• Lonnie & The Carollons



    Lonnie & The Carollons (Brooklyn, New-York)

     

    Personnel :

    Irving Brodsky (Lead)

    Richard Jackson (First tenor)

    Eric Nathanson (Second Tenor)

    Jimmy Laffey (Baritone)

    Artie Levi (Bass)

     

    Discography :

    Lonnie & The Carollons
    1958 - Chapel Of Tears / My Heart (Mohawk 108)
    1959 - Trudy / Hold Me Close (Mohawk 111)
    1959 - You Say / Backyard Rock (Mohawk 112)
    1959 - The Gang All Knows / Ike Hammer (Mohawk 113)

    Scott Miller bb The Carollons
    1958 - It's Love / I Confess  (Mohawk 109)

    Ricky Reynolds (Eric Nathanson)
    1959 - Let's Leave It That Way / Get The Message (Mohawk 201)

    Lonnie (Irving Brodsky)
    Singles:
    1961 - Need You Lovin'/ Beeline (Mohawk 122)
    Unreleased:
    1961 - Tender Moments (Mohawk)

     

    Biography :

    The Carollons were another of the early racially mixed groups to come out of New York City in the mid-'50s, but unlike the majority of R&B street-corner groups , the Carollons had a versatility that covered pop ("Hold Me Close"), country rock ("It's Love"), doo wop ("My Heart"), and rock and roll ballads ("Chapel of Tears").


    The Emeralds

    The group formed in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn as the Emeralds with Irving Brodsky, Artie Levy, Jimmy Laffey, Tyler Volks, and Robert Dunson (lead). By the time they became Lonnie and the Carollons the lineup had already changed to Irving Brodsky (lead as "Lonnie," age 16), Richard Jackson (first tenor , age 21), Eric Nathonson (second tenor, age 18), Jimmy Laffey (baritone, age 21 ), and Artie Levi (bass, age 17). Richie was black; the others were white and mostly Jewish.

    The new name came from the fact that Eric had stayed at the Carollon Hotel in Florida during summer vacation and Irving just liked the sound of the name Lonnie. Though they loved groups like THE CHANNELS, THE MOONGLOWS, THE DELLS, and THE FLAMINGOS and rehearsed other artists' hits like "That's My Desire," "Sincerely," and "Oh What a Night," the songs they would eventually record were all originals, many of which the group members wrote themselves.



    In early 1958 the group wandered through Manhattan's maze of music companies singing for whoever would listen. After a number of turndowns they came upon Mohawk Records at 1674 Broadway, where the proprietor Irv Spice was, in their minds, their last shot before they gave it all up. Spice liked the Carollons, and on March 3, 1958, the group started recording at Dick Charles Studios. A strong rock-ballad called "Chapel of Tears" was soon issued and became a Northeast regional area success.

    The Vocal-Airs aka The Blue Sonnets    The Vocal-Airs aka The Blue Sonnets



     The group did the promo tour circuit of New York, Connecticut, Boston, and Philadelphia, and appeared on Clay Cole's TV show."Chapel" was to be the B side of "My Heart" (an outstanding rocker that deserved its own A side) but a last-minute change of heart made "Chapel" the promoted song. Their second single, "Hold Me Close," made the Carollons sound like the link between the '50s' FOUR COINS and the '60s' VOGUES. A pop ballad with full harmonies and little similarity to the style of their first record, it generated only scattered activity. The Carollons cut four singles then broke up. Eric Nathanson recorded a solo single under the name of Ricky Reynolds before joining The Vocal-Airs. In 1961, Irving Brosky (Lonnie)  cut a last single for Mohawk Records
    American Singing Groups: A History from 1940s to Today
    Jay Warner



    Songs :

    Lonnie & The Carollons

         
    Chapel Of Tears                        My Heart                               Trudy

         
    Hold Me Close                           You Say                         Backyard Rock

      
    The Gang All Knows                   Ike Hammer


    Lonnie

      
    Beeline                                Need You Lovin'


    Scott Miller bb The Carollons


     I Confess

     

     

     

    Cds :

    Book :

     

     

    ...


  • Comments

    1
    Bobby Diskin
    Sunday 18th November 2018 at 19:16

    A couple of the Carollons backed up Scott Miller, but not on the "I Confess" side.  The Carollons are on the "It's Love" side of Scott Miller's recording on Mohawk.

    2
    Bobby Diskin
    Sunday 18th November 2018 at 19:23

    Eric and Jimmy, of Lonnie/Carollons have passed on.  I'm not sure of Richie Jackson, but Lonnie and Artie are still with us (2018),

    3
    Bobby Diskin
    Saturday 3rd October 2020 at 00:00

    As of October 2020,  the only members still with us is Lonnie - lead, is 79 and Artie Levy - bass, is 80 years old.

    4
    Bobby Diskin
    Wednesday 25th August 2021 at 23:08

    On "It's Love" by Scott Miller, the unreleased cut, had a few Carollons singing background.  You can hear the  unreleased side on the LP "Lonnie/Carollons Meets The Deans" - the Mohawk 45 doesn't have the backup Carollons on it

    5
    Bobby Diskin
    Tuesday 8th March 2022 at 23:46

    Lonnie and the Carollons were signed to Mohawk Records in the summer 1957 (not in 1958).  "Echoes of the Past" magazine just published my article on Lonnie / Carollons.

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