Clyde Lensley McPhatter (November 15, 1932 – June 13, 1972)

This 1970 album was Clyde McPhatter’s final and was not a success. He died
two years later.

McPhatter is perhaps the most widely imitated R&B singer of the 1950s and 1960s. making him a key figure in the shaping of doo-wop and R&B. He is best known for
his solo hit "A Lover’s Question" and for being the founder of the original group,
The Drifters in 1953.  He left a legacy of over 22 years of recording history. 

Clyde McPhatter was the first artist in music history to become a double inductee
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  

McPhatter died in his sleep at the age of only 39 from complications of heart, liver, 
and kidney disease, brought on by alcohol abuse. Thus McPatter’s hopes for a 
major comeback ended. 

Gene Vincent’s "Be-Bop-A-Lula" was recorded in Nashville on
May 4, 1956. After it’s release the following month, it reached
#5 and sold over a million copies.

Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps in the studio

John Lennon and Paul McCartney appear on NBC-TV’s Tonight  Show
with guest-host Joe Garagiola sitting in for Johnny Carson. Actress
Tellulah Bankhead (far right) was also a guest on the show.

The video of this interview no longer exists. Almost all of the 1962 to
1970 episodes were erased by NBC (taped over). This audio of the
show was recorded by a Beatles fan who decided to capture the TV
interview by placing a small tape recorder next to their TV set.

         Mary Esther Wells (May 13, 1943 – July 26, 1992) 

Wells was first signed to Motown by Berry Gordy when she was only 
seventeen, releasing the song that became her first hit, "Bye Bye
Baby." She became one of Motown’s first superstars with a string of
hit singles composed by Smokey Robinson, including “Two Lovers”
(1962), the Grammy-nominated “You Beat Me to the Punch” (1962)
and her mega signature hit, “My Guy” (1964).

Anita O’Day and Gene Krupa

Of the 34 songs Anita recorded with Krupa, it was "Let Me Off Uptown",
a novelty duet with Roy Eldridge, that became her first big hit.

David Roy Eldridge (“Little Jazz”)

Anita O’Day (Anita Belle Colton) (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006)