THE JIVE FIVE, "PEOPLE FROM ANOTHER WORLD" C/W "NEVER, NEVER" (BELTONE 1014, REL. 11/1961)

The Jive Five were familiar to a generation of TV kids for their clever doo-wop station IDs for Nickelodeon in the 1990s. None of these youths had any idea who the vocalists were. They’d been together since 1954, and though they had just two pop hits to their name, they’d made a slew of excellent singles (and a few albums) along the way.

Led by Eugene Pitt, The Jive Five grew out of an earlier group, The Genies, and changed their name in 1958. It took a few years for them to get onto record, but King Records subsidiary Beltone signed them in 1961 and they had a first-time-out hit with “My True Story,” which topped the r&b charts and went to #3 in pop. It became part of the canon of beloved oldies and still shows up on the radio now and then.

Their subsequent Beltone 45s didn’t click, despite their all being good. “Never Never,” the A-side of today’s 45, missed the r&b charts and crawled up to #74 on the pop hit parade. Had the label pushed the even-better B-side, which we’ll hear first, the group might’ve gotten that much-longed-for second hit. The Five had to wait until 1965 for that, when “I’m a Happy Man” went Top 40 in both markets.

“People from Another World” is a catchy account of a fellow who’s visited by a flying saucer and abducted. He is un-nerved by this incident and cries out for help. Then something shifts and another gruff voice babbles out nonsense syllables that may or may not represent dialogue from the interstellar visitors.

It’s delightful nonsense with enough “huh?” factor that the average 1961 listener might have wanted to hear it again, just to figure out a bit more what was going on…but nobody heard this. That’s the way it crumbles, cookie-wise…

Hear it >>>>> HERE. <<<<<

“Never Never” is an elegant doo-wop ballad that borders on early soul. It has some of the feel of their first hit, but isn’t a carbon-copy, to the group’s credit. Lead singer Pitt shines on this classic specimen of the Black vocal group sound. There are no musical surprises here, but the performance by all five members is tops. It might have done the group some good to try the novelty song on the flipside as the potential hit; sometimes variety is a virtue. (It’s easy to make these proclamations in hindsight.)

Hear it >>>>> HERE. <<<<<

Most of the group’s Beltone recordings are considered classics now, and they had their fans back in the day, but they lacked that ___________________ to succeed in the highly competitive music marketplace of their era. The group was, no doubt, delighted to score with their 1965 hit, which spawned an album of the same name. The Jive Five’s United Artists-era 45s include some Northern Soul favorites and many soul fans are fonder of those than of the earlier Beltone sides.

The group charted in 2006 with a Christmas song. All original members of The Jive Five have passed on, but their 30-or-so recordings remain as their legacy.

Tomorrow: Jerry Engler and The Four Ekkos in another space-themed song—this time in the rockabilly mode of 1957 on a scarce Brunswick 45. Lowrider-type ballad on the B.