The Aquatones
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The Aquatones were a white doo-wop group in the 1950s who charted just once with "You", a ballad which was also covered by Gale Storm. The lead singer was Lynne Nixon who was possibly the first rock'n'roll soprano, although the style of the record emulated the earlier "To Know Him Is To Love Him," the first hit by the Teddy Bears. Lead singer Carol Connors' (nee Annette Kleinbard) voice was, however, a few notes lower in range.
The Aquatones were true one hit wonders whose subsequent singles for the Fargo label all failed to even dent the Hot 100. Their only album was issued three years after their hit single, and just before their final Fargo release, a remake of The Heartbeats' "Crazy For You" in July 1961. That song was not on the original album, but was included in the reissue in the 1980s as a repro. In the late 1990s, the group reformed with a new lead singer, Colette Delaney. They released a CD of remakes and new material in 2002.
The Aquatones had a special sound - four part harmony with a sweet female lead vocal. That angelic voice was Lynne Nixon. The group began as three guys from Valley Stream, New York - out on the island. They formed in 1956 as the Rhythm Kings with Dave Goddard, Larry Vannata, and Gene McCarthy as members. As Dave Goddard recalls, they came together to record a song written by Dave for their junior class play at Valley Stream Central High School. All of the guys played instruments as well as sang - Gene the clarinet and tenor sax, Larry the alto and tenor sax, and Dave the piano. Their friend Bob Boden would play drums when they performed live. Dave makes it clear that they were never a dance band. A classmates father, a record distributor, heard the group and suggested that they add a high falsetto voice. Shortly thereafter, Larry met Lynne Nixon at a dance and asked Gene and Dave to give her an audition. Upon hearing Lynne's incredible voice they agreed to add her to the group. At first, Lynne only sang backgrounds, until Larry wrote the song "You" for her to sing.
The group later changed its name to the Aquatones (as Dave describes it "so the guys could wear a 'cool' shirt from the 1950s - aqua with a black velvet 'V' down the front). In 1957 the three original members - Larry Vannata, David Goddard and Eugene McCarthy, decided to add Lynne as a fourth member to give the group some versatility. It wasn't long after the group became a foursome that they found themselves performing at a talent contest at Malverne High School. The contest entitled Stairway to the Stars was just that for the group as local real estate mogul turned music promoter Lou Fargo heard the group and liked what he saw and heard. In December 1957, he signed the group and off to the studio they went to record on Fargo's own label.
Their first effort was quite possibly their finest - the incredible You (Fargo 1001 b/w She's the One For Me). Its one of those incredible group harmony recordings that everyone recognizes. And its a memory jogger for those who were lucky enough to be around in early '58 when it hit. One can either remember firsthand or at least envision being 15 or 16 with your arm around your honey listening to that tune. I am sure there were many teenagers who can credit the success of their love lives that year to this amazing record. Lynne's incredible lead is indescribable. Perhaps the best word would be "haunting." The record hit on the Billboard charts in April 1958 and did reasonably well but unfortunately there were just so many big records by big name artists being pushed at the time that it was a bit overshadowed. Such classics as I Met Him on a Sunday by the Shirelles, Zoom Zoom Zoom by the Collegians, and Sweet Little Sixteen by Chuck Berry were out at the same time. While it did very well in the East, it only managed to hit #21 nationally. But it was clearly one of the most popular records among love-minded teens who were crazy for it. The Aquatones had hit on something and found their "sound."
Their follow up record Say You'll Be Mine b/w So Fine (Fargo 1002) again came out at a time when there were more big records being pushed by big name artists. Their third record - Our First Kiss b/w Drive In (Fargo 1003) was also lost in the rush. Their next release in October 1958 was My Treasure b/w My One Desire (Fargo 1005) and while a terrific group harmony recording, it received little interest. My Darling b/w For You, For You (Fargo 1111) followed as did another hauntingly beautiful record Crazy For You b/w Wanted (Fargo 1016) in 1961. Crazy For You was a cover of the original Heartbeats' tune. To be completely honest - ask anyone - no one remembers the Heartbeats' version except the hardcore group harmony fan/collector. The Aquatones' version is so sweet and beautiful with Lynne's amazing voice capturing the era of teenage innocence and beauty. It met with some success at a time when group harmony was going through its renaissance. But the lack of radio airplay kept it from going anywhere.
Fargo would later release an album of the group's material in 1964 but the group's time had come and gone, not unlike the era of doo-wop itself. The Aquatones went their separate ways. Lynne stayed on Long Island, Larry moved to New Hampshire, Gene moved to the midwest and then to Atlanta, and Dave moved to California, Ohio, and finally Kentucky. Though the group members remained friends and stayed in touch, it was difficult to get together to perform and without Lynne (who had stopped singing) they were missing the key element of their "sound."
Fast forward to 1998. That's when Dave Goddard heard a young lady sing who sounded amazingly similar to Lynne. A year later, Dave approached Colette Delaney about singing in a new Aquatones group. Colette had had a career in musical comedy, and was interested in singing with the group. Colette and Dave started making "demo" recordings of some of the Aquatones' old music. These recordings received warm reactions from the world of doo-wop fans. Dave knew he had to get the Aquatones started again. Meanwhile, the world of group harmony was very sadden to hear of the death of Lynne Nixon in January 2001. We lost a very special person and beautiful voice that day.
The result of the group's tireless efforts is their new CD - released late last year on Debra Records. The CD includes performances from original Aquatones - Dave Goddard, Gene McCarthy and Larry Vannata. Newcomers Bill Hofmann and of course new lead singer Colette Delaney are also featured.
