Biography
The Velvetones, a doo wop ensemble, came together in Newark, NJ, during 1943. An account posted on Marv Goldberg's R&B Notebooks site (http://home.att.net/~marvy42/marvart.html) identifies the original lineup as tenor lead Madison Flanagan, second tenor and bassist Walter Dawkins, baritone and guitarist Sam Rucker, plus pianist/arranger Enoch Martin. Their early period involved extensive Midwest roadwork, and a 12-week residency at Newark's Piccadilly Club in mid-1945 secured a contract with the Coronet imprint. Three debut singles—"One Day," "Sweet Lorraine," and "Swing Out, It Don't Cost Nothin'"—were issued together on Coronet in March 1946, with two more sides, "Don't Say You're Sorry Again" and "Singing River," following later in the same year. Dawkins was then succeeded by bassist Pop Willie, after which the group moved to Chicago's Sonora label and cut "Pittsburgh Joe" together with "It Just Ain't Right," their sixth and seventh 1946 releases. Nearly twelve months elapsed before the next pair appeared, the simultaneous "Ask Anyone Who Knows" and "Don't Bring Me No News." Subsequent personnel shifts brought guitarist John Parks in place of Rucker and bassist Muzzy George in place of Pop Willie; under this configuration the group taped "Roberta, Get Out of That Bed," which Super Disc placed on the market in April 1948. Three months afterward they re-emerged with "It's Wonderful," an Armed Forces Radio session issued on the AFRS Jubilee transcription. Their final offering, the 1949 Manor single "Fine Like Wine" credited to the Velveteers, preceded the group's dissolution.