The Charts
By Marv Goldberg
Based on interviews with Stephen Brown
and Leroy Binns
© 2000, 2009 by Marv Goldberg
There's no getting around it-when you
think of the Charts, you think of "Deserie," you think of
soaring tenors, you think of raw New York street corner sound. This is
the story of the Charts.
The neighborhood of 115th
Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem was packed with groups: the Channels,
the Bopchords, and the Harptones, just to name a few. Hallways were the
classic place to rehearse and perfect the sound that each group tried to
call its own. In 1956, a group of teenagers, ranging in age from 13 to
17, practiced in the Stephen Foster Center and called themselves the
Thrilltones. They were: Joe Grier (lead), Stephen Brown (first tenor),
Glenmore Jackson (second tenor), Leroy Binns (baritone), and Ross Buford
(bass). Their inspirations were the Dells, Flamingos, Moonglows,
Drifters, and the local Harptones.
A group needs a manager and the Thrilltones
turned to singer and soon-to-be-bandleader Les Cooper, tenor with the
Empires. Cooper told them that their sound was good, but their name
had to go. He said: "You kids are so young, what do you know
about thrilling?" Since the desire of all singers in the neighborhood
was to have a song on "the charts," this seemed like a
perfect name.
The newly-christened group took one of their
songs to the Apollo Theater's Amateur Show, and immediately got into
trouble. "Deserie," unlike most other songs, has no bridge
between the second and third verses. This worried bandleader Reuben
Phillips when he rehearsed them, but by the time of the show, since
there were so many acts, it was forgotten. Part of the band started
playing a bridge anyway, which threw everything off. The result: the
Charts were booed off the stage. (It might be worth
noting that "White Christmas," possibly the best-selling song
of all time, doesn't have a bridge either.)
While many of the groups in the neighborhood
wound up on one of Bobby Robinson's labels (Red Robin, Whirlin' Disc, Fire,
Fury), Les Cooper took the Charts to see Bobby's brother, Danny, who had
an electronics store on 124th and Lenox. Robinson, who wanted to start his
own label, had a back room in the store with a piano that the group could
use to rehearse.
Danny Robinson issued ten of the Charts'
songs on his Everlast label. "Deserie," of course, is the one
most people remember, but many of the others (including "Dance
Girl," "Why Do You Cry," "You're The Reason,"
and "All Because Of Love") are also great examples of the
classic New York street corner sound.
"Deserie" and "Zoop" became the Charts' first release (as well as being
Danny Robinson's first issue on Everlast), appearing in May 1957. They were
reviewed (both sides good) on June 10, along with the 5 Satins' "To
The Aisle," the Bobbettes' "Mr. Lee," the Palms'
"Edna," the Strollers' "Go Where Baby Lives," the
Tune Weavers' "Happy, Happy Birthday Baby," and the Matadors'
"Have Mercy Baby."
On June 28, the Charts began a week's
engagement at the Apollo Theater, as part of a Dr. Jive show. Also on
the bill were Donnie Elbert, Ann Cole, the Velours, the Heartbeats, the
Jesters, the Sensations, Roy Brown, and Charlie & Ray. Presumably on
this occasion the band had less trouble following them.
The week of July 7 found "Deserie"
a Tip in New York. In August, it was reported doing well in Chicago.
On the strength of "Deserie," the
Charts played local clubs, as well as out-of-town gigs: the Poconos, the
Catskills, Philadelphia, Boston, D.C., and Baltimore. When they were on
the road, Joe Grier would sing lead for about two days, until his voice
gave out (remember, there were usually many performances each day), at
which time Stephen or Leroy would assume lead chores. Since Danny
Robinson was too busy to accompany the Charts on their touring, he
assigned John Bowden as their road manager. They appeared up and
down the East Coast, and as far west as the Regal Theater in Chicago.
The Charts were back at the Apollo the week
beginning September 13, 1957. This time they were part of a show
featuring Dinah Washington, Slappy White, Ocie Smith, and the Hines Kids
(Gregory and Maurice).
Leroy tells the story of how the Charts were
called on the carpet before that Apollo show. At an engagement at the
Howard Theater, they were fooling around with the drums backstage
before the show. Joe Grier accidentally knocked over a tall light pole, and
only the good luck that it caught on some cables prevented it from tearing
through the theater's movie screen! When they got to the Apollo, stage
manager Honi Coles sat them down and made sure they knew that this
would be unacceptable behavior at the Apollo.
In October, Everlast released the Charts'
second record: "Dance Girl"/"Why Do You Cry," with
King Curtis present on the session. However, it doesn't
seem to have been reviewed.
In April 1958, Everlast issued
"You're The Reason"/"I've Been Wondering," which was
reviewed on April 28. Other reviews that week went to the Dominoes'
"Jennie Lee," Johnny Otis' "Willie And The Hand
Jive," Mickey & Sylvia's "Bewildered," Screamin' Jay
Hawkins' "Alligator Wine," the Solitaires' "No More
Sorrows," and the Spaniels' "Great Googley Moo."
Later in 1958, Everlast released "All Because Of
Love"/"I Told You So." When this failed to take off,
their fifth and last record was issued (also in 1958): "My Diane"/"Baby
Be Mine." There was no action on this one either, and this was
pretty much the end of the classic Charts group.
In 1958, Joe Grier went into the service;
Glen Jackson and Ross Buford just drifted away. Stephen Brown and
Leroy Binns hooked up with John L. Bruce (first and second tenor) and
Joseph Gray (second tenor) and continued the Charts into the early
1960s (note that the Charts on Guyden, from 1959, are instrumentals).
Whereas the voice parts of the original five Charts were fixed, this
aggregation would switch them around as necessary. This group
appeared twice at the Apollo. The first time, starting on July 28, 1961,
was an Alan Fredericks Old Goldies Show featuring the Cleftones, the
Teenagers, the Cadillacs, the Bobbettes, the Dubs, the Solitaires,
Johnnie & Joe, and Sil Austin. The second time (the week beginning
February 23, 1962) found them as part of a Hal Jackson show, along with
the Clovers, the Cadillacs, the Hollywood Flames, the Imperials, Charlie
& Ray, the Kodaks, the Turbans, and Tiny Topsy.
When Joe Grier came out of the service, he
joined Les Cooper's band, the Soul Rockers, as a sax player (Les played keyboards), and is
heard on Les' 1962 hit "Wiggle Wobble."
In 1963, Stephen and Leroy got two new members: Frankie Pierce (first tenor) and
Tony Harris (second tenor). Their first record, issued that same year, was "What's Your
Excuse" and "Keep Dancing With Me" for the Vel-V-Tone label.
In 1965, there was a release on Lana. One side was the original Everlast recording
of "Deserie," with some heavy-handed overdubbed instrumentation. The flip was called
"I Wanna Take You Home," about which Leroy says "Something I never heard in my life
before. I don't know who they were. All I know is, it wasn't the Charts."
Then, in 1966, they recorded some sides for the Wand label (including a nicely-done
soul-sound remake of "Deserie" (now spelled "Desiree"). They did some out-of-town
touring, which could be somewhat frantic: at times they did two TV shows and two record hops in a day!
This group lasted until about 1970 and
finally the economic reality of things broke it up. The Charts would get
together occasionally for an appearance during the 1970s oldies craze,
but nothing more substantial. The last Charts group was together in the
early 1980s, and consisted of Stephen Brown, Leroy Binns, John
"Spider" Truesdale (first tenor), and Leroy's brother, Raymond
Binns (first and second tenor); they remained together until about
1983.
Leroy then joined with J.R. Bailey, Bobby
Phillips, and Bobby Spencer as the Original Cadillacs. They recorded "Deep
In The Heart Of The Ghetto" for Polydor (released 6/70). After the recording,
Phillips left, and Leroy brought Stephen Brown into the group, which then
did several commercials: Schmitz Beer, Kools, and Marlboros.
Leroy has also sung with Cornell Gunter's Coasters and the Del Vikings;
Stephen sang with Cleveland Still's Dubs; and Joe played sax for the Del
Vikings and the Mellows. In the intervening years, both Stephen Brown and Ross Buford have passed away.
So the next time you hear
"Deserie," remember that the story of a one-hit group is
probably a lot more complex than you realize.
Special thanks to Tom Trabosci, Val Shively, Ferdie Gonzalez, and Joe Grier
Everlast (all leads by Joe Grier)
5001 Deserie/Zoop - 5/57
5002 Dance Girl/Why Do You Cry - 10/57
5006 You're The Reason/I've Been Wondering - 4/58
5008 All Because Of Love/I Told You So - 1958
5010 My Diane/Baby Be Mine - 1958
5026 re-release of 5001 - 10/63
Vel-V-Tone
102 What's Your Excuse (lead: Leroy Binns)/Keep Dancing With Me (lead: Stephen Brown) - 1963
Lana (see text)
117 Deserie (lead: Joe Grier)/I Wanna Take You Home (not by the Charts) - 1965
Wand (all leads by Stephen Brown)
1112 Desiree/Fell In Love With You Baby - 1/66
1124 Livin' The Nightlife/Nobody Made You Love Me - 5/66