The Vogues
| The Vogues | |
|---|---|
 The Vogues in 1965 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Genres | Rock and roll, Traditional pop music, blue eyed soul |
| Years active | 1965-present |
| Labels | Co & Ce, Reprise |
| Members |
Royce Taylor Bill Burkette Troy Elich Tom Lamb Artie Deleonardis Dean Mastrangelo Rich Gooch |
| Past members |
Chuck Blasko Don Miller Jim Campagna Stan Elich Terry Brightbill Hugh Geyer |
The Vogues are an American vocal group from Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The original group consisted of Bill Burkette (lead baritone), Don Miller (baritone), Hugh Geyer (first tenor) and Chuck Blasko (second tenor).[1]
Career
Originally, the group was called The Val-Airs.[1] Their high school principal helped them make their first demo. Their record as The Val-Airs was "Launie, My Love". first released by local record label Willett Records (owned by the group's manager, Elmer Willett), then distributed nationally on Coral Records. Soon after the song's release, the group adopted the name The Vogues, derived from Vogue Terrace, a popular teenage dance hall (which also housed Willett Records) in North Versailles, Pennsylvania, near the group's hometown.
They soon signed a recording contract with a small Pittsburgh-based label, Co & Ce Records, run by Herb Cohen and Nick Cenci. The group broke nationally in September 1965 with a #4 cover of Petula Clark's "You're The One", followed nine weeks later by the #4 hit "Five O'Clock World". Two further singles, "Magic Town" and "The Land of Milk and Honey", did not reach the same heights, but still made Billboard's Top 40 in 1966.
The group's fortunes dwindled until a move in 1968 to Reprise Records sparked a fifteen-month revival with a string of remakes that began with the million-selling #7 covers of Glen Campbell's "Turn Around, Look at Me" and Bobby Helms' "My Special Angel". The group lost favor in the 1970s. As a result, they sold their rights to the name The Vogues which led to as many as three different lineups using the name The Vogues at the same time into the 1990s. One of these lineups, consisting of Dick Stevens, Bill Davidson, Brad Griffis and Alan David, later founded the country music group Atlanta.[2] Subsequent business moves allowed the new owner of their trademark name to later assign it to another group of all-new artists. Original member Chuck Blasko, performing with other singers as Chuck Blasko's Five O'clock World Reunion, subsequently lobbied Congress to make changes in trademark laws to prevent others from misrepresenting themselves as the original Vogues.[3]
From 2004 until 2006, original member Hugh Geyer toured with Blasko's group in the 14 Western Pennsylvania counties that Blasko's group was permitted to tour in. This limitation on Blasko's group was awarded to him by a Pennsylvania court. After creative differences with Blasko, Geyer left that group at the end of 2006.
In March of 2007, Geyer joined the national touring group of The Vogues of "trademark" owner Stan Elich. Geyer continued to perform with this group until his retirement in December 2012.
In May of 2008, original lead vocalist Bill Burkette joined Geyer in touring the USA with the "trademark" Vogues. The member of this group included Burkette, Geyer, group owner Stan Elich, Troy Elich and Jim Campagna. Stan Elich died in December 2010. His son Troy now owns the trademark "The Vogues".
The Vogues current lineup as of January 2013 are, Bill Burkette, Troy Elich and Royce Taylor. Taylor had previously been a member of The Vogues from 1991-1997. Armand DeMille, who was a member of The Vogues from 1988-1991, also does some shows with the current lineup. Current band members are, Tom Lamb (guitar and musical director), Artie Deleonardis (drums), Dean Mastrangelo (keyboards), and Rich Gooch (bass).
The original group made many TV appearances in the 1960s, including The Tonight Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, Shindig, The Red Skelton Show, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, American Bandstand, Hullabaloo and several appearances on The Mike Douglas Show.
The original group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001.[4]
Studio albums
- Meet the Vogues (1965)
- Five O'Clock World (1966)
- Turn Around, Look at Me (1968)
- Till (1969)
- Memories (1969)
- The Vogues' Greatest Hits (1970)
- The Vogues Sing the Good Old Songs (1970)
Singles
| Year | A Side | B Side | Record Catalog Number | Notes | US POP | US AC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | "Launie, My Love" | "Which One Will It Be?" | Willett 114 | as The VALAIRES | - | - |
| 1960 | "Launie, My Love" | "Which One Will It Be" | Coral 62177 | Re-release, as The VAL-AIRES | - | - |
| 1965 | "You're the One" | "Some Words" | Blue Star B-229 | - | - | |
| 1965 | "You're The One" | "Some Words" | Co & Ce 229 | Re-release | 4 | - |
| 1965 | "Five O'Clock World" | "Nothing To Offer You" | Co & Ce 232 | - | 4 | - |
| 1966 | "Magic Town" | "Humpty Dumpty" | Co & Ce 234 | - | 21 | - |
| 1966 | "The Land Of Milk And Honey" | "True Lovers" | Co & Ce 238 | - | 29 | - |
| 1966 | "Please Mr. Sun" | "Don't Blame The Rain" | Co & Ce 240 | - | 48 | - |
| 1966 | "That's The Tune" | "Midnight Dreams" | Co & Ce 242 | - | 99 | - |
| 1967 | "Summer Afternoon" | "Take A Chance On My Heart" | Co & Ce 244 | - | - | - |
| 1967 | "Lovers Of The World Unite" | "Brighter Days" | Co & Ce 246 | - | - | - |
| 1967 | "Lovers Of The World Unite" | "Brighter Days" | MGM 13813 | Leased by MGM | - | - |
| 1968 | "I've Got You On My Mind" | "Just What I've Been Looking For" | Reprise 0663 | - | - | - |
| 1968 | "Turn Around, Look At Me" | "Then" | Reprise 0686 | - | 7 | 3 |
| 1968 | "My Special Angel" | "I Keep It Hid" | Reprise 0766 | - | 7 | 1 |
| 1968 | "Till" | "I Will" | Reprise 0788 | - | 27 | 5 |
| 1969 | "Woman Helping Man" | "I'll Know My Love (By The Way She Talks)" | Reprise 0803 | - | - | - |
| 1969 | "Woman Helping Man" | "No, Not Much" | Reprise 0803 | Re-release | 47/34 | 6/6 |
| 1969 | "Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)" | "P.S. I Love You" | Reprise 0820 | - | 42 | 7 |
| 1969 | "Moments To Remember" | "Once In a While" | Reprise 0831 | - | 47 | 17 |
| 1969 | "Green Fields" | "Easy To Say" | Reprise 0844 | - | 92 | 19 |
| 1969 | "See That Girl" | "We Only Have Love" | Reprise 0856 | - | - | 13 |
| 1970 | "God Only Knows" | "Moody" | Reprise 0887 | - | 101 | 21 |
| 1970 | "Over The Rainbow" | "Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye" | Reprise 0909 | - | -/101 | -/18 |
| 1970 | "Theme (The Good Old Songs)" | "Come Into My Arms" | Reprise 0931 | - | - | 27 |
| 1970 | "Since I Don't Have You" | "Know You As A Woman" | Reprise 0969 | - | - | 8 |
| 1971 | "Love Song" | "We're On Our Way" | Bell 991X | - | 118 | 23 |
| 1971 | "Take Time To Tell Her" | "I'll Be With You" | Bell 45,127 | - | - | 38 |
| 1971 | "An American Family" | "Gotta Have You Back" | Bell 45,158 | - | - | - |
| 1973 | "My Prayer" | "I've Got To Learn To Live Without You" | 20th Century 2041 | - | - | 31 |
| 1973 | "Wonderful Summer" | "Guess Who" | 20th Century 2060 | - | - | 47 |
| 1974 | "As Time Goes By" | "Prisoner Of Love" | 20th Century 2085 | - | - | -/37 |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 251. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ↑ Barschel, Marion (4 September 1982). "Mason-Dixon's band bottom line is reaching for a million dollars". The Leader-Post. p. A16. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
- ↑ Trademark Amendments Act of 1999
- ↑ VGHF Inductees list
External links