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Biography
Refimprove|date=December 2010Infobox musical artist | name = The Manhattans| image =| caption =| image_size =| background = group_or_band| alias =| origin = Jersey City, New Jersey , United States|U.S. | genre = Rhythm and blues | years_active = 1962–present| label = Carnival Records , Columbia Records , King Records (USA)|King Records | associated_acts =| website =| current_members = Edward "Sonny" Bivins (original member) Alvin Pazant Harsey Hemphill Charles Hardy Lee Williams| past_members = Gerald Alston *Winfred "Blue" Lovett *George "Smitty" Smith *Kenny "Wally" Kelley *Richard "Ricky" Taylor Roger Harris Wade Taylor * = Original members| notable_instruments =The Manhattans are an United States|American popular R& B vocal group , with a string of hit records spanning four decades. Their best known million-selling songs being " Kiss and Say Goodbye " and "Shining Star" in 1980 (not to be confused with "Shining Star" by Earth, Wind & Fire which was a completely different song of 1976).cite book | first= David | last= Roberts | year= 2006 | title= British Hit Singles & Albums | edition= 19th | publisher= Guinness World Records Limited | location= London | isbn= 1-904994-10-5 | page= 346
Early history
The Manhattans, originally from Jersey City, New Jersey , formed in 1962 with members George "Smitty" Smith, Edward "Sonny" Bivins (born January 15, 1942, Macon, Georgia ), Winfred "Blue" Lovett (born 16 November 1943), Kenny "Wally" Kelley (born Kenneth Kelley, January 9, 1943, New Jersey ), and Richard "Ricky" Taylor. Bivins, Lovett, and Kelley were graduating from Lincoln High School (New Jersey)|Lincoln High School , while Taylor and Smith were graduating from Snyder High School. All five enlisted in the armed forces and came together as a musical ensemble|group following their discharges from their respective branches.
The group's first single (music)|single was "For the Very First Time," released in 1964 by Carnival Records . ManyWho|date=March 2011 consider August 15, 1964, the date of recording, to be the official birth of the group. They continued sound recording and reproduction|recording with great success with song s written by various members of the group. In 1968, the group received the "Most Promising Group" award by NATRA. In 1969, the group moved to the De Luxe Records|De Luxe record label of King Records (USA)|King Records , subsequently embarking on a college tour. While playing at Kittrell College in North Carolina , the group met another group, the New Imperials, featuring Gerald Alston , nephew of The Shirelles ' lead singer , Shirley Alston-Reeves . They were so impressed with Alston that they asked him to join the group, but he declined.
Misfortune befell the group late in 1970 when George Smith fell down a flight of stairs and later took ill. Unable to perform, the group began to search for a new lead. First they attempted to woo The Cymballs' lead, Lee Williams, but he was not willing to leave them. The group then renewed their request to Gerald Alston (born November 8, 1951, North Carolina ), who accepted and took over the lead spot. George Smith died of a brain tumor on December 16, 1970.
The Manhattans continued recording throughout the 1970s with Alston singing lead vocals. They struck chart gold in 1976 with " Kiss and Say Goodbye ," written by Blue Lovett and arranged/co-produced with the group by the Philadelphia-based record producer Bobby Martin, a former member of the MFSB band of session musician s. The song quickly became a #1 chart topper on both the United States|US Billboard (magazine)|Billboard Billboard Hot 100|Pop and Hot R& B/Hip-Hop Songs|R& B record chart|charts . It also became only the second single to go music recording sales certification|platinum Citation needed|date=March 2011, after the Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA introduced the award in 1976. Taylor left in 1976 to concentrate on his conversion to Islam . He died in 1987 after a long illness. The group continued as a quartet, and found further success in March 1980 with the release of "Shining Star," which reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on the R& B Chart. Produced and co-written by the Chicago-based record producer, Leo Graham, it received a Grammy Award the following spring.
The group celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1985 with the release of Too Hot To Stop It . It included the Bivins/Smith songwriter|penned "We Were Made As One," originally recorded in 1966 but covered in an a cappella , doo wop style to emphasize the group's doo wop roots. The album was also dedicated to George Smith.
The group continued until 1988. That year, Alston left to record as a solo artist, scoring with several major R& B hits in the late 1980s and early 1990s for Motown . Roger Harris was recruited as the new lead singer for the group, which moved to the new record label|label , Valley Vue, when their Columbia recording contract expired.
Later history
The group's largest shake-up occurred in 1990, when Blue Lovett left due to health problems, and Kenny Kelley returned to college to pursue his PhD . Bivins, now the only remaining original member, took over management of the group. He recruited new members Alvin Pazant, Harsey Hemphill, and Charles Hardy, bringing the group back to a quintet. Harris proved to be only a short-term lead, however, as he left in 1991, and was replaced by Wade Taylor. Taylor left a few months later. Bivins then recruited Lee Williams, the person whom they had originally wanted to replace George Smith.
The current line-up of the group is Bivins, Williams, Pazant, Hemphill, and Hardy. They released the Compact disc|CD Manhattans Now in 1994, and in recent years the group has been featured in the Play (theatre)|play , ''Girl, He Ain't Worth It . In 1996, they began recording under their own label, Manhattans Entertainment Inc.
For what would be their 30th reunion, former member Blue Lovett decided to return to the music scene with his own Manhattans in 1995, bringing back Gerald Alston as lead vocalist in his group. They are currently a quartet with Troy May and David Tyson, brother of The Temptations ' Ron Tyson . In the past, the group also featured Eban Brown, now the lead vocalist for The Stylistics . This group has also released some CDs, including Even Now (The manhattans album)|Even Now . This group was featured in two PBS specials.
Alston appeared on Wu-Tang Clan 's album, 8 Diagrams , on the song "Stick Me for My Riches" in 2007.
http://www.themanhattans.net/history.htm History page on Sonny Bivins' site
External links
Allmusic|class=artist|id=p4837
http://www.themanhattans.net Website of the Manhattans (with Sonny Bivins)
http://www.kissandsaygoodbye.com Website of Blue Lovett's Manhattans
http://www.wlatalent.com/roster/the_manhattans/artistprofile.htm The Manhattans at http://www.wlatalent.com Wenig-LaMonica Associates
http://www.soulexpress.net/manhattans_part1.htm The Manhattans Story at Soul Express
DEFAULTSORT:Manhattans, The Category:American rhythm and blues musical groups Category:American soul musical groups Category:Culture of Jersey City, New Jersey Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Musical groups established in 1962 Category:Musical groups from New Jersey
