SHARON

The Vocal Hall's first class

• The Ames Brothers. Joe, Ed, Gene and Vic came from Boston but made their first recording in Pittsburgh. Influenced by the Mills Brothers and the Ink Spots, the group had a string of hits from 1949 through 1960, including "The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane," "Ragmop," "You, You, You" and "China Doll." The group had its own television show in 1954.
• The Andrews Sisters. Influenced by the Boswell Sisters, Patty, Maxene and LaVerne Andrews of Minneapolis started singing in vaudeville for $1 a day and eventually sold 75 million records. They scored 113 chart singles, primarily in the '40s, including "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." They are forever associated with the World War II era for their visits to military bases, appearing in wartime musicals and singing on Armed Forces Radio. Patty is the only sister still alive.
• The Beach Boys. Combining Four Freshmen harmonies and Chuck Berry's guitar-oriented rock, the quintet made anthems out of surfing, cars and girls, and later moved into more topically relevant material. Brian Wilson was the band's artistic center, writing and producing "Help Me, Rhonda," "Good Vibrations" and "I Get Around." Al Jardine, Mike Love and Wilson survive. Dennis and Carl Wilson have died.
• Crosby, Stills and Nash. Stephen Stills of Buffalo Springfield, David Crosby of the Byrds and Graham Nash of the Hollies brought harmony to politically charged '60s rock, while highlighting each members' musical contributions. Songs like "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," "Marrakesh Express" and "Wasted on the Way" remain air-play favorites.
• The Manhattan Transfer. Tim Hauser wanted to avoid what other singing groups were doing and found like minds in Alan Paul, Janis Siegel and Laurel Mass, who was replaced in 1981 by Cheryl Bentyne. The group brought pop, rock, jazz, swing, doo wop and rhythm 'n' blues influences into one unit, scoring hits with "Operator," "Twilight Zone" and "Boy From New York City."
• The Original Drifters. Clyde McPhatter left the Dominoes to form a raw, gospel-influenced rhythm 'n' blues group with Bill Pinkney, and Gearhart and Andrew Thrasher. The group produced hits like "Lucille," "Honey Love," "Money Honey" and "White Christmas" before McPhatter was drafted into the Army in 1954, starting a torrent of personnel changes that made the group's history difficult to document. Only Pinkney survives from the original group.
• The Platters. The first rhythm 'n' blues group to top the pop charts relied on the lead of Tony Williams with backing support from Herb Reed, Alex Hodge, David Lynch and Zola Taylor. From 1953 through 1960, when Williams was with the group, the Platters had hits like "Twilight Time," "Only You," "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" and "The Great Pretender." The group originated in Los Angeles. Only Reed and Ms. Taylor survive, but there are 17 groups performing that call themselves the Platters.
• The Supremes. Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson were Detroit high schoolers when they started, and became the top-selling female vocal group of all time with Motown classics like "Where Did Our Love Go?" "Baby Love," "Come See About Me" and "Stop! In The Name of Love." Their success helped make Motown one of the most successful independent labels of all time.

• The Boswell Sisters. Hailing from New Orleans, Connee, Martha and Helvetia combined classical, jazz and popular music with a southern twang that made them a popular group of the '30s. They were regulars on radio and in film, and Connee inspired Ella Fitzgerald.
• The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi were one of the first gospel groups to appear on the rhythm 'n' blues charts. Archie Brownley, Joseph Ford, Lawrence Abrams, Lloyd Woodard and Percell Perkins -- four of them were blind -- toured the country for more than 40 years, and inspired Ray Charles and other soul singers.
• The Golden Gate Quartet started out singing "jubilee," a secular form of gospel, and developed into jazzier harmonies. Willie Johnson, Henry Owens, William Langford and Orlandus Wilson toured the world.
• The Mills Brothers of Piqua, Ohio, charted 71 singles over four decades, including "Paper Doll," "You Always Hurt The One You Love," "Daddy's Little Girl" and "Glow Worm." Brothers Herbert, Harry and Donald and their father, John, were original members. Donald carries on with his son, John.
• The Ravens of New York City were inspired by the Mills Brothers but are considered the first "real" rhythm 'n' blues group. They were the first to use dance steps in shows and featured the falsetto of Maithe Marshall and the double-deep voice attack of baritone Warren Suttles and bass Jimmy Ricks. The Ravens crossed over to white audiences with "Ol' Man River," "White Christmas" and "Always."
• Sonny Til and the Orioles were known for their ballads and the voice of Til. Hailing from Baltimore, the former Vibranairs also featured Alexander Sharp, George Nelson, Johnny Reed and Tommy Gaither. The group had hits with "Crying in the Chapel," "It's Too Soon To Know" and "Tell Me So" until 1953, when Til fired the other members and hired a group called the Regals to replace them. Albert "Diz" Russell was one of the Regals and took over leadership of the Orioles when Til died in 1991.

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Updated Nov. 2, 1998
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