| The Skyliners | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Genres | American doo-wop |
| Years active | 1958-1963, 1974-present |
| Website | [1] |
| Members | |
| Jimmy Beaumont Donna Groom Nick Pociask Rick Morris Mark Groom |
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| Past members | |
| Wally Lester Jack Taylor Joe Verscharen Janet Vogel |
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The Skyliners are an American doo-wop group from Pittsburgh fronted by Jimmy Beaumont. The original lineup also included Wally Lester, Jack Taylor, Joe Verscharen, Louis M. Tutino and Janet Vogel. While this quintet constituted the formal group of vocalists, they were backed by a variety of Pittsburgh musicians including Joe Dalu, a drummer from Pittsburgh's Manchester neighborhood who also played with local favorites Ray and The Furys (COED Label, 1959).
The Skyliners were best known for their 1959 hit "Since I Don't Have You." Popular covers by Trini Lopez, Chuck Jackson, Don McLean, Guns N' Roses, The Brian Setzer Orchestra, Ronnie Milsap, and Buckaroo Banzai have helped keep the song in the public consciousness. They also hit the Top 40 with "This I Swear" and "Pennies from Heaven." Other classics include "It Happened Today" (1959), "Close Your Eyes" (1961), and "Comes Love" (1962). The original group dissolved in 1963 but reunited eleven years later (without Jack Taylor) for what would become their last charted record, "Where Have They Gone?"
In 1965 Jimmy Beaumont recorded 2 notable singles for the "Bang" label. The first, 'Tell Me' b/w 'I Feel Like I'm Falling In Love' were pleasant midtempo soul styled tracks. For his 2nd Bang 45 'I Never Loved Her Anyway' b/w 'You Got Too Much Going For You' Jimmy was transformed into a very impressive soul singer sounding nothing like his previous more pop styled efforts, leading some to question in later years if it is actually him singing. These two excellent tracks that have now rightly become Northern Soul collectables. The 2nd 45 was also issued on UK London HLZ 10059 in 1966.
In 1978, Detroit producer Don Davis [1] who produced Marilynn McCoo, Billy Davis, Johnny Taylor, the Dramatics, and the Dells) picked up one of his favorite groups to record in his studio, United Sound Studios. There they recorded the Skyliners 'comeback' album for the RCA subsidiary, Tortoise International Records.[2] The song 'Oh, How Happy' & 'The Love Bug' were on this album, as well as a re-make of Dan Schafer's 'A Day without you, Dear'. a/k/a Daniel Joseph Schafer
Today, Jimmy Beaumont still performs with The Skyliners in their current lineup of Nick Pociask, Rick Morris, and Donna Groom (whose husband, Mark Groom, has been the group's drummer/conductor for more than 25 years). Two of the original members have died: Janet Vogel (suicide) in 1980 (age 37), and Joe Verscharen of cancer in 2007 (age 67). Their longtime manager and producer Joe Rock, who also co-wrote "Since I Don't Have You", died on April 4, 2000 after complications from quadruple bypass heart surgery at age 63.
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The Skyliners were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002.