The Hilltoppers - Only You (And You Alone)

Details

Description

You", "I'd Rather Die Young", "To Be Alone", "Love Walked In", "From the Vine Came the Grape" and "Till Then", all top 10s, making the Hilltoppers one of the top US vocal groups of the 1950s but rock n roll was on the way and their clean cut college look and style was rapidly becoming old fashioned. Billy Vaughn also left the group to begin his orchestral solo career in 1955, his place in the Hilltoppers taken by Chuck Schrouder. Vaughn went on to have a very successful chart career beginning with the no.2 hit "Melody Of Love" and included other top 10 singles "The Shifting Whispering Sands (Parts 1 & 2)", "Raunchy" and "Sail Along Silvery Moon" while The Hilltoppers adapted their style in an attempt to appeal to mid to late 1950s teenagers and recorded a series of songs that competed with the top vocal group of the late 1950s, The Platters, indeed one of those songs was "Only You (And You Alone)", composed by Buck Ram for The Platters and they also enjoyed their biggest US hit with "Marianne", originally by Terry Gilkyson and The Easy Riders. In the UK they only had three hit singles, Only you which hit no.3 in May 1956, a re-release a first recording "Tryin" and "Marianne" in the Spring of 1957. The group remained a fixture of the Dot Records roster for the next decade, finally splitting in 1963. They reformed briefly in the mid 1970s and remade their biggest hits for ABC Paramount, continuing to perform until 1975. After The Hilltoppers broke up, Jimmy Sacca worked for Dot Records in the early 1960s before forming a new Hilltoppers group which toured worldwide from 1968 to 1979. In 1979 Sacca and his son established a talent agency. He lives in Jackson, Mississippi with his wife Ann. Seymour Spiegelman also worked for Dot Records, and later for Peter Pan Industries. He died on 13 February 1987 in New York. Don McGuire started a real estate business in Lexington, and also worked as Western Kentucky University's liaison with the state legislature. He lives in Lexington, Kentucky with his wife Maxine. Billy Vaughn decided not to travel with the group, becoming the music director of Dot Records. He also embarked upon his career as a well-known musician, arranger and composer, hitting the charts in 1954 with the instrumental "Melody of Love" as the Billy Vaughn Orchestra. He died on 26 September 1991 in Escondido, California. ~ Sharon Mawer, All Music Guide

PLEASE NOTE: I divided my uploads among multiple channels, Bookmark this link in your browser for instant access to an index with links to all of John1948's oldies classics. LINK: http://john1948.wikifoundry.com/page/John1948%27s+Youtube+Index