Quick, name a group that called themselves "Do Ray And Me," "The Do Ray Me Trio," "Do-Ray-Me," "The Do-Re-Me Trio," "The Do Re Mi Trio," "The Do Re Me Trio," and "The Do-Ray-Mi Trio." If you guessed "The Crew Cuts," you really need to get out more.

The close of the Second World War saw the recording industry eagerly planning for expansion. Traditional recording studio locations in New York and Chicago were being augmented by the opening of West Coast studios, as the country came alive with new independent labels (the "indies").

The reasons for this rapid development are varied: depression conditions had been eased, and large-scale investment was feasible again; equally important was the role of Hollywood, as America's movie capital, which brought entertainers out West in droves. Also, wartime rationing of shellac had ended and there was enough for everyone.

That was only the tip of the iceberg, however. A soldier named Jack Mullin, with a background in electronics, had located some high-quality Magnetophons (tape recorders) in a German radio station right after the war. Taking two of them apart, he shipped them back to the U.S., along with photographic copies of all their manuals. After he'd reassembled them, he gave a demonstration in San Francisco and the Ampex Corporation decided to manufacture them, beginning in mid-1947. The result was, that with relatively inexpensive and extremely high-quality recording machines, it was now possible for small independent labels to spring up all over.

Music after the war was changing, too. Drawing heavily from big band and swing-styled arrangements, small vocal/instrumental combos like the King Cole Trio and the Three Blazers were setting the trend for others to follow. In addition to a lead vocal and occasional harmony, such self-contained units featured piano, guitar, bass, and perhaps drums. These groups found audiences in supper clubs and nightspots.

      THE AL RUSSELL TRIO

Al Russell had started out on piano in the eighth grade, and, following his graduation from high school, he did radio shows on WCOS in his home town of Columbia, South Carolina. It was here that he met guitarist Joel Cowan (who was in college at the time) and the two of them played together in a band. In 1942, they met bassist William "Doc Basso" Joseph in Chicago. Russell, Cowan, and Joseph (who all sang tenor), teamed up and the Al "Stomp" Russell Trio was born. [By the way, Joseph's nickname is pronounced BASE-o, not BAH-so. Additionally, some record labels have him listed as "Doc Bosso."] While they'd play venues all over the country, they eventually gravitated to California.

It's unclear, though, what they were doing in 1942 and 1943. The first mention of Al Russell in Billboard is from June 1944, when he was the pianist at the Club Lido in South Bend, Indiana. However, since many ads, even for the later Do Ray Me Trio, only mention Russell's name, it's possible that the whole Trio was present.

In the fall of 1944, there was a little blurb about the Trio in Billboard. This said that William Joseph had been with Erskine Hawkins and had had his own Basso Trio. It gave a listing of recent appearances which included the Three Deuces Yacht Club (New York), Onyx Club (New York), Café De Society (Chicago), Capitol Lounge (Chicago), Sky Bar (Cleveland), and Club Lido (South Bend). The Al Russell Trio was currently appearing at and broadcasting from the Pirates Cave in San Diego. Considering the wartime restrictions on travel, these guys got around!

In January 1945, Billboard reviewed an appearance of the Al Russell Trio at Randini's in Los Angeles. The review claimed that the group had been together for six months, after having met in Indiana (why do they even bother?). Other than that, the review was extremely favorable. Most of the vocals were done by William Joseph, but Joel Cowan did the "sweet" ones, and Al Russell handled the novelties. They were pretty much free to play what and as they liked, since the club had no dance floor (that is, their beat didn't have to be controlled so that listeners could dance to it). It concluded with, "Boys make a nice appearance. Their library is the latest, and showmanship is in the higher brackets."

The Trio's first foray into the world of recording was on Charlie Washburn's Coast label (Los Angeles). In June 1945 they released "It's So"/"Solid Mr. Kelly With The Jelly." This was followed, in July, by "Shy Ann"/"8, 9, And 10."

Then it was on to Otis René's Excelsior label (also in L.A.), where they started off by backing up Timmie Rogers on two records around September 1945: The first was "Fla-Ga-La-Pa"/"Drop Another Nickel In The Jukebox" and the second was "Daddy-O"/"Hep Paderewski From Basin Street." (The best thing about "Fla-Ga-La-Pa" is that it's probably the only R&B song to mention Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.) They did several more Excelsior records, under their own name, throughout 1946, including a cover of Slim Gaillard's "Cement Mixer."

One of their Excelsior recordings was called "Dig, Mister K. Kay Kay" (about the Ku Klux Klan), and it served to get the group into a bit of trouble. The July 20, 1945 issue of Billboard mentioned that Los Angeles disk jockeys wouldn't play the song because of feared reaction. This is probably why the flip, "More Than You Know," was quickly reissued (same record number) with "Say What You Mean" as the new coupling. Since no one I know has ever seen the original, my feeling is that Excelsior recalled as many copies as possible and destroyed them.

Although initially based in Los Angeles, the Al Russell Trio played gigs on both the West and East Coasts. This is a representative sampling: August 1945 - Shepp's Playhouse in Los Angeles; September 1945 - Rossonian Hotel in Denver; February 1946 - The Cove in Philadelphia; March 1946 - Backstage in San Francisco; September 1946 - Rossonian Hotel in Denver; November 1946 - The Cove in Philadelphia; and June 1948 - Weeke's Cocktail Lounge in Atlantic City.

From Excelsior, they traveled across the U.S. in the fall of 1946 to record for Ivin Ballen's 20th Century label, headquartered in Philadelphia. It's unknown exactly when the sides were recorded, but there were three records on 20th Century, starting with an oldie called "Blue Prelude," released around December 1946.

At about the same time that "Blue Prelude" was released, they signed with Frankie Adams' Sapphire Records, another Philadelphia company. The signing was announced on December 14, 1946, while the trio was appearing at Ciro's (in Philly). At the time of the announcement, they'd already recorded the first four songs to appear on Sapphire: "Say It Isn't So," "Shy Ann," "Under The Stars," and Down The Road A Piece." Although their first Sapphire release was supposed to be that same month, nothing appeared until February 1947, at which time four records were issued.

Also in 1947, Ivin Ballen sold two 20th Century masters to Syd Nathan's King Records of Cincinnati, Ohio. "Holiday Blues" and "World War Two Blues" were released on King's Queen subsidiary in March (a strange time to issue a holiday record) and on King itself (with the same record number) in November.

In April 1947, Apollo Records released a disk by the Al Russell Trio: "Let's Get Together"/"Let's Go Down The Old Road." Either they recorded these for Apollo or Ballen sold them some unreleased 20th Century masters.

Then there were the recordings released on David & Jules Braun's De Luxe label of Linden New Jersey (not yet a part of King). At least one De Luxe release ("Just Plain Love") was purchased from 20th Century; two others ("Shy Ann" and "Down The Road A Piece") were purchased from Sapphire; the rest are of unknown origin (they might have been unreleased masters purchased from either company, or actually recorded for De Luxe). All three releases came out in mid-1947.

      THE DO RAY ME TRIO

After having been on all their Coast, Excelsior, 20th Century, Sapphire, Apollo, and (probably) De Luxe recordings, William "Doc Basso" Joseph left sometime in 1947. He was replaced by Joe Davis, who both sang and played bass. After a few months together, they decided to rename themselves. Manager Al Gallico, from Leeds Music, put a hundred possibilities into a hat and the "Al Russell Trio" became "Do Ray and Me." (Alas! If only it were that simple. Little did they suspect that they'd also become "The Do-Re-Me Trio," "The Do Ray Me Trio," "Do-Ray-Me," "The Do Re Mi Trio," "The Do Re Me Trio," and "The Do-Ray-Mi Trio." As much as possible, I'll simply refer to them as "the Trio.")

The Russell-Cowan-Davis aggregation first recorded for Decca's Commodore subsidiary, which was under the control of A&R man Milt Gabler (who had helped Louis Jordan turn out some incredible music, and who would do the same for Bill Haley & the Comets). They began their new label and new name with the delightful "There's A Man At The Door." For some reason, the record had two flip sides: "Teresa" and "It's Like Taking Candy From A Baby." Both versions were released in December 1947, as was the group's second record: "Wrapped Up In A Dream"/"The Wise Old Man."

All the Commodore sides (there were 11 eventually released) were recorded at the end of 1947 (to beat the deadline of January 1, 1948, the date on which the second AFM recording ban, organized by union leader James C. Petrillo, began). In the beginning, the strike was not strictly enforced; however, the AFM took out ads in the trade publications threatening suspension for any further violations of the ban. Thus, as "Wrapped Up In A Dream" was becoming the Trio's only chart hit (it went to #2, and remained on the R&B charts for 19 weeks), they refused to record any new sides for Gabler while the strike continued. The success of the song surprised the members of the Trio, who had spent little time arranging the tune before recording it. A really pretty song, it had originally been recorded by the 4 Tunes, and there were subsequent versions by the Deep River Boys, the 4 Knights, the 5 Keys, and the Clovers.

I'm not sure why, but although "Wrapped Up In A Dream" was released in December 1947, it didn't get to the trades to be reviewed until late March 1948. It then took until mid-December to enter the Most Played Juke Box Race Records! By February 26, 1949, it was the #2 best seller, and was still a hit in May 1949. My feeling is that Milt Gabler was overwhelmed by having to control all aspects of a recording company and didn't know how to efficiently distribute or push the record. The reasons could be more mundane, but this is an extremely long time between release and charting.

Before "Wrapped Up In A Dream" became a hit, Joe Davis left (in September 1948), not being happy with life on the road. He was replaced on bass by Curtis Wilder. Since Wilder sang tenor, the trio once again became an all-tenor vocal group.

In December 1948, with "Wrapped Up In A Dream" finally starting to make some chart noise, the Trio signed a three year contract with Joe Glaser's Associated Booking Corporation.

Around 1949, the Do-Re-Me Trio backed up a singer named Mary Del on "A.B.C. Boogie" (a tune Al Russell had written) and "Love You." "A restaurant owner backed her and paid for the session," said Al, "but she never made it big." It was released on Drexel, a tiny Philadelphia label. In 1954, "A.B.C. Boogie" was revived by Bill Haley and the Comets, appearing as the flip of "Shake, Rattle, and Roll." (My feeling was that the Trio practiced it around Gabler, who remembered it years later.) Mary subsequently released a cover of Ruth Brown's "Oh What A Dream" and had some releases on the Cadence label in the mid-50s.

Three records, by the "Do Ray Me Trio," appeared on Dagmar Van Haur's Ivory label in 1949. "Only One Dream" is a fine example of their style. Al Russell's lead vocal was supported by mellow instrumentation and even mellower "blow" harmonies from Cowan and Wilder. They also put a frenetic instrumental backing behind Harold Conner, another Ivory artist, on "I'll Get You When The Bridge Is Down."

In early 1950, there were releases on two labels that were owned by the Trio themselves: Reet (also as the "Do Ray Me Trio") and Keyboard (as "Do-Ray-Me").

They did very well as far as appearances wen, spending the month of January 1950 at the Gilded Cage in Phoenix, Arizona. In March, they appeared in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas of Florida.

However, by May of 1950, guitarist Joel Cowan, who had also penned many of the Trio's numbers, left to become part of the Camille Howard Trio. Curtis Wilder brought in a replacement from Detroit, but Al couldn't remember his name. They only stayed together long enough to do a two-week stint at the New Comedy Club, in Baltimore, in June, then broke up when the sheriff impounded the money for some reason. Al Russell continued on as a single.

Strangely, in September 1950, Derby Records (which had just stopped sharing office space with Rainbow Records) announced the signing of the "Do, Re, Mi Trio." Whatever that was about (since there was no group at that point), nothing ever appeared on the label.

In early 1951, Al Russell met Alton "Buddy" Hawkins in a Philadelphia nightclub where they were both appearing. Hawkins had been part of various groups from the age of thirteen, and was currently singing with a progressive harmony quintet that had recorded both as the Songmasters (on Commodore) and the Key Notes (on Skyscraper). (This is not the same Songmasters that made some demos around this time with Joe Van Loan in the lead.)

                    

According to Al Russel, he and Hawkins ended up singing together, as a duo, "The Two Al's," for a short while.

Enter Al Moore (oh, no, a third Al!). Moore had received keyboard training when he was eight, but then turned his attentions to vibes and bass. After organizing and playing in small bands in Philadelphia and New Jersey, he joined Louis Armstrong's band during the war. Moore "volunteered" himself into the group, and the Do Re Me Trio was reborn. Actually, there was a fourth member initially, a guitarist remembered only as "Freddy."

In April 1951, after being together for only a short time, the new group cut some sides for Columbia (all as "Al Russell & the Do-Re-Me Trio"). Their first offering, on Columbia, "I Want To Be With You Always," was rated "excellent" in the trades. After this, Columbia reactivated its Okeh subsidiary (which had been dormant since 1942) and switched all its R&B acts onto the new label. The three subsequent releases by the Do-Re-Me Trio (some from an August session) were all on Okeh. After this, Freddy, who couldn't travel much because of his job, left; they were once again a trio.

What's the problem with all this? In April, when they did their first Columbia session (with Buddy singing lead on "No More Dreams"), "Buddy Hawkins and the Key Notes" were still in existence! The Key Notes' last known booking was at the Red Hill Inn in Pennsauken, New Jersey, in May 1951, although they were still being advertised in a Jolly Joyce ad in July! It's possible that the Key Notes had broken up, but still had to honor a few last commitments. It's also possible that the commitments were honored by the Do-Re-Me Trio, masquerading under the Key Notes name. If so, the Red Hill Inn engagement must have been interesting, since a blurb in the trades claimed that Herb Kenny (brother of Ink Spots lead Bill Kenny) had joined the group as of this appearance.

Don't know if it's them, but in March 1952, the "Do-Re-Me Trio" was listed as being part of a revue in a Paris Music hall. The same act ("musical zanies") was mentioned in a November 1960 blurb. My guess is that it's not them.

July 1952 found the group at the Cabana Club in Philadelphia (it was touted as the first time a major R&B unit had played the club). This was followed, in September, by a single release on Rainbow (as the "Do Ray Me Trio"). One side is the almost unbearably delightful "She Would Not Yield" (which has 26 rhymes for "temptation").

December 1952 found them appearing at the Carver Bar (at the Glen Hotel, also in Philadelphia). By early 1953, the "Do Re Mi Trio" had a couple of platters on the Variety label (another one that they owned).

In April 1953, the "Do Re Me Trio" showed up on Brunswick, a subsidiary of Coral Records, which was, itself, a subsidiary of Decca (as Commodore had been). A year later they had a single release on the main Coral label, backed up by a 7-piece band and a female trio.

During the summer of 1954, the Trio appeared in Philadelphia, at the Club Zel-Mar and also at some clubs in nearby Wildwood, New Jersey, such as the Riptide. My sources don't reveal what they were doing in 1955, but in 1956, they played the Birdland in Florida and also Las Vegas' Fremont Hotel.

There were no further recordings by the Trio for four years, until a disc by "Buddy Hawkins & the Do Re Me Trio" was released on Joe Carlton's Carlton label.

Then, there were some recordings by the guys (now the "Do-Ray-Mi Trio") that appeared on Morty Craft's Stereocraft (also Stere-O-Craft) label in 1959. Two singles were issued, as well as an LP (later re-released on Hi-Life). The Seeberg Juke Box Company financed the venture, an early experiment with stereophonic sound. Oddly, the LP was monaural (although the liner notes tout the fact that the disc was "made from a genuine true stereophonic master" and promised superior sound quality as a result). The two 45 RPM singles were in stereo, though, and were probably used to test the practicality of stereo singles for juke box consumption. With a sound which was clean and uncluttered, the Do Re Mi Trio was apparently viewed as ideal for stereophonic separation in recording.

The pinnacle of their appearances for 1959 occurred when the guys did a six-month engagement with Harry James at The Flamingo in Las Vegas.

An intriguing blurb from June 1965 concerned model Lacey James. It said that she'd cut an LP, entitled Styles In Fashions And Song, for the Model label. On it, she was backed up by the "Buddy Hawkins Trio."

Their final album came out around 1966 on Melbourne, a Montreal company that was a subsidiary of Rodeo and distributed by London Records. The signatures on one copy indicate that Al Moore was "Do," Buddy Hawkins was "Ray," and Al Russell was "Me."

In January 1974, "Buddy Hawkins and His Do Ray Mi Trio" were playing Joe's Pier on West 52 Street in Manhattan (which is where I would interview them two years later). It looks like they'd been playing there since at least 1972.

When interviewed in 1976, Al Russell (vocals and piano), Buddy Hawkins (vocals and drums), and Al Moore (bassist) had been together for twenty-five years without a hit record. Lasting until around 1980, they enjoyed a reputation as a professional, self-contained act, well-suited for engagements in quality supper clubs and night spots. Thus, the Do Ray Me Trio (however you spell it) can be looked on as one of the more successful vocal/instrumental combos.

Buddy Hawkins, Al Moore, Joel Cowan, Doc Basso, Curtis Wilder, and (presumably) Joe Davis have all passed on. Al Russell is not only still alive, but amazingly, is still performing in Philadelphia, at the age of 85, in 2007.


Special thanks to Tony Fournier, Victor Pearlin, and Tony Tisovec. Discography by Ferdie Gonzalez.

COAST
501 It's So (DB)/Solid Mr. Kelly With The Jelly - 6/45
502 Shy Ann (DB)/8, 9, And 10 (all) - 7/45

EXCELSIOR
TR-136 Fla-Ga-La-Pa (TR)/Drop Another Nickel In The Jukebox (TR) - ca. 9/45
TR-138 Daddy-O (TR)/Hep Paderewski From Basin Street (TR) - ca. 9/45
        [the above two records are by Timmie Rogers, backed by the Al Russell Trio]
OR-174 Cement Mixer (JC)/I Must Forget About You (DB) - 5/46
OR-175 What Kind Of Love Is That/Three Little Words (AR) - 8/46
OR-176 Cynthia (DB)/Mellow Jelly Blues (DB) - 46
OR-180 Dig, Mister K. Kay Kay (AR)/More Than You Know (DB) - 46
OR-180 Say What You Mean (AR)/More Than You Know (DB) - 46

20TH CENTURY
20-22 Blue Prelude (DB)/Holiday Blues (DB) - ca. 12/46
20-23 I'm Yours (DB)/World War 2 Blues (AR) - ca. 12/46
20-42 Studebaker/Just Plain Love - 47

SAPPHIRE
705 Say It Isn't So (DB)/Shy Ann (DB) - 2/47
706 Under The Stars (DB)/Down The Road A Piece (AR) - 2/47
707 Strike Blues/The Trouble With Me Is You (AR) - 2/47
708 Ramona (DB)/If I Could Steal You (From Somebody Else) (JC) - 2/47

QUEEN (20th Century masters)
4162 Holiday Blues (DB)/World War Two Blues (AR) - 3/47

APOLLO
1058 Let's Get Together/Let's Go Down The Old Road - 4/47

DE LUXE
1081 Once In Awhile (AR)/Just Plain Love - 7/47 [also 3081]
      ["Just Plain Love" is the 20th Century master]
1083 Nobody Loves A Fat Man (AR)/Please Be Kind (AR) - 7/47 [also 3083]
3006 Shy Ann (DB)/Down The Road A Piece (AR) - 47 [also 6002]
      [these are the Sapphire masters]

KING (20th Century masters)
4162 Holiday Blues (DB)/World War Two Blues (AR) - 11/47


LEADS:
      TR = Timmie Rogers, backed by the Al Russell Trio; AR = Al Russell; DB = Doc Basso; JC = Joel Cowan

COMMODORE (subsidiary of Decca)
7504 There's A Man At The Door (JC/AR)/Teresa (AR) - 12/47
7504 There's A Man At The Door (JC/AR)/It's Like Taking Candy From A Baby - 12/47
7505 Wrapped Up In A Dream (AR)/The Wise Old Man (AR) - 12/47
7549 How Can I Smile (AR)/You Can't Love Two (AR) - 12/48
7550 Cabaret (AR)/Darling You Make It So (AR) - 12/48
7554 Brother Boodie/Don't - 49

DREXEL
600/601 A.B.C. Boogie/Love You - Ca. 49

IVORY
750 Only One Dream (AR)/Tell Me You Love Me (CW) - 8/49
752 I Done No Wrong (HC)/I'll Get You When The Bridge Is Down (HC) - 49
      [the above record is by Harold Conner, backed up, instrumentally, by the Do Ray Me Trio]
754 Rhumba Blues (AR)/I Couldn't Help It (AR) - 49

REET (owned by the group)
003 Out Of Bounds/Walkin' Around The Town - early 50
101 Holding Hands/I "D" Double Dare You - early 50
605 Walk Slow My Love (AR)/Chantilly Lace - early 50

KEYBOARD (owned by the group)
AR-1 Take Me On Home with You/Every Joe Needs His Jane - early 50

COLUMBIA
4-39385 No More Dreams (BH)/I Want To Be With You Always (AR) - 5/51

OKEH
4-6806 May That Day Never Come (AR)/How Can You Say You Love Me (AR) - 7/51
4-6831 I Couldn't Help It (AR)/I'll Be Waiting (AR) - 10/51
4-6845 I Love Each Move You Make (AR)/I Don't Want To Be Alone For Christmas (AR) - 11/51

RAINBOW
181 I'm Used To You (BH/AM)/She Would Not Yield (AR) - 9/52

VARIETY (owned by the group)
1001 Holding Hands (BH)/Tell Me You Love Me (BH) - 53
1002 Oo-Wee (all)/I'm Used To You (BH/AR) - 53

BRUNSWICK
80218 I'm Only Human (BH)/I'll Never Stop Being Yours (AR) - 4/53

   UNRELEASED BRUNSWICK
      I Can't Get You Off My Mind
      Is It A Crime

CORAL
61184 I'll Never Fail You (BH)/I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire (BH) - 5/54

   UNRELEASED CORAL
      Sitting On Pins And Needles
      You'd Better Stop Doing It

CARLTON
460 That's The Way Life Goes (BH)/How I Love My Baby (BH) - 4/58

STEREOCRAFT
112 On A Slow Boat To China/Saturday Nite Fish Fry - 4/59
115 Old Man River/Oo-Wee - 4/59

STERE-O-CRAFT
RCS 508M The Do-Ray-Mi Trio - 4/59 (rereleased on Hi-Life SHLP-62)
   Side 1:                                          Side 2:
        On A Slow Boat To China           Little Girl
        Saturday Night Fish Fry              I Can't Get You Off My Mind
        I May Be Wrong                          There's Only One Dream
        Old Man River                             Oo-Wee
        My Lucky Day                             By Candlelight
        Route 66                                     Blue Skies

MELBOURNE
4009 The Exciting Do-Ray-Me Trio - ca. 1966
   Side 1:                                        Side 2:
        People In Love                          Way Way Back In The Dark Dark Days
        How                                           Where Am I
        What More Do You Want          I Still Believe
        More Than That                        If I'm A Fool
        Why Did You Do It Baby           I've Got News
        Genesis                                    Tonight's Our Night


LEADS:
TR = Timmie Rogers, backed by the Al Russell Trio; AR = Al Russell; DB = Doc Basso; JC = Joel Cowan;
CW = Curtis Wilder; HC = Harold Connor, backed by the Do Ray Me Trio; BH = Buddy Hawkins; AM = Al Moore

COMMODORE
7555 Please Tell Me Now/How'd You Like To Have A Sweetheart - 49
7556 Am I Wasting My Time On You?/I'm Just A Dreamer - 49

SKYSCRAPER
1201 I Shouldn't Love You But I Do/Shake, Shake - ca. 8/50
1202 St. Louis Blues/I'm Lost - ca. 8/50