The Edsels
Encyclopedia
The Edsels were an American
doo-wop
group active during the late 1950s and early 1960s. The name of the group was originally The Essos, after the oil company
, but was changed to match the then-new Ford automobile
, the Edsel
. The Edsels recorded
over 25 song
s and had multiple performances on Dick Clark's American Bandstand
. The Edsels were one of the few doo-wop
groups to sign with a major record label
, as most groups of that era found success with small independent labels. Before their national hit
"Rama Lama Ding Dong," songs like "What Brought Us Together," "Bone Shaker Joe," and "Do You Love Me" helped the group land a major recording contract
with Capitol Records
in 1961.
Today, the group is known almost exclusively for their song, "Rama Lama Ding Dong." The song was recorded in 1957 and released, under the errant title "Lama Rama Ding Dong," in 1958. The song did not become popular until 1961, after a disc jockey
in New York City
began to play it as a segue
from The Marcels
doo-wop version of "Blue Moon
." The song eventually became popular throughout the USA, peaking at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart
.
The group continues to perform today. In addition, James Reynolds performs with his five sons Jeff, Baron, Patrick, Chris and Carlise (as The Reynolds Brothers). That group released an album, The Reynolds Brothers, featuring songs written by James and fellow Edsels member George Jones, Jr.
2009 Personnel
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
group active during the late 1950s and early 1960s. The name of the group was originally The Essos, after the oil company
Esso
Esso is an international trade name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. Pronounced , it is derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil, and as such became the focus of much litigation and regulatory restriction in the United States. In 1972, it was largely replaced in the U.S. by...
, but was changed to match the then-new Ford automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
, the Edsel
Edsel
The Edsel was an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company during the 1958, 1959, and 1960 model years. The Edsel never gained popularity with contemporary American car buyers and sold poorly. Consequently, the Ford Motor Company lost millions of dollars on the Edsel's development,...
. The Edsels recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
over 25 song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s and had multiple performances on Dick Clark's American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
. The Edsels were one of the few doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
groups to sign with a major record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, as most groups of that era found success with small independent labels. Before their national hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
"Rama Lama Ding Dong," songs like "What Brought Us Together," "Bone Shaker Joe," and "Do You Love Me" helped the group land a major recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
in 1961.
Today, the group is known almost exclusively for their song, "Rama Lama Ding Dong." The song was recorded in 1957 and released, under the errant title "Lama Rama Ding Dong," in 1958. The song did not become popular until 1961, after a disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
began to play it as a segue
Segue
A segue is a smooth transition from one topic or section to the next.-In music:In music, segue is a direction to the performer. It means continue without a pause. It comes from the Italian "it follows". The term attacca is also used in classical music.For written music it implies a transition...
from The Marcels
The Marcels
The Marcels were a doo-wop group known for turning American classical pop songs into rock and roll. The group formed in 1959 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and signed to Colpix Records, with lead Cornelius Harp, bass Fred Johnson, Gene Bricker, Ron Mundy, and Richard Knauss...
doo-wop version of "Blue Moon
Blue Moon (song)
"Blue Moon"'s first crossover recording to rock and roll came from Elvis Presley in 1956. His cover version of the song was included on his self-titled debut album Elvis Presley....
." The song eventually became popular throughout the USA, peaking at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
.
The group continues to perform today. In addition, James Reynolds performs with his five sons Jeff, Baron, Patrick, Chris and Carlise (as The Reynolds Brothers). That group released an album, The Reynolds Brothers, featuring songs written by James and fellow Edsels member George Jones, Jr.
Personnel
- George 'Wydell' Jones – lead vocals (died September 27, 2008)
- Larry Green – first tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
- James Reynolds – second tenor
- Harry Green – baritoneBaritoneBaritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
- Marshall Sewell – bass
2009 Personnel
- Marshall Sewell – bass
- James Reynolds – second tenor
- Maurice Jones – lead and background
- Danny Friendly – lead and background
Influence of the song "Rama Lama Ding Dong"
- A cover versionCover versionIn popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the song was performed on The Muppet ShowThe Muppet ShowThe Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
once: in Episode 89 (or season 4, episode 17), the episode that also had Mark HamillMark HamillMark Richard Hamill is an American actor, voice artist, producer, director, and writer, best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy of Star Wars. More recently, he has received acclaim for his voice work, in such roles as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, Firelord...
, C-3POC-3POC-3PO is a robot character from the Star Wars universe who appears in both the original Star Wars films and the prequel trilogy. He is also a major character in the television show Droids, and appears frequently in the series' "Expanded Universe" of novels, comic books, and video games...
, R2-D2R2-D2R2-D2 , is a character in the Star Wars universe. An astromech droid, R2-D2 is a major character throughout all six Star Wars films. Along with his droid companion C-3PO, he joins or supports Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Obi-Wan Kenobi in various points in the saga...
and ChewbaccaChewbaccaChewbacca, also known as Chewie, is a character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Peter Mayhew. In the series' narrative chronology, he appears in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
from Star WarsStar WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
as guests, a shepherd, his sheep and his girl perform the song. - British rock'n'roll band ShowaddywaddyShowaddywaddyShowaddywaddy are a 1970s pop group from Leicester, England. They specialised in revivals of hit songs from the 1950s and early 1960s, and dressed as Teddy Boys.-History:...
covered the song on their album The Very Best Of Showaddywaddy - Rocky Sharpe and The ReplaysRocky SharpeRocky Sharpe is the pseudonym of an English rock/pop singer who, with Rocky Sharpe and the Replays, first found fame in the late 1970s. The usual line-up of the group was Rocky , Helen Highwater , Johnny Stud and Eric Rondo...
covered the song in 1979. - SerbianSerbsThe Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
doo wop band VampiriVampiriVampiri were a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band from Belgrade. The band was formed in 1988, and performed music influenced by the 1950s doo-wop and rockabilly. After releasing two studio albums, they disbanded in 1993...
covered the song in 1991. - Barry MannBarry MannBarry Mann is an American songwriter, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil.-Career:...
wrote a song called "Who Put the BompWho Put the Bomp (song)"Who Put the Bomp " is a Doo-wop style hit song from 1961 co-written and recorded by Barry Mann. He was backed up by The Halos, who had previously backed up Curtis Lee on the song "Pretty Little Angel Eyes"...
" in 1961, in which he sings about his girl falling in love with him after listening to some doo-wop style songs with their recognizable nonsense lyricsLyricsLyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
. In the song he asks the question, who put the ram in the 'Rama-Lama-Ding-Dong'. - "Rama Lama Ding Dong" is heard in the Grease song "We Go Together".
- "Rama Lama Ding Dong" is heard in the movie Children of a Lesser GodChildren of a Lesser GodChildren of a Lesser God is a 1986 American romantic drama film directed by Randa Haines and written by Hesper Anderson and Mark Medoff. An adaptation of Medoff's Tony Award-winning stage play of the same name, the film stars William Hurt and Marlee Matlin as two employees at a school for the deaf:...
and is used by the character James Leeds (William HurtWilliam HurtWilliam McGill Hurt is an American stage and film actor. He received his acting training at the Juilliard School, and began acting on stage in the 1970s. Hurt made his film debut as a troubled scientist in the science-fiction feature Altered States , for which he received a Golden Globe nomination...
) to teach his class of hearing impaired teenagers. - "Rama Lama Ding Dong" is played in many German ice rinks when the local team scores.
- A satirical version entitled "Shama Lama Ding DongShama Lama Ding Dong"Shama Lama Ding Dong" is the title of a song written by Mark Davis and performed by fictional band Otis Day and the Knights in the 1978 film National Lampoon's Animal House...
" is presented in the movie "Animal House". - Le TigreLe TigreLe Tigre is an American electroclash band, formed by Kathleen Hanna and Johanna Fateman in 1998. It also featured Sadie Benning from 1998 until 2001, and JD Samson for the rest of the group's run...
's song Deceptacon features the lyrics "Who took the ram from the ramalamadingdong?"