The Tams

Atlanta's Tams earned lasting affection as a "beach" music staple and ranked among the more popular up-tempo soul ensembles of the 1960s, yet they never managed to loosen Motown's grip on the pop mainstream. The group's commercial appeal rested chiefly on Joseph Pope's gravelly leads. His brother Charles, along with Robert Smith, Floyd Ashton, and Horace Key, completed the lineup. The act began recording for Swan in 1960 and scored its first chart success two years later when "Untie Me," issued on Arlen, climbed to number 12 R&B and number 11 pop. The following year the group switched to ABC-Paramount, where it stayed through 1968. Its highest-charting single arrived in 1963 with "What Kind of Fool (Do You Think I Am)." Although that track topped their commercial achievements, many soul listeners still consider 1968's "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy" the definitive Tams recording, even though it only reached number 26 on the R&B side.