Jukebox saturday night, some would say, is the heart and soul of Jukebox Heart. In this category, the music of the pre-Beatles rock n roll is is featured; it’s the music I cut my teeth on. Its namesake comes from the Ink Spots and Nino & The Ebb Tides’ classic tune of the same name.
This time around, we’re featuring NYC doo wop stars, the Heartbeats. The Heartbeats were a 1950s American doo-wop group best known for their song A Thousand Miles Away. One of the most important doo wop songs, this is most famous for its closing sweeping glissando which would characterize the genre for decades to come.
The Heartbeats circa 1955.
Hear the commercially released version by clicking on the arrow below.
[audio:http://www.jukeboxheart.com/jsn/heartbeats/heartbeats1.mp3]
The above image is commonly available on eBay, but my collector geek buddies will recognize the holy grail copy below, on the Hull label in its original black and silver print. This copy commands hundreds of dollars whenever it appears. Hull Records was a tiny NYC independent started in 1955 by Billy Dawn Smith, then A&R man for one of George Goldner’s larger labels, Herald Records. When A Thousand Miles Away began to climb the charts beyond its local popularity, another of Goldner’s labels, Rama, picked it up for national distribution. My own copy is a black label 78 RPM; this 45 RPM image was scouted and pulled off the web for you.
What is exciting about the Heartbeats ad the main reason we are presenting them now is the recent discovery of their rehearsal tapes, and a spectacular acapella version of A Thousand Miles Away. The session tape is present below. This is a quintessential argument in favor of doo wop harmony in acapella over that with musical accompaniment. While the commercially released version is classic and beautiful, it is easily seen how the vocal harmony can lose its impact embedded in the music. These rehearsal sessions show how talented the Heartbeats really were. The tapes from which this was extracted lay dormant for over 50 years, and fortuitously voided any damage.
[audio:http://www.jukeboxheart.com/jsn/heartbeats/heartbeats2.mp3]And for good measure, I’m also throwing in the followup, and the biggest hit for Hull Records, Daddy’s Home, also fronted by Heartbeats front man James Shepherd as Shep and the Limelites.
Below is some biographical information about the groups for you. Enjoy!
The Heartbeats were formed in the mid 1950s in Jamaica, Queens. Originally called “The Hearts”, they switched in 1955 when a female group by the same name scored a minor billboard hit. They were signed shortly after James “Shep” Sheppard joined the group, and were shuffled between various production companies over the next few years. The group split up in 1959, and Sheppard later went on to start Shep and the Limelites.
Lead singer James “Shep” Sheppard co-wrote a series of velvety doo wop ballads for the Heartbeats during the mid-’50s; one entry, “A Thousand Miles Away,” was a huge R&B seller in 1956. The Queens, NY, quintet began their string of street-corner classics with “Crazy for You” and “Darling How Long,” culminating with “A Thousand Miles Away.” The Heartbeats recorded for Hull, Rama, Roulette, Gee, and Guyden before packing it in. In 1961 the lead singer formed a new trio, Shep & the Limelites, and scored on the charts with a heartwarming sequel to his first hit, “Daddy’s Home,” for Hull. “Our Anniversary” also sold well for the trio the next year, but they broke up soon thereafter. Sheppard was found dead in his auto on the Long Island Expressway in 1970.
James Sheppard (“Shep”) and Clarence Bassett, both from Queens, New York, and Charles Baskerville, originally from Virginia, formed a group in Queens in 1960. This was initially billed as Shane Sheppard and the Limelites, but quickly became Shep and the Limelites. All three had previous experience in other groups when they formed the group: Shep in The Heartbeats (notable for “A Thousand Miles Away”); Bassett in The Five Sharps and then, with Baskerville, in The Videos.
Shep and the Limelites’ recording sessions for Hull Records started in August 1960. They recorded the original version of “Daddy’s Home” on February 1, 1961. “Daddy’s Home” reached no. 2 on the Billboard pop chart in May,[1] and was covered by Jermaine Jackson in 1972. Later songs were not as successful as “Daddy’s Home”, but still sold well; among these were “What Did Daddy Do”, “Ready For Your Love” and “Our Anniversary”.
Kahl Music, publisher of “A Thousand Miles Away”, an earlier song written by Sheppard, sued Keel Music, publisher of “Daddy’s Home”, for copyright violation. Keel eventually lost, and this led to the end of the Limelites and Hull Records in 1966. Bassett joined The Flamingos and Baskerville joined The Players and then The Drifters.[1] Sheppard re-formed the Limelites in the late 1960s, but died on January 24, 1970. He was found dead in his car on the Long Island Expressway, having been beaten and robbed.
Sheppard was found on January 24, 1970, shot to death in his car on the Long Island expressway. Baskerville died, at age 58 on January 18, 1995 in New York. Bassett died on January 25, 2005, at age 68 from the complications of emphysema, at his home in Richmond, Virginia.