DESCRIPTION:
he Stereos (2) aka The Buckeyes (Steubenvill, Ohio)


Personnel :


Bruce Robinson (Lead)

Leroy Swearingen (Tenor)

Nathaniel Hicks (Tenor) (replaced Swearingen in 1960)

Ronnie Collins (Bass)

Sam Profit (Second Tenor)

George Otis (Baritone)


Discography :


The Buckeyes
1957 - Since I Fell For You / By Only You (Deluxe 6110)
1957 - Dottie Baby / Begging You Please (Deluxe 6126)

The Stereos (2)
1959 - A Love For Only You / Sweetpea's In Love (Gibraltar 105)
N/A - Dragstrip (Gibraltar) (Unreleased)
1961 - I Really Love You / Please Come Back To Me (Cub 9095/Astra 1032)
1961 - The Big Knock / Sweet Water (Cub 9103)
1962 - Unless You Mean It / Do You Love Me (Cub 9106)
N/A - A Long Time From Never (Cub) (Unreleased)
N/A - Walkin' Along (Cub) (Unreleased)
1962 - Echo In My Heart / Tick Tack Toe (Columbia 4-42626 )
1963 - Good News / Mumbling Word (World Artists 1012)
1965 - Sweet Pea's In Love / Life (Ideal 1110)
1965 - Don't Let It Happen To You / The Best Thing To Be Is A Person (Val 2)
1967 - Stereo Freeze, Part 1 / Part 2 (Hyde 101/Cadet 5577)
1968 - I Can't Stop These Tears / I Feel Soul A'Coming (Cadet 5626)



Biography :

Not only was Steubenville, OH, Dean Martin's stomping grounds, the city situated on the Ohio River also spawned the Stereos, a quintet consisting of Bruce Robinson (lead), Nathaniel Hicks (first tenor), Ronnie Collins (bass), Sam Profit (second tenor), and George Otis (baritone).

The group's roots began in the mid-'50s when Robinson and Collins formed the Buckeyes (Ohio's nickname) who released two singles on Cincinnati's Deluxe Records in 1957: "Since I Fell for You" b/w "Be Only You" and "Dottie Baby" b/w "Begging You, Please."

The Stereos first recorded in 1959 with Leroy Swearingen (first tenor and ex-Buckeye) joining Robinson, Collins, Profit, and Otis for their Gibraltar debut, "A Love for Only You" b/w "Sweetpea's in Love." Its failure caused Swearingen to leave and be replaced by Hicks. The revised lineup had three singles on Cub Records from 1961-1962, with ex-member Swearingen penning their most successful record "I Really Love You" (15 R&B/29 pop); two follow-ups floundered.



Two 1962 Robins Nest's singles: "My Heart" and "Don't Cry Darling" also didn't do diddly. A World Artists' single "Mumbling Word" surfaced in 1963, trailed by "Life" as the Sterios (sic) on Ideal Records (1964) and "Don't Let It Happen to You" in 1965 for Val 2 Records. Good records, but the Stereos were a transition group with ingrained doo-wop roots and never fully forsake the sound for full-blown '60s harmonies, but Robinson's gospel-inspired leads made them interesting.

They resurfaced on Hyde Records in 1967 as a self-contained outfit adding Stanley Brown, Solomon Huffman, Don Walters, and Ronnie Parris. Profit and Otis left. The revamped Stereos made enough noise with "Stereo Freeze Parts 1 & 2" that Cadet Records plucked it for mass distribution; but "I Can't Stop These Tears" b/w "I Feel Soul A'Coming" pulled up lame in 1968; a third Cadet single, "Your Memory," never got started, forcing permanent disbandment and the end of the Stereo's chase for that elusive royalty check.