The Five Keys / The Nitecaps - The Best Of Doo-Wop Classics Volume 2

Side 1
1. Teeth & Tongue Will Get You Hung / The Five Keys
2. When Will My Troubles End (take B) / The Five Keys
3. Lawdy Miss Mary / The Five Keys
4. I'll Follow You / The Five Keys
5. Let Me Know Tonight / The Nitecaps
6. Oh, You Sweet Girl / The Nitecaps
7. In Each Corner Of My Heart / The Nitecaps
8. Sweet Thing / The Nitecaps

Side 2
1. Be My Girl / The Nitecaps
2. Tough Mama / The Nitecaps
3. A Kiss and A Vow / The Nitecaps
4. Bamboo Rock & Roll / The Nitecaps
5. You're Gonna Be Sorry / The Nitecaps
6. You May Not Know / The Nitecaps
7. Snap Crackle & Pop / The Nitecaps
8. When will My Troubles End (take A) / The Five Keys

This 1989 LP on the UK Detour label is a must-have for all fans of The Five Keys as it includes the unissued session they recorded for the RCA subsidiary label Groove in July 1954. Mystery surrounds the reason for these superb sides remaining unreleased. According to Marv Goldberg the group were still under contract to Aladdin when they recorded for Groove, although the West Coast indy had not recorded them since September 1953. The Five Keys’ contract with Aladdin was due to expire at the end of 1954 and talks about renewing the contract had stalled, which probably accounts for the label’s reluctance to record the group.

On 1st July 1954 the group cut a session for Groove. Four sides were recorded with “I’ll Follow You” / “Lawdy Miss Mary” scheduled for release as Groove 0031 on 9th August. In his article on The Five Keys, Marv Goldberg says that he saw the label copy for the planned single, but that the release was withdrawn on the 9th August, the date scheduled for general release. The group signed for Capitol on the 29th August and recorded for their new label the next day. It may be that Groove caught wind of the impending signing and wanted to avoid a complicated contractual situation, especially if The Five Keys were still under contract to Aladdin. The situation was further complicated by the departure of Groove A&R man Danny Kessler during July 1954 and a subsequent sparse release schedule by Groove until early 1955.

If you’ve read the post “It’s A Groove”, you’ll be aware that The Five Keys’ sound changed from R&B to pop when they moved to Capitol. R&B fans can relax – the recordings here are solid stomping rhythm and blues which is hardly surprising when you consider that the backing band includes Sam “The Man” Taylor on tenor sax and Mickey Baker on guitar. Maryland Pierce is in tremendous voice on both the rockers and the ballads. One can’t help wondering how different the history of both The Five Keys and Groove would have been if these sides had been released.

The Nitecaps (or Nightcaps) were a Detroit vocal group who recorded 3 sessions for Groove in New York between November 1955 and October 1956. Four singles were released from the sessions but none made it into the national R&B charts, although “A Kiss and a Vow” and “Bamboo Rock & Roll” were local hits in Detroit. The influence of the Clyde McPhatter era Drifters is obvious on some of The Nightcaps’ tracks, especially the unreleased “Oh You Sweet Girl” which is very similar to “Honey Love”. The group was backed by some of the best New York session musicians including King Curtis, Mickey Baker and Panama Francis. To these ears these are really good vocal group recordings, but perhaps there was a slight lack of originality which kept them from achieving more substantial sales.

Many thanks to Joan who contributed label scans of the Nightcaps’ singles.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps.

Download from here:

http://www48.zippyshare.com/v/EQKZlcfA/file.html

1. Teeth & Tongue Will Get You Hung / The Five Keys
2. When Will My Troubles End (take B) / The Five Keys
3. Lawdy Miss Mary / The Five Keys
4. I'll Follow You / The Five Keys
5. Let Me Know Tonight / The Nitecaps
6. Oh, You Sweet Girl / The Nitecaps
7. In Each Corner Of My Heart / The Nitecaps
8. Sweet Thing / The Nitecaps
9. Be My Girl / The Nitecaps
10. Tough Mama / The Nitecaps
11. A Kiss and A Vow / The Nitecaps
12. Bamboo Rock & Roll / The Nitecaps
13. You're Gonna Be Sorry / The Nitecaps
14. You May Not Know / The Nitecaps
15. Snap Crackle & Pop / The Nitecaps
16. When Will My Troubles End (take A) / The Five Keys

This is a revamped version of an older post, with new cover scans. In the comments section of the "Groove Jumping" post there was some speculation about Volume One of Best of Doo-Wop Classics. "dbtb" pointed out correctly that it was in fact a Du Droppers compilation. While reading up on Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson in the August 1988 edition of “Blues and Rhythm” magazine I came across the advert shown below. It makes for interesting reading as at that time there was controversy in the UK regarding the release of bootleg LPs of vintage R&B material.