The Mello-Kings

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The Mello-Kings were a doo-wop group who became popular in the late 1950s.

Despite the fact that their only hit, "Tonite Tonite", never climbed higher than number 77 in the US charts, the single is still considered one of the most popular group harmony recordings of the era, more than three decades after its initial release.

The group consisted of brothers Jerry and Bob Scholl, Eddie Quinn, Neil Arena and Larry Esposito. The quintet was formed in 1956 at a high school in Mount Vernon, New York, USA, under the guidance of manager Dick Levister. Originally named the Mellotones, the group was signed to the Herald label. "Tonite Tonite" was written by Billy Myles, a staff composer for the label. The group was forced to change its name after the single's release, as another group had already claimed Mellotones. The record lasted only 10 weeks in the US pop, and the group was never able to repeat this success.

The group appeared in revival shows in the late 60's and early 70's. In 1975, lead singer Bob Scholl was tragically killed in a boating accident. The group disappeared from the scene for a couple of years until around 1977 when Jerry Scholl started it back up again.

Certainly one of the most consistently popular oldies records over the years has been the Mellokings' "Tonite, Tonite." Strangely enough, the song was not a hit when released (except in certain regions), nor does it seem to have ever been a staple of street corner groups. In spite of this, it is usually in the Top 5 of most oldies surveys.

The group responsible for this enigma was from Mount Vernon, New York (slightly north of New York City). In 1956, Bob Scholl (tenor), his younger brother, Jerry Scholl (high tenor), and Eddie Quinn (second tenor) got together as a result of try-outs for a version of "South Pacific," being held at Washington High School. Pianist/Arranger Dick Levister liked the way they sounded and formed them into a group, initially known as the Mellotones. Auditions brought in two additional members:, Neil Arena (baritone) and Larry Esposito (bass).

The group's main influence was Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, the originators of the "kid-sound" in popular music. In fact, the Mellotones were told they sounded too much like the Teenagers, so to create a different sound, Bob Scholl switched to lead.

One night, they were appearing at an amateur show when they met a songwriter named Joe (whose last name has long since been forgotten). He promised to arrange an audition for them, if they would reciprocate by using it to sing one of his songs. When they agreed, he brought them to Al Silver, owner of Herald and Ember Records. Silver was taken with the group and signed them on the spot (although he hated Joe's tune).

So Silver had a Herald/Ember staff songwriter named William Myles Nobles (who would record "The Joker" as "Billy Myles") audition three or four of his songs for the guys. The only one they liked was "Tonite, Tonite," which they took home and rehearsed, bringing the finished vocal back a week later. Sliver said "Let's go into the studio immediately and cut it." As the flip, they used a song written by Dick Levister, "Do Baby Do."

After about a thousand copies had been pressed, everyone discovered that there was another Mellotones group around (this would have been Jerry Carr and the Mello-Tones, whose "Rosie Lee" was released, on Gee, the same month as "Tonite, Tonite"). A quick name change was in order and the "Mellokings" were born. (The "King" part came from Dick Levister's middle name. He had once been leader of the King Levister Orchestra and would become the keyboardist for the Earls [of "Remember When" fame] in the future.)

The platter was reviewed on May 20, 1957, with "Do Baby Do" being ranked "excellent" ("Tonite, Tonite" was only "good"). Other reviews that week went to the Drifters' "Hypnotized," Shirley & Lee's "Rock All Night," Charlie & Ray's "Sweet Thing," Aaron Collin's "Rum, Jamaica Rum," the Titan's "G'win Home Calypso," the Channels' "What Do You Do," and the Mondellos' "100 Years From Today."

In August, "Tonite, Tonite" was reported a Tip in Los Angeles. The song, although it has sold over 3 million copies to date, never made it past #87 on the national charts for 1957, hardly qualifying for hit status. In fact, everything happened so fast (or so slow) that the group never even realized that they had a hit.

With the [limited] success of "Tonite, Tonite," the group went on the road doing one-nighters, sometimes for as long as three months at a time. Jerry Scholl, being of small stature, used to sleep in the luggage rack above the seats. On one tour, his "rack-mate" was Paul Anka.

September 1957 was a busy month for the Mellokings. First, they appeared on American Bandstand on the 3rd (it's unclear what they sang). Then, Herald released "Chapel On The Hill" (another Billy Myles tune)/"Sassafras." After that, they went on Ted Steele's Bandstand (on WOR-TV, New York's Channel 9) to introduce the songs. On the basis of that appearance, they were booked into Washington D.C.'s Howard Theater for a week (starting September 20), followed by a week at Baltimore's Royal (starting the 27th).

Both sides of the new disc were rated "excellent" on October 14. Other reviews that week were for the Titan's "Sweet Peach," the 5 Satins' "Our Anniversary," Billy Myles' "The Joker," the Crawford Brothers' "I Ain't Guilty," Don & Dewey's "Leavin' It All Up To You," the Juveniles' "I Lied," the Hollywood Flames' "Buzz-Buzz-Buzz," the Medallions' "Unseen," and the El Dorados' "A Rose For My Darling."

Neither "Sassafras" nor any of their subsequent releases did well on the charts. Since they had a ballad on the market, the Mellokings felt that it was wrong for Herald to have pushed "Sassafras" (a Bob Crewe composition) as their next release. In all the time they were with Herald, they never really cut anything they wanted to cut.

When asked the reason why none of their subsequent recordings went high on the charts, Jerry Scholl said, "Just the way the business was run in those days. The capital wasn't there. I think Herald wanted to back up 'Tonite, Tonite' with as big a hit but just didn't have the resources. Distribution was a big problem. You were trying to go up against the big companies. Here we were, a little operation. You had to hire peddlers in the street to run around with the record trying to break it in small towns and then start all over again. That was the difficulty in those days."

However, Al Silver is remembered fondly by the group. He constantly had recording sessions for them. Unlike most record companies of the day, Herald stood behind its artists with as much promotion and financing as possible. The Mellokings appeared on American Bandstand with every new release and did hundreds of radio programs. Jerry recalls doing Bandstand at the time of their fourth or fifth release (just after "Tonite, Tonite" was re-released) and Dick Clark would not let them do the new song. They had to do "Tonite, Tonite" as it was then the #1 record in Philadelphia. [That was probably in the spring of 1958, since "Tonite, Tonite" had started to take off again in some markets.]

When the Mellokings first started, the Rhythm & Blues/Rock 'n' Roll field was dominated by black groups. The Mellokings, therefore, sometimes played in tours where all the other groups (as well as most of the audience) were black. They played the Apollo (the week beginning October 4, 1957, along with Slim Galliard, the Del Vikings, Earl Bostic, and the Tunedrops), as well as the Howard, Royal, Regal, and Earl Theaters. They watched the other groups dance and with the help of manager/arranger Dick Levister, (who was black) taught themselves the choreography needed to impress their fans.

Right after the Apollo stint, they made two appearances on American Bandstand (October 16 and 26). Later that month, they appeared with DJ George "Hound Dog" Lorenz (WKBW in Buffalo, New York) at the State Theater in Hartford, Connecticut. Others on this Eighth Anniversary Show Of Stars were the Billy Williams Quartet, Roy Hamilton, the Tune Weavers, Little Joe, the Bobbettes, the Clovers, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Thurston Harris, and Doc Bagby.

November 8 found them at a show at Chicago's Regal Theater. Hosted by DJ Al Benson, it featured other acts booked by Archer Associates (the Dells, Titus Turner, Frankie Lee Sims, and Mercy Baby), as well as Big Maybelle, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Priscilla Bowman, and the Al Smith Orchestra.

In December 1957, Herald released "Baby Tell Me Why, Why, Why" (another Dick Levister tune)/"The Only Girl." It was reviewed on December 16 (both sides "good"), along with the Sophomores' "Charades," the Turbans' "Congratulations," the Escorts' "Misty Eyes," the Rays' "Second Fiddle," the Dominoes' "When The Saints Go Marchin' In," the Wanderers' "Thinking Of You," and La Fets and Kitty's "Christmas Letter." On December 24, they performed the tunes on American Bandstand. Strangely, the record was reviewed again on January 6 (receiving the same ratings).

January 1958 opened with the Mellokings part of an Irvin Feld touring show. This 17-day extravaganza featured the Everly Brothers, the Crickets, the Rays, the Hollywood Flames, Eddie Cochran, and Jimmy Rodgers.

In March, they released "Valerie"/"She's Real Cool," which was reviewed on April 14 (with "Valerie"–written by Paul Evans of "Seven Little Girls" fame–rated "excellent"). Other reviews that week were for the Chanters' "My My Darling," the Dells' "The Springer," Frankie Lymon's "Portable On My Shoulder," the Cadillacs' "Speedoo Is Back," the Turks' "Fathertime," and the 4 Jokers' "Written In The Stars."

In February, Herald had announced that, almost a year after its initial release, sales of "Tonite, Tonite" were picking up again. Possibly as a reaction to that, they released an EP (as by the "Mello-Kings") with "Tonite, Tonite," "She's Real Cool," "The Only Girl (I'll Ever Love)," and "Do Baby Do."

In May 1958, Herald imported a British album for resale in the U.S. It was called Dance To The Sweet Beat Of The Tony Crombie Orchestra. This was a strange title, as Crombie had been part of the British Rock 'n' Roll scene in 1957, when he was in the movie Rock, You Sinners. While that has little to do with our story, the term "Sweet Beat" will come up again in a moment.

Sometime in the spring of 1958, Neil Arena left. The Mellokings continued on with four singers for a while. It was during this four-voice period that they recorded the footage of "Tonite, Tonite" that was later used in the British movie Sweet Beat. (Released November 1959, it also contained their labelmates, Billy Myles and the 5 Satins.)

Within a few months after this, Larry Esposito also left, and the Mellokings got two new members: Louis Janacone and Tony Pinto. This was the group that recorded "Chip Chip" in November 1958. All the songs from that session were released over the next year and a half or so, but the group didn't record again for almost two years.

"Chip Chip" and "Running To You" were released in January 1959. "Chip Chip" received an "excellent" review on February 9, along with the Flamingos' "But Not For Me," Lloyd Price's "Where Were You (On Our Wedding Day)," the Titans' "No Time," the Heartbeats' "One Million Years," Sheriff and the Ravels' "Shombalor," the Crescendos' "Sweet Dreams," Jo Medlin's "I Kneel At Your Throne," Sammy Turner's "Sweet Annie Laurie," and the Diablos' "I Am With You."

Beginning on March 27, 1959, the Mellokings were part of Alan Freed's Easter Show at the Fabian-Fox Theater in Brooklyn. Others on the show were Fats Domino, Jackie Wilson, the Cadillacs, the Impalas, Joe Medlin, Bobby Darin, Fabian, Duane Eddy, Dale Hawkins, the Skyliners, Thomas Wayne, Larry Williams, Bobby Freeman, Jo Ann Campbell, and Jimmy Clanton.

Mid-1959 saw the release of a seminal Rock 'n' Roll album: Oldies But Goodies. "Tonite, Tonite" was deemed worthy to be included along with the likes of the Penguins' "Earth Angel," the Medallions' "The Letter," and the Meadowlarks' "Heaven And Paradise." [As far as I remember, this was the first time I'd ever heard "Tonite, Tonite." If not, I had certainly totally forgotten it since 1957.]

It took until mid-1960 for the next Mellokings record to appear: "Our Love Is Beautiful"/"Dear Mr. Jock." These were two tunes from the November 1958 session. By this time, Eddie Quinn had left to pursue a solo singing and songwriting career. Quinn, along with Dick Levister, had written "The Only Girl," "Chip Chip," "Running To You," and "Our Love Is Beautiful." I'm only aware of him having had a single release, on Mark-X.)

Finally, the Mellokings had another Herald session. From it came "Kid Stuff"/"I Promise" in September 1960. This group was a quartet: Jerry Scholl, Bobby Scholl, Louis Janacone, and Tony Pinto.

In late 1960, Herald released The Mellokings Sing, an LP that had a nice selection of all their released tunes, along with the previously-unreleased "Once On A Windy Day" and "Starbright," both by the current group.

March 1961 saw the next Mellokings record: "Penny"/"'Till There Was None." Their final Herald release came in October of that year: "Love At First Sight," backed with a reissue of 1958's "She's Real Cool." Sometime after this, Bobby Scholl was drafted. It's unclear who replaced him or even if they remained with four singers or expanded to five again.

But they kept on recording and, in October 1962, "But You Lied"/"Walk Softly" were released on Lescay (as the "Mello-Kings"). A 1965 entry on Flashback was just reissue of "Tonight, Tonight" (note spelling), backed with "Thrill Me" (a Herald cut from a January 1957 session).

By 1966, when they re-recorded "Tonite, Tonite" and "Chip Chip" for Lana, Bronxite Eddie Rabinowitz had joined the group (he called himself "Eddie Robbins"). [I vaguely remember him from the Concourse "Y," where I misspent part of my youth.] Other than Jerry Scholl, I have no idea who else was in the group.

With many changes in personnel, the Mellokings have been performing non-stop since their "Tonite, Tonite" days. Today [this was written in 1981], the group is led by Jerry Scholl, who took over lead chores after the unfortunate drowning of his brother, Bob, in 1975. Eddie Quinn is a hotel manager in Las Vegas, Nevada; Neil Arena is an insurance agent; and Larry Esposito is in the construction business.

In the new century, both Jerry Scholl and Eddie Robbins have active Mellokings groups.



THE MELLOKINGS HERALD (as the Mellotones) 502 Tonite, Tonite/Do Baby Do - 4/57

HERALD (as the Mellokings) 502 Tonite, Tonite/Do Baby Do - 4/57 507 Chapel On The Hill/Sassafras - 9/57 511 Baby Tell Me Why, Why, Why/The Only Girl - 12/57 518 Valerie/She's Real Cool - 3/58 HEP 451 Tonite Tonite/She's Real Cool//The Only Girl (I'll Ever Love)/Do Baby Do - 58 (this EP was issued as by the "Mello-Kings") 536 Chip Chip /Running To You - 1/59 548 Our Love Is Beautiful/Dear Mr. Jock - mid-60 554 Kid Stuff/I Promise - 9/60 HLP-1013 The Mellokings Sing - late 60 Tonight Tonight, I Promise, Our Love Is Beautiful, Sassafras, The Only Girl, Once On A Windy Day, Kid Stuff, Chapel On The Hill, Starbright, Valarie, Chip Chip, Baby Tell Me (Why, Why, Why) 561 Penny/'Till There Was None - 3/61 567 Love At First Sight/She's Real Cool - 10/61

LESCAY (as the "Mello-Kings" 3009 But You Lied/Walk Softly - 10/62

FLASHBACK 2 Tonight, Tonight/Thrill Me - 65

LANA 124 Tonite Tonite/Chip Chip - ca. 66

JANUS 722 Tonight, Tonight/Chapel On The Hill - 77

RELIC 5035 The Mellokings - 81 Tonite Tonite, She's Real Cool, The Only Girl (I'll Ever Love), Do Baby Do, Chapel On The Hill, Dear Mr. Jock, Kid Stuff, Thrill Me, Valerie, Love At First Sight, Running To You, Baby Tell Me, Til There Were None, Sassafras, Our Love Is Beautiful, I Promise, Chip Chip, Penny

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