The Elgins Bring Back Those Doo-Wops on Oldies Cruise

The Elgins recording of "Uncle Sam's Man" established the group on the west coas
t. Lewis had decided to go back to the "love and the military" theme that had wo
rked so well for "A Casual Look". The success of "Uncle Sam's Man" caught the at
tention of George Brown at Titan records.
Los Angeles, CA, July 29, 2010 -- Grant Williams CEO of Memory Lane Concert Crui
ses today announced. â The prestigious Elgins will be among nine of the greatest Do
o Wop recording groups that will be performing on the Oldies But Goodies Doo Wop
Cruise. These groups were popular in the 50's and 60â s and will perform on this
vary popular Oldies But Goodies Doo Wop Cruise.â said Williams
There have been several R&B groups who recorded under the name Elgins, one of th
em recorded for MGM in 1958 and another with two releases for Congress in 1964.
The Detroit based Elgins who recorded for Tamla and V.I.P record labels in the l
ate 1960's. They were best known for their recording of "Heaven Must Have Sent Y
ou". Finally there are the California Elgins formed in 1959 comprised of Jimmy S
mith, William Devase, Darryl "Cappie" Lewis, Kenny Sinclair, and Oscar McDonald.

The Elginâ s members brought some solid musical experience with them. Lewis, Devase
, and Sinclair had all attended Centennial High School in Compton, California. L
ewis and Sinclair were both original members of the Six-Teens, fronted by Lewis'
cousin Trudy Williams who was 12 years old when she joined the group. They Six-
Teens scored a big hit in 1956 with "A Casual Look" and had waxed several other
follow up platters for Flip records. Devase joined Sinclair in 1958 as part of t
he Passions group who recorded "My Aching Heart" for Era (reissued on Capitol).
Joining William Devase and Kenny Sinclair in the Passions was Sinclair's brother
Earl, Sammy Hardy and Harold Garcia. The following year, 1959, Earl left the gr
oup and with a name change to the Colognes they recorded "A River Flows", the se
cond record to be released for Lummy Fowlers' new Lummtone label.
Oscar McDonald and Jimmy Smith both had gone to high school together in Beaumont
, Texas. Jimmy Smith remembers taking part in several talent contests in Texas,
and finishing as runner-up to Johnny Nash, of "I Can See Clearly Now" fame. Foll
owing high school in 1957, Smith moved to California to continue his education,
and his musical pursuits. In 1959, backed by the female group the Lockettes he r
ecorded "I Cry And Cry Every Night" backed with "Night Time Is The Right Time" f
or Flip Records. About the same time, Smith also replaced Kenny Sinclair in the
Six-Teens and can be heard on their last Flip recordings in 1960. Unable to matc
h their "A Casual Look" success, the Six-Teens finally parted ways in 1960. Darr
yl Lewis was not ready to call it quits on singing, and decided to put together
another group. He reunited with Kenny Sinclair and William Devase, added his bro
ther Carl Lewis, and brought Jimmy Smith in to handle the lead vocal chores. The
quintet known as the Elements recorded "Lonely Hearts Club" and "Bad Man" for t
he Titan label in 1960. They also recorded a tune entitled "My Illness", but thi
s was to go unreleased at the time. Not long after recording these sides, Carl L
ewis left the group, to spend more time in search of success as an actor. To fil
l his spot, Jimmy Smith turned to his former high school friend, Oscar McDonald,
who like Smith, had also come to California following high school in Texas. Wit
h McDonald now added to the group, the Elgins were born. With a change in person
nel and group name came a label change to Flip, a return to familiar shores.
The Elgins recording on Flip of "Uncle Sam's Man" and "Casey Cop" was released i
n December of 1960 and established the group on the west coast with "Uncle Sam's
Man". Lewis had decided to go back to the "love and the military" theme that ha
d worked well for the Six-Teens on "A Casual Look". The success of "Uncle Sam's
Man" caught the attention of George Brown at Titan records. Remembering that he
still had an unreleased recording by the group (they had recorded as the Element
s) still in the vaults. Brown decided to capitalize on their recent success and
issued "My Illness" backed with "Extra Extra" in 1961 under the name Elgins rath
er than the Elements. Although, it was a great tune, the title "My Illness" was
not exactly the catchiest of phrases. Realizing this, Brown reissued the record
in 1962 with the "My Illness" title changed to "Heartaches, Heartbreak", a less
somber name for the tune. The new name came from part of a refrain in the song.
The Groupâ s label changed again in 1962 for the group, this time to the Lummtone l
abel. Their first release on Lummtone 109 was "A Winner Never Quits" backed with
"Finally". Barbara Lewis (not related to Darryl) who had replaced Devase in the
group at the time is heard on "Finally", behind the lead of Darryl Lewis. Subse
quent pressings of Lummtone 109 replaced "Finally" with "Johnny I'm Sorry". Issu
ed again as Lummtone 110, "Johnny I'm Sorry" took on new life, this time backed
with "You Got Your Magnet On Me Baby". For the Elgins next outing on Lummtone, D
evase was back in the group to record "I Left My Heart In The Big City". The fli
p side was "Finally", which was resurrected from the previous release. The recor
d was later released on the Lantam label as "Big City" by the Daniels. Lummy Fow
ler scored again with "I Left My Heart In The Big City" when the song was covere
d several years later by Jermaine Jackson. The Elgins final recording for Lummto
ne was in 1963,"Your Lovely Ways" and "Finding A Sweetheart".
In 1965, the Elgins released what would be their last record together, a more po
p sounding record "Street Scene" backed with "You Found Yourself Another Fool" f
or the Valiant label. The record didn't attract too much attention at the time b
ut is now highly valued in Northern Soul circles. In the same year, Lummy Fowler
took some previously unreleased Elgins tracks, "Woman And Child" and "The Grann
y Dress" and issued them as by the Arrivals on Lummtone 118. Like the Valiant re
lease, this quickly played itself out only to become a Northern Soul collectable
.
Sinclair, Devase, Lewis and McDonald recorded from 1968-1970 as the Bagdads, put
ting out three singles for the Double Shot label, most notable of which was "Bri
ng Back Those Doo-Wops". The Elgins reunited in the mid 1990s with all original
members and have been performing, to receptive audiences on both the East and We
st coasts. Today Jimmy Smith, William Devase, Kenny Sinclair, and Oscar McDonald
have all unfortunately passed away. Darryl Lewis continues to perform as the on
ly original Elgin.
On April 10th 2011, the Oldies But Goodies cruise will leave from Los Angeles, C
alifornia aboard Carnival's new ship, the Splendor on a seven-day sailing to the
Mexican Riviera. You will enjoy the most Romanic and exciting ports of Puerto V
allarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas. Performers include the Arlene Smithâ s Chant
els, Johnnie and Joe, Six Teens, Pentagons, Olympics, Super Girls Group, which f
eatures artists from the Hearts/Jaynetts, Exciters, Cookies, and Rainbows. Also
appearing are the legendary Calvanes, Elgins and Vel Omarrâ s Sam Cooke tribute.
Be a part of this history-making event, and join us in bringing back the greates
t Doo Wop recording legends of the 50's-60â s. â There has not been an event this spec
tacular featuring these sensational Doo Wop artists since those memorable days w
e spent at the Brooklyn Fox Theater and El Monte Legion Stadium.â said Williams.
Memory Lane Concert Cruises is musical theme cruise operator that offers world-c
lass concerts of performing artists in an array of music styles aboard luxury li
ners. http://www.mlccruises.com
Contact :
Grant Williams
Memory Lane Concert Cruises, LLC
Los Angeles, CA
541 879 6298
mlccruises@gmail.com
http://www.mlccruises.com