performances. By that period both Ryanes brothers had died, John Ryanes on 30 May 1972 in Newark, New Jersey. As late as 1992, however, Charles Patrick, James Patrick, Warren Davis, Frank Smith, and George Malone were still performing the 1958 favorite “(Who Wrote) The Book of Love?”
Rehearsals took place inside the project’s recreation hall, where the singers drew influence from the Heartbeats, the Spaniels, the Moonglows, and the Cadillacs. They chose their name after an earlier group bearing the same title began to dissolve. The six neighbors and friends also performed with the New Hope Baptist Choir, sharing the stage with fellow members Dionne Warwick, Dee Dee Warwick, Judy Clay, Cissy Houston, Leroy Hutson of the Impressions, and several of the Sweet Inspirations; Houston served as choir director, and Dionne and Dee Dee were cousins of Jim and Charles Patrick, who led the Monotones.
By 1956 the group delivered the Cadillacs’ “Zoom” on Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour, capturing first prize and securing a return appearance the next week. James Patrick soon exited to join the Kodaks, another act that had appeared on the program from Charles Evans Hughes High School in Newark. Charles Patrick nevertheless pressed forward, composing fresh material that included the future hit “Who Wrote the Book of Love?”
One account holds that the lyrics originated after Patrick overheard a toothpaste jingle (“you’ll wonder where the yellow went”) on a radio broadcast inside a music store while examining sheet music for an Al Stillman composition by the Four Lads also titled “Book of Love.” The word “wonder” reportedly lingered in his mind, prompting him, Davis, and Malone to complete the song that same day. An alternate narrative credits 15-year-old Kodaks leader Pearl McKinnon with writing “Book of Love,” a composition later adapted by Charles Patrick with assistance from his brother James.
In any event the Monotones cut a demo during summer 1957 and circulated it among several labels, including Bobby Robinson’s Fury imprint, which had already signed the Kodaks following their Apollo appearance. Atlantic expressed interest yet sought the song for the Bobbettes. Convinced of its hit potential, the Monotones pursued their own version and, aided by James Patrick, obtained an audition with Bea Caslon’s Hull Records, the original home of the Heartbeats after James Sheppard’s group had moved on to Roulette. Caslon signed the act and tracked the song in September 1957.
A well-known anecdote from the session describes a baseball shattering a studio window and striking a wall with perfect timing during rehearsal of the introduction. Upon hearing the playback the singers heard the line “Oh, I wonder, wonder ohm ba doo doo who—who wrote the book of love?” punctuated by the impact; they retained the sound and added a single bass-drum kick at New York’s Bell Studios.
Three months later, in December 1957, “Book of Love” (its title now abbreviated) appeared on Hull’s Mascot subsidiary. By January the single had outgrown cash-strapped Hull, so the group assigned it to Chess Records, which placed it on the Argo label for a February 1958 release. On 24 March 1958 the track entered Billboard’s Top 100; by 7 April it registered on the R&B charts. Late spring found it peaking at number five pop and number three R&B, where it remained for 18 weeks, and it also reached number five in Australia.
On 1 June 1958 the Monotones returned to the studio to attempt further rock-and-roll novelties in search of another hit formula. Their follow-up, “Tom Foolery,” distinguished by abrupt stops and starts, made little impression. A July session produced additional material, among them the single “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” featuring rapid horse-hoof sound effects, yet these releases failed to attract listeners. Hull concentrated instead on promoting the Elegants’ “Little Star,” prompting the Monotones to move to Apt Records, which held the new sides until December 1958. Dissatisfied with the delay, the group licensed Apt another novelty, “The Ride of Paul Revere,” issued in October 1958 but credited to “the Terrace Tones”—an existing act comprising Robert Johnson and Andrew Cheatham, the song’s actual writers—creating confusion that contributed to its lack of success.
Four new tracks were cut on 4 June 1959; “Tell It to the Judge” backed with “Fools Will Be Fools,” the latter a “Why Do Fools Fall in Love?”–style imitation, appeared as a single on Apt, while “What Would You Do If There Wasn’t Any Rock & Roll?” remained unreleased until the 1980s, when Murray Hill included it on a Monotones anthology LP. The latter track may have served as a rejoinder to Danny & the Juniors’ prior-year hit “Rock & Roll Is Here to Stay.”
Early in 1960 the Monotones issued their first proper Hull single, the curious answer record “Reading the Book of Love,” arriving two years after their original hit. Their final single followed on 27 January, “Daddy’s Home, but Mama’s Gone,” itself an answer to Shep and the Limelites’ “Daddy’s Home,” which had answered “A Thousand Miles Away.”
The group’s last session, dated 14 February 1962, yielded “Book of Dance” and “Toast to Lovers,” both held until a Hull compilation LP in late 1962. By then the Monotones had chosen to disband. A later lineup recorded one single for Hickory in 1964, though details remain sparse.
Various members reunited during the 1970s and 1980s for oldies-revival performances. By that period both Ryanes brothers had died, John Ryanes on 30 May 1972 in Newark, New Jersey. As late as 1992, however, Charles Patrick, James Patrick, Warren Davis, Frank Smith, and George Malone were still performing the 1958 favorite “(Who Wrote) The Book of Love?”
Albums
Into the Night
2016
My Loneliness
2013
Are...The Revolution! The Sound! The Beat Of A New Generatio
2009
Who Wrote The Book Of Love? [Digital Version]
2006
Singles
