Ron Hicklin Singers
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The Ron Hicklin Singers were Los Angeles studio singers let by Ron Hicklin. The group mainly consisted of Ron Hicklin, Tom Bahler, John Bahler and Jackie Ward. While most people don't know the group by name, their sound was unmistakable and heard everywhere. Sometimes they were credited under other names. For example, when singing the theme to "Love, American Style", they were credited as The Charles Fox Singers. The Hicklin Singers also sung the TV themes to Batman and Flipper. They were also the vocalists on the majority of the Ray Conniff Singers albums. Further, they were part of the vocal sounds of the Anita Kerr Singers, Henry Mancinni and Percy Faith's orchestra.
Brothers Tom and John Bahler was part of Imperial Records vocal group "The Love Generation" in the sixties. Ron Hicklin was the real lead singer of Gary Lewis & The Playboys (with Lewis' vocal slightly faded into the mix). He also sang the lead vocals for the TV theme from "Happy Days". Jackie Ward had a hit on her own as Robin Ward with 1963's hit "Wonderful Summer".
As the Ron Hicklin Singers, the group backed up or were the real vocals on tunes by The Monkees, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, Paul Revere & The Raiders, The Brady Kids and most famously known for being the singers behind The Partridge Family. They sang commercial vocals including campaigns for Kawasaki ("Kawasaki lets the good times roll"), Datsun ("Drive a Datsun, then decide") and McDonalds ("You deserve a break today").
ID jingle companies throughout the last four decades utilized The Ron Hicklin Singers in their productions including "The Heller Corporation"[1]. Jones TM utilized the Ron Hicklin Singers on syndicated ID jingles packages including HOT HITS, YOU (The "You" Campaign), GOOD FEELINGS and several others. JAM Creative Productions also utilized their vocals in several of their packages.
Today, the group is split up and mostly retired. John Bahler lives in Banson, MI and conducts the "new" Lawrence Welk orchestra. His wife, Janet Lennon, is a member of The Lennon Sisters. John also runs Potraits By Bahler[2]. Tom Bahler retired to Playa del Rey in 2005. Ron Hicklin is still a studio singer, contributing vocals to Harry Connick, Jr.'s Christmas CD in 2004.
