The Skyliners

Emerging from Pittsburgh, the Skyliners delivered an exquisite 1959 ballad of heartache titled "Since I Don't Have You." The recording endures as one of R&B's most searing emotional peaks, and Chuck Jackson later supplied a version of comparable force. Jimmy Beaumont handled lead vocals alongside Janet Vogel, Wally Lester, Joe VerScharen, and Jackie Taylor. Beaumont, Taylor, and Lester had previously sung with the Crescents, while Vogel and VerScharen arrived from the El Rios. Their next single, "This I Swear," earned a respectable twentieth spot on the R&B chart yet slipped quickly from attention. Curiously, "Since I Don't Have You" climbed only to number three R&B and number twelve pop, though its stature clearly transcends those rankings. After placing two singles on Callico, the group returned to the R&B Top 40 in 1965 with "The Loser," issued on Jubilee.