Holding his Harmy Award statuette aloft, Joe Terry of Danny and the Juniors looked to heaven.

"Danny, we did it, baby," he said, hoping to catch to the attention of lead singer Danny Rapp in the afterlife.

Rapp not only figured in the band's name. He sang lead and wrote many of the group's hits, as well as songs for Leslie Gore and Chubby Checker.

So, while original members Terry, Dave White and Frank Maffei were able to bask in the adulation of being enshrined in the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and Museum, Sharon, they wished the group were complete.

Several of the groups expressed bittersweet sentiments at Tuesday's induction ceremony. Samuel Gooden and Fred Cash of The Impressions paid tribute to the late Curtis Mayfield, who was the guiding light of their group.

Cash said he knew Mayfield was looking down on the proceedings and thinking "Keep on Pushing," referring to the group's 1964 hit.

"We're going to do just that," Cash promised.

Leaveil Degree of The Whispers dedicated his Harmy to Marcus Hutson.

"He's irreplaceable," Degree said. "We never replaced him. We want to say: Marcus, the beat goes on," another reference to a song.

This year's ceremony, the fifth, honored 13 groups. Representatives of The Association, Danny and the Juniors, The Five Satins, The Four Lads, The Impressions, Martha and The Vandellas and The Whispers were present.

Members of the Isley Brothers, Commodores, Earth, Wind and Fire were touring and couldn't make the show, and the earliest groups, the Charioteers and the Peerless Quartet, had no surviving members.

The hall tracked down David Gillies, the great-grandnephew of Peerless Quartet first tenor Albert Campbell to accept the group's award.

"I'm not a member of the Peerless Quartet," he said, noting the hall's preference for supporting original members of groups. "They disbanded around 1928."

But, with a history lesson from his mother, he felt he came to understand the honor of the induction.

"This is truly a magical night," he said.

The Merry Macs also were represented by descendants.

The Association good-naturedly took much of the ribbing handed out because of the large contingent of members who attended. Five of the original six members brought along five others who had played with the band, and Jordan Cole, the son of deceased original member Brian Cole.

The group was one of many that commended hall co-founder Tony Butala, president Bob Crosby, and the others involved in hall operations,

"This is a thrill to be part of something with so much heart, not just a celebration of what we did, but what we're about," said Terry Kirkman, group founder and writer of much of its material.

This year's induction ceremony was painted as a referendum on the hall's future in Sharon.

Hall officials have noted the difficulty in finding local funding to keep the hall open.

Paula Kelly Jr. of the Modernaires said she hopes the hall remains in Sharon.

"I think it belongs here and I hope the town gets behind it a little more," said Ms. Kelly, a Grove City native and daughter of original Modernaires Paula Kelly and Hal Dickinson. "We really need the support."

Her sister, Martha Dickinson Martz, who also sings with the group, agreed.

"It's such a perfect place," she said. "It needs to stay here. We always tell everybody about the Hall of Fame.

Bernie Toorish of The Four Lads acknowledged that the hall's connection to Sharon -- Butala was born here -- is tenuous, but good enough for him.

"I was here with Tony at the very beginning. I did some promos for the place. I've been here 15-20 times. This is so relaxing. This is so nice. It's very hip, but it's class. Sharon should be proud to have it. I just hope it continues to be here."

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