Best known for the stuttering number three single "Give Me Just a Little More Time," the Chairmen of the Board were one of the smoothest and most popular soul acts to emerge from Detroit in the early '70s. Although their time at the top of the R&B charts was brief -- their first Top Ten arrived in 1970, their last in 1973 -- they recorded a... [+] Read More

Best known for the stuttering number three single "Give Me Just a Little More Time," the Chairmen of the Board were one of the smoothest and most popular soul acts to emerge from Detroit in the early '70s. Although their time at the top of the R&B charts was brief -- their first Top Ten arrived in 1970, their last in 1973 -- they recorded a handful of '70s soul classics, all distinguished by the high, trembling vocals of General Norman Johnson, who also wrote the bulk of the group's material.

Born and raised in Norfolk, VA, Johnson began singing in the church choir when he was a child, eventually forming his first vocal group, the Humdingers, when he was 12. During high school, he formed the Showmen, and in his senior year, the group recorded the rock & roll tribute "It Will Stand." The single scraped the pop and R&B charts in 1961, and Johnson stayed with the Showmen for the next seven years, releasing a series of singles on Minit and Swan Records that became regional hits. By the end of the group's career, they had become staples on the beach music circuit on the East Coast. Johnson decided to leave the group for a solo career in 1968, eventually working his way to Detroit, MI, where he signed with former Motown producers and songwriters Holland-Dozier-Holland's fledgling Invictus record label. Johnson formed a group with former Showman Danny Woods; ex-Stone Soul Children Harrison Kennedy; and Eddie Curtis, who had formerly sang with Lee Andrews & the Hearts and Huey Smith & the Clowns. Originally, the group was called the Gentlemen, but they quickly changed their name to the Chairmen of the Board.

The Chairmen of the Board's first single, "Give Me Just a Little More Time," was an instant hit, reaching number three on the pop charts and number eight R&B in early 1970, putting Invictus on the map. Two other singles, "(You've Got Me) Dangling on a String" and "Everything's Tuesday," followed, which established them as R&B chart contenders, but they failed to climb past 38 on the pop charts. Although the subsequent "Pay to the Piper" reached number 13 on pop, it was their last Top 40 hit. Between 1971 and 1974, the Chairmen of the Board received more support from the R&B audience, with songs like "Chairman of the Board" (1971) and "Finder's Keepers" (1973) reaching the Top Ten. Despite this constant stream of singles, the band stopped recording in 1971, which led to a temporary breakup. The following year, they re-formed and toured throughout the Southeast beach music circuit, where their singles were continually regional hits. Although the Chairmen were having trouble reaching the charts, Johnson's songs became hits for the likes of Clarence Carter ("Patches"), Freda Payne ("Bring the Boys Home"), and Honey Cone, who had no less than three hits -- "Want Ads," "Stick Up," "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show" -- with his compositions.

The Chairmen of the Board continued touring and releasing albums until 1976, when they disbanded, with each member releasing solo albums. Johnson and Woods continued performing under the Chairmen name for a short time before Johnson moved to Arista in the late '70s. He had a handful of hits for the label, all of which demonstrated contemporary disco influences, before reuniting with Woods as the Chairmen in the early '80s. Over the next two decades, the duo regularly toured the Southeast to much success. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide [-] Hide

The Casinos were an anomaly when they reached the Top Ten in early 1967 with "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye," a slow-dance smoocher with a swelling organ that was a throwback to the sound of the early '60s. So were the group themselves, both in their doo wop-flavored close-harmony sound and their well-groomed, conservative appearance. The music... [+] Read More

The Casinos were an anomaly when they reached the Top Ten in early 1967 with "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye," a slow-dance smoocher with a swelling organ that was a throwback to the sound of the early '60s. So were the group themselves, both in their doo wop-flavored close-harmony sound and their well-groomed, conservative appearance. The music wasn't bad, though, with a romantic white soul groove that would fit well with the Southeastern beach music scene, although the Casinos were actually from Cincinnati. They recorded a bunch of other singles for Fraternity in the '60s, some in a similar group harmony mold, others in a more updated, upbeat soul-pop vein, but never approached the success of "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" again. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide [-] Hide

When the world nears Y3K there will probably still be a Swinging Medallions group touring throughout the South with fanatics shagging to their music. The one-hit wonder's claim to fame, "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)," charted at number 17 on July 2, 1966, and has made them an institution in the South. It was the band's second release for... [+] Read More

When the world nears Y3K there will probably still be a Swinging Medallions group touring throughout the South with fanatics shagging to their music. The one-hit wonder's claim to fame, "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)," charted at number 17 on July 2, 1966, and has made them an institution in the South. It was the band's second release for Smash Records; the first, "I Wanna Be Your Guy," went unnoticed. "Doubleshot"'s successors didn't pack the same wallop; the follow-up, "She Drives Me Out of My Mind," stopped climbing at number 71 in 1966, and "Hey Baby" failed too. They began as Pieces of Eight in the late '50s, and changed to Swinging Medallions in 1965 when they signed with Smash. The members: John McElrath (keyboards), Jim Doares (guitar), Carroll Bledsoe (trumpet), Charles Webber (trumpet), Brent Forston (sax, flute), Steven Caldwell (sax), James Perkins (bass), and Joe Morris (drums). All hail from the Greenwood, SC, area. Beach music is their forte and they're the main purveyors of the shag, a popular dance on Southern beaches. Over 30 years, the personnel has changed, and McElrath is the only original. Every year, the original members reunite for a one-night concert in Atlanta, GA. ~ Andrew Hamilton, All Music Guide [-] Hide

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A "beach" music favorite, Atlanta's Tams were among the more popular up-tempo soul groups of the '60s, although they were never able to break Motown's pop stranglehold. Joseph Pope's gravelly voiced leads were their selling point. He was joined by his brother Charles, Robert Smith, Floyd Ashton, and Horace Key. They began on Swan in 1960, then... [+] Read More

A "beach" music favorite, Atlanta's Tams were among the more popular up-tempo soul groups of the '60s, although they were never able to break Motown's pop stranglehold. Joseph Pope's gravelly voiced leads were their selling point. He was joined by his brother Charles, Robert Smith, Floyd Ashton, and Horace Key. They began on Swan in 1960, then landed their first hit with "Untie Me" for Arlen in 1962. It peaked at number 12 on the R&B charts (number 11 pop). They moved to ABC-Paramount the next year, where they remained until 1968. They scored their biggest hit in 1963 with "What Kind of Fool (Do You Think I Am)." But many soul fans regard 1968's "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy" as their ultimate hit, although it only reached number 26 on the R&B charts. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Gene Hughes and the Casinos are best known for their lone hit, the enduring "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye," tbut this 14-track compilation shows that the Cincinnati band had more to offer than just one well sung and arranged tune. Doo wop fans will be thrilled with the first two tracks: their first record from 1962, the impossibly rare "Do You... [+] Read More

Gene Hughes and the Casinos are best known for their lone hit, the enduring "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye," tbut this 14-track compilation shows that the Cincinnati band had more to offer than just one well sung and arranged tune. Doo wop fans will be thrilled with the first two tracks: their first record from 1962, the impossibly rare "Do You Recall" (sung by original lead singer J.T. Sears and sounding like it was cut at least five years earlier) and "Too Good to Be True," which features the guitar work of Lonnie Mack. By the fourth entry, the first appearance of the original long mono version of "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye," the set veers into mid-'60s lounge-soul, the sound that suited the band the best and which remained pretty well intact through two tracks cut in 1980, "Wisdom of a Fool" and "You Belong to Me." If you're looking to add the tune to your collection and you want a whole lot more in the same vein, this is the one to get. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide [-] Hide

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Fourteen songs from singles that they recorded for ABC-Paramount between 1963 and 1969, their most productive era. Includes "What Kind of Fool (Do You Think I Am)," "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy," and a few late-'60s songs by Joe South. Decent, somewhat retro-flavored (even for the time) soul with heavy pop and doo wop influences, sounding at... [+] Read More

Fourteen songs from singles that they recorded for ABC-Paramount between 1963 and 1969, their most productive era. Includes "What Kind of Fool (Do You Think I Am)," "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy," and a few late-'60s songs by Joe South. Decent, somewhat retro-flavored (even for the time) soul with heavy pop and doo wop influences, sounding at times like a very unschooled variation of the early Impressions. Unfortunately, this doesn't include their early-'60s hit "Untie Me," which was recorded before the group joined ABC-Paramount. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Not surprisingly, this album opens with "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)," and the two minutes and 21 seconds of inspired craziness that in 1966 gave the Medallions their sole taste of national fame. Three decades later, the number Bruce Springsteen once called "the greatest fraternity rock song of all time" still delivers the goods: a... [+] Read More

Not surprisingly, this album opens with "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)," and the two minutes and 21 seconds of inspired craziness that in 1966 gave the Medallions their sole taste of national fame. Three decades later, the number Bruce Springsteen once called "the greatest fraternity rock song of all time" still delivers the goods: a wonderful, cheesy-sounding organ; wild party sounds; and a deliberately sloppy vocal about how "it wasn't wine that I had too much of/It was a double shot of my baby's love." The rest of Anthology is a mishmash, and no wonder: despite the cover billing, only part of the album is by the original Medallions, who survived from 1963 to 1967. The rest comes from several successor bands, including the Pieces of Eight, a group formed in 1967 that contains several veterans of the original group; and a 1990s outfit that uses the original band's moniker but includes only one of its members.

Which group performs which songs is often far from clear; the skimpy liner notes don't say, nor do they list any songwriters, vocalists in the original group, producers, or release dates. To further confuse matters, the album art includes a photo labeled "The Original Swingin' Medallions" that's captioned with the names in the 1990s lineup.

Quality and approach vary widely, as the various aggregations try everything under the sun to get back on the charts. One highlight is "She Drives Me Out of My Mind," an at least partly successful attempt to recreate the magic of "Double Shot." The only thing most of the other songs have in common with the group's hit, however, is that they're covers ("Double Shot" was first recorded by the obscure Dick Holler and the Holidays). Many of them -- including versions of Bruce Channel's "Hey Baby," the Tams' "What Kind of Fool (Do You Think I Am)," and the O'Jays' "Lonely Drifter" -- are memorable. And there are other highlights, such as "Shaggin' in the Moonlight," a polished nod to the dance craze from the Medallions' native South Carolina. But there are also such space-fillers as "I Want to Be Your Guy," which sounds like a Jay and the Americans outtake, and "Willie Don't Play That Saxophone," an inane comment on Bill Clinton. The album is worth buying, but you'll be glad your CD player makes it easy to skip a few of the tracks. ~ Jeff Burger, All Music Guide [-] Hide