The Exciters
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The Exciters were an American pop music group of the 1960s. They were originally a girl group, although a male member (Herb Rooney) was added later.[1] The group consisted of lead singer Brenda Reid, her husband Herb Rooney, Carolyn Johnson and Lillian Walker.
[edit] Career
The Exciters' first hit, produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, was "Tell Him" (U.S. #4) in late 1962. Other songs included "He's Got the Power", "Get Him" and Northern Soul classic "Blowing Up My Mind". The Exciters also recorded the original version of "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" in 1963; it was covered shortly after by Manfred Mann, for whom it was an international hit.
Billie Davis successfully covered the Bert Berns penned, "Tell Him" in 1963.
Dusty Springfield, on going solo and settling in New York in 1963, said she used "Tell Him" as her model vocal on how to break into the American scene[citation needed].
In 1975, the group enjoyed a hit-single with "Reachin' for the Best", produced by Rooney and young new-comer producer Ian Levine. The song was aimed at the British Northern soul scene but crossed over to the pop chart where it peaked at No. 31.
New York born (1945 [2]) Carolyn 'Carol' Johnson died on 7 May 2007, aged 62 [3] [4].
