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Bobby Lester And The Moonlighters "Shoo Doo Be Doo" Checker 806 A 1954

Here is Bobby Lester & The Moonlighters with "Shoo Doo Be Do on Checker 806. A nice, minty, 78. Hope you enjoy!!

It's hard to imagine a pioneer R&B group being born in Louisville, Kentucky. One group was, and they are among the top-rated groups of all time: the Moonglows.

Their start was a modest one. Bobby Lester and Harvey Fuqua (nephew of Ink Spots' guitarist Charlie Fuqua) made the rounds of Louisville's amateur shows, with Bobby singing and Harvey accompanying him on piano. Getting nowhere fast, they drove up to Cleveland in early 1951 and started putting a group together. Called at first the "Crazy Sounds," the group also featured bass Prentiss Barnes, high tenor Alexander "Pete" Graves, and guitarist Billy Johnson.

In 1952, they hooked up with a rising Cleveland disc jockey, Alan Freed, and he recorded the group, which by now had been renamed the Moonglows, on his Champagne label. However, Champagne didn't work out too well and in 1953, Freed set them up with Art Sheridan and Steve Chandler's Chance Records in Chicago. They had some moderate hits in a raw street corner style, including a cover version of Doris Day's "Secret Love."

At an unknown date in September, the Moonglows held their first Chess session. It produced: "Shoo Doo-Be Doo (My Loving Baby)" (Harvey), "Sincerely" (Bobby), "So All Alone" (the first of the Harvey and Bobby duets without the rest of the group), "Such A Feeling" (unknown), and "Tempting" (Harvey).

Chess, sensing greatness, released "Sincerely" in October, coupling it with "Tempting." It was reviewed (with "Sincerely" ranked "excellent") on November 13. Other reviews that week were for the Checkers' "I Wasn't Thinking, I Was Drinking," the Platters' "Shake It Up Mambo," the Chanteclairs' "Someday My Love Will Come My Way," the Orioles' "Runaround," Earl Curry & the Blenders' "Late Rising Moon," the Counts' "Waitin' Around For You," and the Flamingos' "Blues In A Letter." On November 20, "Sincerely" was a Pick Of The Week, along with the 5 Keys' "Ling, Ting, Tong."

Much has been written about how the McGuire Sisters ripped off the Moonglows, scoring a #1 Pop chart hit with "Sincerely." However, that was standard industry practice.

By the time "Sincerely" finished its 20-week national R&B chart run, it had reached #1 (#20 Pop). It must have been a pretty good ditty, the tune it replaced at #1 was the Penguins' "Earth Angel." However, such are the fortunes of the recording industry that it was unceremoniously dumped from the top spot two weeks later by Johnny Ace's posthumous hit, "Pledging My Love."

While Chess had high hopes for "Sincerely," they hedged their bets by releasing two other songs in November: "Shoo Doo-Be Doo (My Loving Baby)" and "So All Alone." However, just to be sure that the public would plunk down as much money as possible, these were issued on their Checker subsidiary, under the name "Moonlighters." The disc was reviewed the same week as "Secret Love" (with "So All Alone" getting an "excellent"). "Shoo Doo Be Doo" was a Tip in Philadelphia on December 4 and a Pick Of The Week on December 18. It was still going in the new year, when it was a tip in Los Angeles on January 1.

November 25, 1954, found the Moonglows at the Masonic Temple in East Chicago as part of a tour with Lowell Fulson and Lynn Hope. On January 2, 1955 the Moonglows were at the Circle Theater in Cleveland for the "Happy New Year Holiday Show." The MC was Billy Long and the rest of the show consisted of Fats Domino, Dolores Ware, and the comedic dance team of Long & Short.

In January 1955, the Moonglows had another session. This time they recorded: "Most Of All" (Bobby), "Hug And A Kiss" (all), "Doubtful" (Bobby), "He Lied" (a Harvey and Bobby duet), "New Gal" (another Harvey and Bobby duet), and "She's Gone" (Pete Graves).


Turntable used: Audio Technica AT-LP120 USB Direct Drive inputted straight into the sound card using the built-in pre-amp from the turntable.


Cartridge used: ATP-2XN using 78 3 mil needle.