Keytones, "A Fool In Love" c/w "Seven Wonders Of The World," Old Town 1041 (rel. 5/1957)
We're deep in the weeds today. Black doo-wop group; indie label; one-shot record that sat on the shelf for almost a year before its release. Marv Goldberg, often my go-to guy for information on this genre, mentions them in a tribute to Hy Weiss' legendary Old Town label, and comments that the classic "Seven Wonders of the World" could use some more lyrics, has nada on The Keytones.
A YouTube comment by a descendent of one member offers what little info I can find. There may be something in the liner notes of various CDs that contain these two tracks, but I no got. So we're info-deficient, save a few morsels.
This group's two tracks feature a purity of voice and mood that reaches across the years to still grip the listener. The lead vocalists were Arthur Knight and Pete Love, who split songwriting credits on the two sides. These were recorded by Weiss in 1956 but sat on his shelf until May 1957. The record got zero coverage, aside from one casual mention in a Cash Box column, and became an underground favorite as doo-wop fandom built through the new decade.
When doo-wop experienced a second surge of popularity in 1961-62, Old Town reissued this single, perhaps for Times Square Records, a tiny specialty shop that peddled doo-wop singles by a subway tunnel. Here, collectors swarmed to nab elusive sides, and the revival enabled many labels to re-release classic tracks to their delight.
In 1977, Janus Records re-issued the single; Collectable Records followed up sometime in the 1980s or '90s. For a one-shot record, it's had many lives.
"A Fool in Love" opens with a long unaccompanied vocal by composer Pete Love. It's narrated by a sardonic fellow who see his ex-girl going through misery due to a failed fling. She's in tears, and he confesses he's still in love with her. He has intentions, which he discusses in details.
A touch of stalker mentality? Perhaps. The simplicity and elegance of the performance rewards the modren listener and it's good that we, as a society, can understand the extent of behavior health or lack thereof. "A Fool in Love" is a perfect specimen of the doo-wop ballad, delivered with the bare minimum of backing in crystal-clear sound. Old Town's recordings have excellent fidelity. The copy of this single looks like it was found at an H-bomb test site, but it cleaned up real good and ClickRepair helped removed the sonic nettles and barbs to reveal the depth of rich mono sound contained in its grooves.
"Seven Wonders of The World" became a doo-wop standard. It's a counting song--a classic trope of doo-wop. Yes, the lyrics are repetitive, but oh, what a sound! The first 22 seconds, with the entire group singing sans accompaniment, is spine-tingling. "Six: my heart starts to mix" gets an award for internal rhymes, altho' I know not what "mix" means in this context.
A moody sax solo graces this side--a surprise, given the sparse approach, but welcome, since, as Goldberg notes, the group is content to sing the same verse over and over. The sincerity wins out in this gorgeous performance. A guitar, out of nowhere, provides a fine instrumental coda.
Tomorrow: Southern belle Linda Brannon delivers a moody song by Joe South plus another pop-country goodie on a 1962 Philips 45.
Hey ABBOTT! What's number four? Well, Costello, it's OHHHH! Oh that's what I'm trying to find out! Two lovingly harmonized doo-woppers but, again, I call SHENANIGANS! on lazy lyrics in "Seven Wonders" which should have had three different sets of 7 wonders.
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