The Capitols

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The Capitols

Origin	Detroit, USA
Years active	1962 – 1963 1966 – 1969
Genres	R&B Soul
Labels	Karen Records
Members	Samuel George Don Storball Richard Mitchell

The Capitols were a Detroit, Michigan-based soul trio widely known in the late 1960s for their Billboard hit single "Cool Jerk."

1 Formation and Disbandment
2 Re-formation and Cool Jerk
3 Decline and Dissolution
4 Legacy
5 Discography
- 5.1 Singles
- 5.2 Albums
6 Trivia
7 References

[edit] Formation and Disbandment

The R&B trio formed in 1962 as the "Three Caps," with Samuel George as the lead vocalist and drummer, Don Storball (birth name: Don Norman) on backup vocals and guitar, and Richard Mitchell (birth name: Richard McDougall) on backup vocals and keyboard. After playing predominantly small gigs, they were discovered by Ollie McLaughlin after performing at a local dance headlined by Barbara Lewis. After signing with the Karen record label, owned by McLaughlin, the group went on to record and release their first single in 1963, "Dog and Cat/The Kick." The record displayed the upbeat energy of their later work, however the juvenile nature and lyrics of the song couldn't find a substantial audience. In light of the disappointing performance of their debut single, the group dissolved and pursued other ventures.

[edit] Re-formation and Cool Jerk

The mid-1960s saw many dance crazes; one of the most popular ones was a dance called "the jerk." It consisted of holding the arms out in different positions and making thrusting motions with the hips. Though controversial for lewdness at the time, a particularly sexual version of the dance had become popular in Detroit clubs, called the "pimp jerk."

Seeking to capitalize on the popularity of the dance, and dance songs in general, Storball wrote a song about the pimp jerk, renaming it to "cool jerk" in order to prevent possible banning by radio stations. Realizing that the song was a hit, the group re-formed and contacted McLaughlin in order to secure studio time to record the song.

The song was recorded at Golden World Studios in Detroit on March 14, 1966 with the legendary Motown house band The Funk Brothers. Though the song was meant to include a horn accompaniment, the contracted musicians failed to arrive to the recording, and the horns were omitted from the track. It was released on July 2, 1966 and was a smash hit, reaching as high as #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Billboard R&B charts.

[edit] Decline and Dissolution

Attempting to exploit the success of their hit single, the Capitols released two albums in 1966, "Dance the Cool Jerk" and "We Got a Thing," both featuring mostly covers of popular Motown and soul songs. Both albums were somewhat of a commercial and critical failure, though "Dance the Cool Jerk" did spend one week in the Billboard Top 200 Albums at #95 in July 1966. The group released eight additional singles after "Cool Jerk", none of which made any of the Billboard charts, relegating the group to a One-Hit Wonder. In late 1969, the group broke up for the final time.

Storball went on to have a career in the Detroit Police Department, and still lives in Detroit to this day. Richard McDougall died on February 19, 1984 of unknown causes. Samuel George died March 17, 1982 of stabbing wounds.

[edit] Legacy

Though the group had a fairly short career and limited commercial success, their hit "Cool Jerk" has stood the test of time. It has been used in Cool Whip commercials (lyrics changed from "cool jerk" to "cool whip") and used in many movies, including "More American Graffiti" (1979), " Night and the City" (1992), "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" (1992), and " Calendar Girl" (1993).

Additionally, "Cool Jerk" has made many best-of lists, including "100 Greatest Rock Bass Performances" (#70) and "VH1's 100 Greatest Dance Songs" (#48), among others.

The song is still played in heavy rotation on oldies and soul stations across the world.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Singles

Dog And Cat / The Kick (Karen 16) (1963)
Cool Jerk / Hello Stranger (Karen 1524) (1966)
Zig Zaggin' / I Got To Handle It (Karen 1525) (1966)
We Got A Thing That's In A Groove / Tired Of Runnin' From You (Karen 1526) (1966)
Take A Chance On Me Baby / Patty Cake (Karen 1534) (1967)
Cool Pearl / Don't Say Maybe Baby (Karen 1536) (1967)
Afro Twist / Cool Jerk '68 (Karen 1537) (1968)
Ain't That Terrible / Soul Sister, Soul Brother (Karen 1543) (1968)
When You're In Trouble / Soul Soul (Karen 1546) (1969)
I Thought She Loved Me / When You're In Trouble (Karen 1549) (1969)

[edit] Albums

Dance the Cool Jerk (ATCO 33-190) (1966)
We Got a Thing (ATCO 33-201) (1966)
Golden Classics (Collectables, ASIN: B0000008HE) (1990)
The Very Best of the Capitols (Marginal, ASIN: B000A2EXOM) (1997)
Dance the Cool Jerk / We Got a Thing (Collectables, ASIN: B000641ZLS) (2004)
Cool Jerk (Collectables, ASIN: B000E3LHRS) (2006)

[edit] Trivia

- "Cool Jerk" has been covered by many bands, most famously by the Go-Gos in the 80's.
- When the Capitols attempted to release "Cool Jerk" in England, a copyright infringement charge was brought before them, due to the fact that another well-known band in England was performing under that title. As a result, they released the single under their prior group name, the "Three Caps."
- On Futurama Episode 4ACV06 (Bender Should Not Be Allowed On TV), Hermes calls Bender a "cool jerk."