Year 3, Day 132

Good Morning! Today's song is Sixteen Candles by The Crests.

The original Crests

I don't care if I'm only 21, I absolutely adore doo wop music.  Alright prepare yourself for this one, because it will be long as possibly confusing. The Crests is also a group from the 50's, and was notable for being an interracial group since when they formed racism was still considered socially acceptable. It's worth mentioning too that the original member included not just colored men, but also a colored woman which added to the discomfort of bigots everywhere. So original members include J. T. Carter, Talmoudge Gough, Harold Torres, Patricia Van Dross and of course Johnny Maestro. Maestro's vocals quickly put them on the map by engulfing the teen market, and the group managed to get #2 on the Billboard 100 in 1959 with this song. The Crests performed live on a few shows including American Bandstand which was referenced in Grease. The first to leave the group was Patricia Van Dross in 1958. Then in 1961, Johnny Maestro decided to take his vocals and go for a solo career which took many different turns over the years. Eventually he ended up in a merged group called Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge. Meanwhile the Crests recorded a new singly with singer Tony Middleton, but things weren't the same without Maestro and it became their first hit to not make the top 100. After that, Middleton was replaced with James Ancrum as the group's singer. Not long after that, Talmoudge Gough left the group and was replaced with Gary Lewis (no not that Gary Lewis). For the next decade the group struggled to get major hits, and by the end of the 1960's another original member, Harold Torres, had left the group. So then J. T. Carter, Gary Lewis, and James Ancrum stayed a trio until 1978 when they split too. The last founding member J. T. Carter went on to sing with the Drifter's, but then decided to reform the Crests in 1980. After he auditioned 200 singers, the new Crests were made up of Bill Damon, Greg Sereck, Dennis Ray, and Jon Ihle. At some point in the next decade lead vocals transferred to Tommy Mara, and then in 1990 Carter sold him the trademark rights to the group, making it so all the original members from The Crests were gone. As of now, J. T. Carter is the only founding member still alive and is still performing in the US and Canada despite being halfway into his 70's. Now that's a man who loves his craft. Quite the history lesson so I'll just leave you with that.

Peace.