The Silhouettes

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The Silhouettes

The Silhouettes were an American doo wop/R&B group, best known for their single "Get A Job", which was a #1 hit on the Billboard magazine R&B singles chart and pop singles chart in 1958. The doo-wop revival group Sha Na Na derived their name from the song's lyrics. "Get A Job" is included in the soundtracks of the movies "American Graffiti" and "Stand by Me".

1 Group Members
2 Career
3 Other Recordings
4 External Links

[edit] Group Members

Richard Lewis (tenor, 1933-2005)
Bill Horton (lead, 1929-1995)
Earl Beal (baritone, 1924-2001)
Raymond Edwards (bass, 1922-1997)

[edit] Career

The Silhouettes were formed in Philadelphia in 1956, at first using the name The Thunderbirds. Their classic hit "Get A Job" - originally the B-side to "I Am Lonely" - was issued by their manager on the local Junior Records label before being sold to the nationally distributed Ember label in late 1957. It reached #1 on both the R&B and pop charts in USA and the group performed it on television's American Bandstand.

"When I was in the service in the early 1950s and didn't come home and go to work my mother said "Get A Job" and basically that's where the song came from" said tenor Richard Lewis. The four members wrote the song themselves and created the "sha na na" and "dip dip dip dip" hooks, later imitated by many other doo-wop groups.

"Get A Job" was an international hit and remains popular in many countries. The Silhouettes toured with Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Clyde McPhatter and others but the group had no further chart success. Following several changes in line-up they disbanded in 1968, but the four original members reformed the group in the 1980s and continued to work until the death of Bill Horton in 1995.

[edit] Other Recordings

I Sold My Heart To The Junkman, Bing-Bong, Stormy Weather, Vision In The Night, Miss Thing, Gaucho Serenade, Which Way Did She Go, Workin' Hard, For Your Precious Love, Voodoo Eyes, Wish I Could Be There, Never, Your Love Is All I Need, Never Will Part, Rentman, Move On Over (To Another Land), Climb Every Mountain, I Am Lonely, The Push, Headin' For the Poor House, Not Me Baby, She's Gone, Evelyn, Bull Frog