Bobby Lester & The Moonglows " Shoo - Doo - Be - Doo " / " So All Alone " - U.S. Checker # 806 ( 1954 )

Is this the same BL who did " Hang Up Your Hang Ups " ?

Malc Burton

I will take that as an affirmative , dear friend .....

I was not sure , with the Checker side being some 13 years before " HUYHU " , and the photograph on the album shows BL to be a young chap ......

Any idea what age he was in 1954 , o font of audio knowledge , when he did the Checker offerings ?

Malc Burton

Edited January 1, 200817 yr by Malc Burton

I will take that as an affirmative , dear friend .....

I was not sure , with the Checker side being some 13 years before " HUYHU " , and the photograph on the album shows BL to be a young chap ......

Any idea what age he was in 1954 , o font of audio knowledge , when he did the Checker offerings ?

Malc Burton

Hi Malc,

That release, by all accounts was just Bobby and Harvey.

Bobby was born in 1930 and Harvey 1929... so they were very young - teenagers!

Bobby passed away in 1980 (only 50) so he was certainly a young guy at the time of the Columbia LP & 45!

Sean

https://home.att.net/~marvart/Moonglows/moonglows.html

Some awesome resource here Malc.

Hi Malc,

That release, by all accounts was just Bobby and Harvey.

Bobby was born in 1930 and Harvey 1929... so they were very young - teenagers!

Bobby passed away in 1980 (only 50) so he was certainly a young guy at the time of the Columbia LP & 45!

Sean

The difference between 1954 and 1930/29 was 24/25 when I was at school Sean .... "old" teenagers then pal ....

I reckon your head's still recovering from last night ....

Oh, and a soulfully Happy New Year ....

Edited January 1, 200817 yr by vaultofsouler

not really looked at this yet,but theres a lot of moonglows vids on youtube,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQukygvvjvA

The difference between 1954 and 1930/29 was 24/25 when I was at school Sean .... "old" teenagers then pal ....

I reckon your head's still recovering from last night ....

Oh, and a soulfully Happy New Year ....

Yeh... you're right....if you're gonna start counting!

Anybody under 50' is a teenie to me and Malc!

Edited January 1, 200817 yr by Sean Hampsey

Hi Malc,

That release, by all accounts was just Bobby and Harvey.

Bobby was born in 1930 and Harvey 1929... so they were very young - teenagers!

Bobby passed away in 1980 (only 50) so he was certainly a young guy at the time of the Columbia LP & 45!

Sean

Thanks for that Sean .....

I assumed it would be the Moonglows , but it strange if it was just Bobby Lester and Harvey Fuqua on the recording , and not the rest of the group ( Alexander Graves and Prentis Barnes ) , as the group were at the height of their popularity at the time of the recording / release of the disc in 1954 ......

HF was acknowledged as the lead singer of The Moonglows at the time , so what was the reason behind naming BL before the group ? .....

Further more , the question is , why did the label bosses choose to put the disc out as BL & TM , rather than that of a " duo " release ? .....

Malc Burton

Further more , the question is , why did the label bosses choose to put the disc out as BL & TM , rather than that of a " duo " release ? .....

Malc Burton

It appears that Bobby and Harvey were the 'Moonlighters' - a 'group within a group'.

Just copied this of a page on the net:-

As another added attraction, in the early days of the Moonglows Chess years, they provided fans with 'the group within a group' concept recording as The Moonlighters. Originally to be just a duo of Bobby Lester and Harvey Fuqua for the Checker label as they were on "I'm So Alone", the full group recorded the songs "Shoo Doo Be Doo" one of the greatest up tempo vocal group sides ever, and the follow up "A Hug And A Kiss". Soon after the Moonlighters concept was dropped and the Moonglows made musical history through the decade.

Some resouces quote the release as 'Moonglows' others as 'Moonlighters'.

Another resource is quoted as follows:-

The same month that Chess released "Sincerely," they issued a Lester-Fuqua duet, "Shoo Doo Be Doo," as Bobby Lester and the Moonlighters. Feeling they had an up-tempo hit but not wanting to wait for "Sincerely" to die down and not wishing to distract from the ballad image they were projecting, Chess's sister label Checker became home to the Moonlighters. Though not charting nationally, "Shoo Doo Be Doo" received extensive airplay and sales in pockets of the country, and booking agents looking to hire the group found out that to get them, they had to take the Moonglows too (I wonder why).

The Moonlighters' schizophrenia lasted for one more single in 1954. "Hug and a Kiss" failed and they went back to being full-time Moonglows.

Have you got the record Malc?

It appears that Bobby and Harvey were the 'Moonlighters' - a 'group within a group'.

Just copied this of a page on the net:-

As another added attraction, in the early days of the Moonglows Chess years, they provided fans with 'the group within a group' concept recording as The Moonlighters. Originally to be just a duo of Bobby Lester and Harvey Fuqua for the Checker label as they were on "I'm So Alone", the full group recorded the songs "Shoo Doo Be Doo" one of the greatest up tempo vocal group sides ever, and the follow up "A Hug And A Kiss". Soon after the Moonlighters concept was dropped and the Moonglows made musical history through the decade.

Some resouces quote the release as 'Moonglows' others as 'Moonlighters'.

Another resource is quoted as follows:-

The same month that Chess released "Sincerely," they issued a Lester-Fuqua duet, "Shoo Doo Be Doo," as Bobby Lester and the Moonlighters. Feeling they had an up-tempo hit but not wanting to wait for "Sincerely" to die down and not wishing to distract from the ballad image they were projecting, Chess's sister label Checker became home to the Moonlighters. Though not charting nationally, "Shoo Doo Be Doo" received extensive airplay and sales in pockets of the country, and booking agents looking to hire the group found out that to get them, they had to take the Moonglows too (I wonder why).

The Moonlighters' schizophrenia lasted for one more single in 1954. "Hug and a Kiss" failed and they went back to being full-time Moonglows.

Have you got the record Malc?

Sadly , no .....

My original posting was done out of curiosity , following my reading through a Chess / Checker release listing earlier today , as the record is credited to " BL and The MoonGLOWS " , and not as you state ( and correct the listing error ) " The MoonLIGHTERS " .......

You state the disc as being uptempo : Have you heard the record ? and if so , is it any good ? .....

Malc Burton

Sadly , no .....

My original posting was done out of curiosity , following my reading through a Chess / Checker release listing earlier today , as the record is credited to " BL and The MoonGLOWS " , and not as you state ( and correct the listing error ) " The MoonLIGHTERS " .......

You state the disc as being uptempo : Have you heard the record ? and if so , is it any good ? .....

Malc Burton

No Malc, the 'uptempo' quote was from elsewhere.

You dont arf come up with some beauties though mate!

For the time being, that's all I can find out for ya.

Gotta go and make a Spag Bol for me starving herd!

If you need any more info meanwhile, you should contact Craig Charles!