The Red Caps were one of the most prolific and influential groups of the 1940s and 1950s. They had releases on many labels, using many names and featuring diverse personnel. This is their story.

In the music world of the late 30s and early 40s, there were many pioneer black vocal groups, all of whom owed a common debt to the very strong Mills Brothers and the somewhat lesser-known Ink Spots. However, other influences were also apparent in their styles. Swing and big band jazz had a tremendous impact in the 30s, and myriad small combo jazz and jive groups resulted, often with members drawn from the larger orchestras. A characteristic of the vocal groups that evolved from these combos in the 40s is that all members played instruments besides vocalizing -- a combination that all but disappeared from R&B by the middle 50s. (The actual 40s trend, however, was towards placing emphasis on vocal music rather than on the instrumentation.) It was in this atmosphere that the group later known as the Five Red Caps was born.

In the 30s, groups flocked to the LA area because of the varied work available: films, cartoon soundtracks, niteclubs, and radio. Four of these groups had a hand in the formation of the Red Caps.

      THE BASIN STREET BOYS

Steve Gibson, George Thompson, Perry Anderson and Sam Hutcherson started as the 4 Dots in Lynchburg, Va, in the early thirties. In 1935, they were added, for 3 months, to the tour of female band leader Jean Calloway. She renamed them the Basin Street Boys, although they had never been anywhere near New Orleans (it was just a more salable name). Leaving her in October, 1935, they went to Phoenix, and then to Los Angeles. There is a single known (and extremely raunchy) recording by this group and they did radio shows, voices for cartoons, and several films:

Films:
   Top Of The Town (1937 - Universal)
   Shall We Dance (1937 - RKO) - with Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers
   The Duke Is Tops (1938; also called Bronze Venus) - with Lena Horne ("Thursday Evening Swing")

Recordings:
   RACY
      HS-422 Come John Come/ (same title on the flip) – mid-30s

      THE FOUR BLACKBIRDS

This group was from Los Angeles, having attended Jefferson High (from which many great 50s R&B groups would come). The members were Geraldine Harris (1st tenor), David Patillo (2nd tenor), Leroy Hurte (baritone and guitar), and Richard Davis (bass).

Films:
    Memories And Melodies (1935) - a short
   The Music Goes Round (1936)

Recordings:
   VOCALION (subsidiary of Columbia)
      2895 Miss Otis Regrets/Dixie Rhythm - 3/35
      2943 Moonglow/Black Eyed Susan Brown - 5/35
      2981 Louisville Lady/Basin Street Blues - 7/35

   MELOTONE (subsidiary of Columbia -- Cliff Edwards & 4 Blackbirds)
      13347 It's An Old Southern Custom/Hunkadola - 4/35
      13403 I Got Shoes - You Got Shoesies/I Was Born Too Late - 1935
               (Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards was the voice of Jiminy Cricket in "Pinoccio")

      THE FIVE JONES BOYS

Originally from Carbondale, Illinois, they came to L.A. in the mid 30s. The lead tenor was Jimmy Springs; the others were William Bartley, Herman Wood, Louis Wood, and Charles Hopkins.

Films:
   Can This Be Dixie (1936)
   The Big Show (1936) - with Gene Autry ("The Lady Known As Lulu")
   Hollywood Party (1937) ("Chinatown, My Chinatown")

Recordings:
   VARIETY
      522 Doin' The Suzi-Q/Mr. Ghost Goes To Town - 4/37
      579 Don't Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch/My Gal Mezzanine - 6/37

      THE JONES BOYS SING BAND

Leon Rene, who would later own the Exclusive and Excelsior labels (as well as write "Gloria"), put the 4 Blackbirds and 5 Jones Boys together to form a large chorus called the Jones Boys Sing Band. The only one missing from this aggregation was Blackbird Geraldine Harris. The guitarist was sometimes Oscar Moore (who would later join the King Cole Trio), but when he was unavailable, Steve Gibson (of the Basin Street Boys) would be called on to do the honors. As was the case with many groups of the day, they imitated instruments; however, since there were eight voices, they had "sections" of various horns. Supposedly the entire instrumental sound track to Double Or Nothing consists of the voices of the Jones Boys Sing Band. Note that in movies they were credited (if at all) as the "Original Sing Band."

Films:
   Racing Blood (1936)
   Double Or Nothing (1937) - with Bing Crosby, Martha Raye, Andy Devine, and William Frawley
         (Group is on the sound track only, they don't appear in the film)
   Hollywood Handicap (1938) - an MGM short ("Rosalie," "Pickin A Rib," "Ride, Red, Ride")
   Going Places (1938) - with Dick Powell, Allen Jenkins, and Louis Armstrong (who introduced "Jeepers Creepers")
   Streamlined Swing (1938) - a short, directed by Buster Keaton, with only the Sing Band ("Pack Your Grip And Take A Little Trip,"
         "Swing As You Work," "Dinah," "Organ Grinder's Swing")

Recordings:
   DECCA
      1439 Pickin' A Rib/Sleepy Time In Hawaii - 1937

      THE FOUR TOPPERS

By 1940, as a result of there not being enough work for all these LA groups, a consolidation was in order. Calling themselves the 4 Toppers, the cream of each group (the "top" members, hence the name "Toppers") united: Jimmy Springs (tenor and drums - from the 5 Jones Boys), David Patillo (second tenor and sometimes bassist - from the 4 Blackbirds), Richard Davis (baritone and bassist - from the 4 Blackbirds), Steve Gibson (bass & guitar - from the Basin Street Boys).

As well as appearing in four films, the 4 Toppers hooked up with orchestra leader Larry Breese and recorded a couple of sides for Otis Rene's Ammor label in early 1940.

Films:
   Son Of Ingagi (1940) - an all-black horror film
   Mystery In Swing (1940) - an all-black mystery/musical musical ("Jump, The Water's Fine," "Let's Go To A Party")
   Murder With Music (1941)
   Toppers Take A Bow (1941) - short

Recordings:
   AMMOR (Larry Breese and His Orchestra)
      100 Carry Me Back To Old Virginia/(I Found A New Baby - instrumental) - ca. 3/40
      101 Jumpin' Jive/(What's New - vocal by Dyana Gayle) - ca. 3/40

Around 1942, the 4 Toppers went to New York and picked up a manager, Nat Nazarro. They hadn't been there too long when Richard Davis left, to be replaced by bassist Doles Dickens (who had been a member of the Phil Moore Four). Pianist Beryl Booker was then added as a fifth member (although they were still called the 4 Toppers).

In 1943, Beryl Booker became ill and was replaced by pianist and baritone Romaine Brown. Brown was a musical prodigy who played many instruments; he had been awarded a coveted scholarship to Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied the viola under the tutelage of the famed William Primrose. After school, Brown played piano behind the Philadel¬phia based Bon Bon Trio, which included George "Bon Bon" Tunnell (vocal¬ist), Harry Polk (guitar), and Truman Gibson (bassist no relation to Steve Gibson). On vacation in New York, he met Jimmy Springs, an acquaintance, on the street and was asked to take Booker's place on piano "for a few days." Brown accepted, and found the work so much to his liking (and the pay so alluring) that he never returned to the Curtis Institute. Brown's frenetic acrobatics while tickling the ivories soon became one of the trademarks of the Toppers. (Beryl Booker subsequently pursued a successful career of her own, both with the Austin Powell Quintet and her own small groups.)

      FINALLY, THE RED CAPS

In mid-1943 the 4 Toppers changed their name to the 5 Red Caps and signed with Joe Davis. Romaine Brown said that the name had a catchy sound and it "sounded black," like the "Ink Spots." Red caps (the traditional headgear of baggage handlers on trains and planes) were rarely worn by the group (possibly only for some photo sessions, during a show at Loew's State Theater, and in a 1949 movie). Springs said that another reason for the name change was to get around the recording ban imposed at that time by the American Federation Of Musicians (the first Petrillo Ban). No union musician was permitted to make records between August 1, 1942 and November of 1943. The Red Caps name was intended as a coverup, since all the members belonged to the union and shouldn't have been recording. But it was soon discovered by the union, which fined the group.

No discussion of the Red Caps could be complete without a digression into the career of Joe Davis, who made them a nationally-known group. The legendary Davis started out as a manager, publisher, and vocalist in the 1920s. His few vocal endeavors, for Harmony, Okeh, and Vocalion, were nothing to get excited over, but he soon made a name for himself as one of the first independent producers of what were then called "race" records. He wrote songs, published them himself, and then produced recordings of those songs (by various singers) for such labels as Edison, Ajax, and Perfect.

His first venture into a label of his own was Beacon, started in 1942. Davis entered into an arrangement with Gennett Records of Richmond, Indiana (nearly dormant for the past eight years). Davis got Gennett's allotment of scarce, wartime-rationed shellac in return for a sum of money to be used to refurbish the antiquated Gennett pressing plant. (This same obsolete equipment was reportedly purchased by National Records in 1947.) Davis actually got into the record business in order to service juke box operators, who were suffering mightily from the scarcity of new wax for their locations. He reserved 75% of his output for them, up until 1945. National records was started for the same purpose.

Besides the Beacon label, Davis also used the Gennett, Joe Davis, and Davis logos interchangeably, for what devious purpose we may never know. Some of the material issued came from old Gennett masters dating to the late 1920s, but most was newly-recorded. Some masters were purchased from other sources, and the Davis labels were able to boast an artist line-up that included Harry James, Maxine Sullivan, Coleman Hawkins, Wingy Manone, and Savannah Churchill.

Yet another label, Celebrity, appeared in 1947, issuing recouplings of things that had appeared originally on all his other labels. In March of that year, Davis put over 800 masters up for sale and announced his intentions of concentrating on the publishing end of the business once again. It is not known if all the masters were eventually sold, but a few did turn up in later years on MGM, a label that Davis was closely associated with up until the time he once again entered the record business with his own Jay-Dee, Davis, and Beacon operations in the early and mid-50s.

Joe Davis found the 5 Red Caps while they were appearing at the Enduro Club on Flatbush and DeKalb Avenues in Brooklyn, and invited the group to record for him. The resulting records were issued on Beacon, Joe Davis, Davis, Gennett, and Celebrity. Since many of them were made during the AFM recording ban, the instrumental capabilities of the group aren't always apparent, and the sound is much different from later recordings, even when the same members are present.

The Five Red Caps' recordings for Davis featured both lively jump tunes and beautiful ballads, mostly written by Davis himself. The frenetic beginning of "Tuscaloosa," complete with barnyard noises, contrasts strongly with the ethereal "In The Quiet Of The Dawn" – just two examples showing the true versatility of the group. Ballads were usually led by high tenor Jimmy Springs (a definite influence on future Ravens' lead Maithe Marshall), and up-tempo leads were usually taken by Romaine Brown or Steve Gibson.

The 5 Red Caps first recorded in July 1943, in a four-song session that produced "I'm The One," "I Made A Great Mistake," "There's A Light On The Hill," and "Tuscaloosa." Davis immediately began issuing these, on his Beacon label, in August. Later that month, they recorded another four songs: "Don't Fool With Me," "Mama Put Your Britches On," "No Fish Today," and "Grand Central Station." There were eight more tunes recorded in September: "Just For You," "I'm Going To Live My Life Alone," "I Learned A Lesson I'll Never Forget," "Words Can't Explain," "Boogie Woogie Ball," "Lenox Avenue Jump," "Don't You Know," and "Strictly On The Safety Side."

"I Learned A Lesson I'll Never Forget" was probably their biggest hit (it was their only 40s chart hit -- on the POP charts!). Originally released in January of 1944, the master, along with several others, was reissued on MGM in 1948. Like so many of their ballads, "I Learned A Lesson I'll Never Forget" has a structure and sound strikingly similar to songs written and sung by Davis himself, back in the late 1920s.

In March 1944, the 5 Red Caps signed a new 2 year contract with Davis. They were still Steve Gibson, Romaine Brown, Doles Dickens, Jimmy Springs and David Patillo. That same month, they had four sessions, for a total of 14 songs: "Somebody's Lyin'," "Was It You," "Red Caps Ball," "I Didn't Mean To Be Mean To You," "The Tables Have Turned On Me," "Never Give Up Hope," "Sugar Lips," "Gabriel's Band," "If I Can't Have You," "After I've Spent My Best Years On You," "It's So Good, Good, Good," "Spellbound," "I'm Crazy 'Bout You," and "I Was A Fool To Let You Go."

This frenzy of recording was followed by three more sides in April ("No One Else Will Do," "Thinking," "Mary Had A Little Jam") and an additional four in May ("In The Quiet Of The Dawn," "Thru Thick And Thin," "I'm To Blame," "Boogie Woogie On A Saturday Night").

In mid-1944, Emmett Mathews was added as a sixth member. A second tenor and soprano sax player, he was an acknowledged master of that rare instrument and played with a unique exuberance and bounce. Very well known on the New York theater circuit, he had led his own big band (The Arcadians), had had several records under his own name on Vocalion in 1936, and had been a sideman with Fats Waller and Louis Armstrong.

This six-man aggregation lasted long enough to have some publicity photos taken before Dickens left around November of 1944. Since he was standing at the far side of the photos, his picture was crudely and unceremoniously cut out of them. When he left, the bass-playing chores were temporarily taken over by Israel Crosby (who had been a member of the 3 Sharps And A Flat), and then permanently by David Patillo.

After almost 20 Beacon releases in 1943 and 1944, the Red Caps jumped ship in December 1944 to record for Herman Lubinsky's Savoy label. (These were not Davis recordings leased to Savoy; there's a photo of the Red Caps with Savoy owner Herman Lubinsky.) Although only four sides were recorded, Savoy managed to release four records between 1945 and 1949 (two of them on their Regent subsidiary). This was done by issuing "I'm Living For You" three times, changing "Nat's Boogie Woogie" to "Steve's Boogie Woogie," and turning "Palace Of Stone" into "I'm All Alone" on re release. The releases were as by the Toppers (on Savoy) and Steve Gibson and the Toppers (on Regent). The Savoy session sheet has the intriguing notation: "Label to be changed to Red Caps if and when litigation over name is terminated in favor of Toppers." While this sounds like the stuff that tabloid headlines are made of, it seems to have been occasioned by a fairly reasonable letter (still in the Savoy files in the 80s), from Joe Davis to Herman Lubinsky, saying that he (Davis) invested a lot of money in promoting a group called the "5 Red Caps" and he doesn't want it to go for nothing. There was no hint in the letter that the group was still under contract to him. As far as is known, there was no lawsuit and the group was soon back with Davis.

New Red Caps releases were forthcoming on the Joe Davis and Davis labels, but none achieved the success of "I Learned A Lesson I'll Never Forget." Their manager, Nat Nazarro, with one eye on the rapid growth in popularity of trios such as Johnny Moore's Three Blazers and the King Cole Trio (which contained Johnny Moore's brother, Oscar), formed a Red Caps Trio. This consisted of Romaine Brown (piano and vocals), Steve Gibson (guitar), and either Israel Crosby or David Patillo (bass). While there was an October 1944 session with just the Red Caps Trio ("Get Off Of That Kick," "It's Got A Hole In It," "That's The Stuff," and "Monkey And The Baboon"), most often they were used to back up Romaine's old friend George "Bon Bon" Tunnell, who was now recording for Davis also. Bon Bon and the Red Caps Trio first recorded "Don't Be Angry With Me" and "Can't You See" in April 1944. "Apple Honey," "Were You Lyin'," "Truthfully," and "Better Stop Playing Around" followed in October. In April 1945, the aggregation did "I'm Not Ashamed" and "Julia," followed by "Please Think Of Me Sometime" and "Don't Go Back On Your Word" in June. Then there was "Playin' The Field," "Riffin' With The Riff-Raff," "Building A Dream" and "I Just Had To See You Dear" in July. "My Dreams Are Getting Me Nowhere" and "You'd Better Stop Playing With Fire" were waxed in August.

The 5 Red Caps had a session in May 1945 that gave us "You Thrill Me," "The Boogie Beat'll Getcha If You Don't Watch Out," "My Everlasting Love For You," and "I'll Remind You."

November 1945 saw releases by the full Red Caps aggregation as the "Magnolia Five" (four songs recorded in September: "It Hurts Me, But I Like It," "Don't Come Cryin' To Me," "If You Can't Get Five, Take Two," and "Ouch!"). At that same session, they did the last Bon Bon and the Red Caps Trio recordings: "I Admit" and "Two Can Play That Game."

There were also releases by the Park Avenue Trio (Steve Gibson, Romaine Brown, and Doles Dickens). In July 1945, they recorded "If You Cared For Me," "Again And Again And Again" (which were both issued as by the Park Avenue Trio, as well as the Red Caps Trio), "I Drove You Into Some Else's Arms," "Do You Know How It Feels To Be Lonely," "Must We Say Goodbye?", "Heaven Happens Tonight," "Too Bad," and "It Was So Nice Knowing You." The only other recordings by this group were waxed in March 1946: "There's No One But You," "Without Any Strings," and "Foolishly.") In November 1945, they were voted the "best novelty possibility for 1946" by the New York Recorded Radio Programs Council.

[NOTE: Research by Ferdie Gonzalez shows that three other sides credited to the Park Avenue Trio - "I Didn't Mean A Word I Said," "Regretting," and "Do Anything But Cry, Sweetheart" - were actually by Bon Bon Tunnell, backed up by the Park Lane Trio (a white group consisting of Frank Signorelli, Andy Sanella, and Robert Michelson.]

In January 1946, the 5 Red Caps recorded "Seems Like Old Times," "I'm Glad I Waited For You," "I Love An Old-Fashioned Song," and "Atlanta, Ga."

Extensive travel continued for the group, now sporting a popular stage routine combining singing, playing, dancing, and clowning around. The 5 Red Caps played the national theater circuit, in addition to supper clubs in Miami, Washington, Buffalo, Las Vegas, and Hollywood. Success had both its good and bad sides: it was reported in August of 1946 that the group had invested in a Los Angeles celery farm; early the next year Romaine Brown's car was demolished near Joplin, Missouri while they were on their way to appear in Las Vegas. The accident was caused by a skid on some ice. Fortunately no one was hurt, but touring did take its toll.

Their final session for Joe Davis was held on March 20, 1946. The two songs recorded that day were "Confused" and "Have A Heart For Someone Who Has A Heart For You." Their contract with Davis was up that same month.

Soon after this, they acquired a new manager, Murray Weinger, who landed them a lucrative contract with Mercury Records, where they underwent another name change, this time to "Steve Gibson and the Red Caps." Re rel¬eases on Davis, Beacon and Celebrity went on through 1948, but by that time the group was no longer associated with Joe Davis. (In 1948, MGM released three 5 Red Caps records; old masters purchased from Davis.) There are six Davis masters for which I have no recording dates; I mention them here just to account for all the sides: "Don't Say We're Through," "Destination Unknown," and "Pleasant Dreams" (all as the 5 Red Caps) and "I'm Thinking Twice," "Again And Again And Again," and "If You Cared For Me" (all as Bon Bon and the Red Caps Trio). "Again And Again And Again" and "If You Cared For Me" were also issued as Bon Bon and the Park Avenue Trio.

On Mercury, the Red Caps scored with the January 1948 release of "Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up That Old Gang Of Mine," against competition from the Beale Street Boys and the 4 Vagabonds. About a year later, Mercury pressed up a promo record for the Bourne Music Company (owners of the publishing rights to the flip, "I've Lived A Lifetime For You"). One side featured the Red Caps' version and the other had Eddy Howard's. Each side had the same record and master number as its original.

In general, the best recorded efforts of the group are found on their Mercury sides. Romaine Brown does several great lead vocals, the superb soprano sax of Emmett Mathews is heard all over the place, and the team of Gibson and Earl Plummer (see below) handle lead spots capably. Their material is a pleasant variety of ballads and jump tunes, some of the latter quite hilarious. Alto sax man Arthur Davey was in the group for a time, as was drummer Preston "Peppy" Prince (who later headed the Peppy Prince Orchestra on the Million Dollar label).

Lead tenor Jimmy Springs left the group for a while in 1948, and was replaced by Earl Plummer. Over the next few years, both Springs and Plummer were in and out of the group; sometimes both were there at the same time. "I Learned A Lesson I'll Never Forget" was re recorded by the Red Caps in 1948, when they had switched over to Mercury (with Plummer taking Springs' tenor lead part). Plummer also recorded with the 4 Blues on Apollo (sessions were in 1948 and 1950 he probably was not on any of their earlier Decca or DeLuxe releases). He returned to the Red Caps in time for their February 1951 RCA session. Also in the group for a while was Ormonde Wilson, of the 40s incarnation of the Basin Street Boys (who recorded "I Sold My Heart To The Junkman"); Wilson was possibly Steve Gibson's step brother. Another sometime member of the Red Caps was lead tenor Andre D'Orsay. According to later member James Price, Andre would be used if neither Jimmy or Earl was available (although sometimes Steve Gibson used all three!). Someone named Austin Johnson was also around long enough to be captured in the accompanying photo.

According to Brown, the group made a few appearances in films: Excess Baggage was a 1949 Rudy Valee production which featured them as red caps (baggage handlers). Since this film was made for television, it had no commercial distribution. They were also in Destination Murder in 1950. This is nowhere near the number of similar appearances made in films by groups such as the Delta Rhythm Boys and Golden Gate Quartet, but the times had changed and this kind of work was becoming rarer. However they had television exposure in the 50s, on the Jackie Gleason, Arthur Godfrey, Ed Sullivan, and American Bandstand shows. The clip from Ed Sullivan shows them doing an incredibly frenetic version of "Cow Cow Boogie."

Unfortunately, none of their Mercury sessions, other than the first, can be dated. Here's a listing of all the songs recorded for Mercury, by session:

      Bless You (recorded 12/12/46)
      You Can't See The Sun When You're Crying
      Jack! You're Dead
      San Antonio Rose

      You Never Miss The Water Till The Well Runs Dry (recorded 1947)
      I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire
      Walkin' Through Heaven
      You're Driving Me Crazy

      Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up That Old Gang Of Mine (recorded 1947)
      I've Lived A Lifetime For You
      Danny Boy
      You Made Me Love You

      I Learned A Lesson I'll Never Forget (recorded 1948)
      Little White Lies
      Turnip Greens
      Scratch! And You'll Find It

      Money Is Honey (recorded 1948)
      Give Me Time

      Blueberry Hill (recorded 1949)
      I Love You
      Petunia
      I've Been Living For You

      They Ain't Gonna Tell It Right (recorded 1949)
      Second Hand Romance
      I Wake Up Every Morning (With A Heartache)
      Dirt Dishin' Daisy
      Steve's Blues
      Let The Rest Of The World Go By (this is the only unreleased Mercury song)

      I Want A Roof Over My Head (recorded 1950)
      I'll Never Love Anyone Else

      Are You Lonesome Tonight (recorded 1950)
      Sentimental Me

Their Mercury contract ran out in November of 1950, and that same month saw them recording for RCA. This move, to the biggest record company of them all, shows the continuing popularity of the group. Some of the RCA records were released as by "Steve Gibson and the Original Red Caps." If there was any spurious "Red Caps" competing with them at this time, no recordings by the ersatz group have ever surfaced.

Present at the November 10, 1950 session were: Steve Gibson (vocal and guitar), Jimmy Springs (vocal), Dave Patillo (vocal), Ormonde Wilson (vocal), Romaine Brown (piano), Emmett Mathews (saxophone), R. Callander (bass), W. McDaniel (drums), and H. Mitchell (guitar); the session was done in Hollywood, and, presumably, Callander, McDaniel, and Mitchell were studio musicians. The songs recorded were "Am I To Blame" and a cover of Phil Harris' "The Thing."

The February 1, 1951 session (also done in Hollywood) had Gibson, Springs, Patillo, Wilson, Brown, and Mathews. Earl Plummer was there too, as was drummer Peppy Prince. (On that day they recorded: "Three Dollars And Ninety-Eight Cents," "D'Ya Eat Yet, Joe," and "Shame.") But only two months later, on April 16, Springs, Patillo and Wilson were gone. "Sidewalk Shuffle" and "I'm To Blame" have Damita Jo DeBlanc (usually misspelled as "DuBlanc"), Earl Plummer, Romaine Brown, Emmett Mathews, Steve Gibson and an A. Hawkins doing vocals.

Damita Jo became the featured singer for several years, and she and Gibson were married in 1954 (they were divorced in 1958, but she remained with the group, because of bookings, until 1960). There was a June 18, 1951 session, at which the group (Damita Jo, David Patillo, Steve Gibson, Romaine Brown, and Emmett Mathews) recorded "Would I Mind," "Boogie Woogie On A Saturday Night" (which the 5 Red Caps had done back in 1945), and "When You Come Back To Me."

At the April 1, 1952 session ("I May Hate Myself In The Morning" and "Two Little Kisses"), only Damita Jo, David Patillo, and Steve Gibson are familiar names; Bill Doggett and a studio group did backup (including Abie Baker [Mickey Baker's father], Jimmy Cannady, Buddy Tate, Budd Johnson, Taft Jordan, and Tyree Glenn). Possibly not on any recordings, but part of the live group at this time was drummer Henry Tucker Green, who was the drummer for the Treniers from 1948, and was in and out of them, the Red Caps, and, later, the Romaines.

Two months later, at a June 2, 1952 session, the old gang is back again: "Wait," "Big Game Hunter," "I Went To Your Wedding," and "Sleepy Little Cowboy" feature vocals by Gibson, Damita Jo, Mathews, Brown, and Patillo. At a session at the end of the month (June 27), Jimmy Springs has returned. He, Patillo, Gibson, Brown, Mathews, and Damita Jo recorded "Do I, Do I, I Do"; "Why Don't You Love Me"; "Truthfully"; and "A'Fussin' And A'Fightin." In December 1952, saxophonist Arthur Davey returned (after a stint with Plink, Plank, and Plunk). Earl Plummer left the Red Caps in late 1952, going out as a single. By June 1953, he had joined the Romaines (see below).

A new addition in late 1952 was white baritone, comedian, and dancer James "Jay" Price, who says, "I had been working around Philly for a few years ⁙ the 2-4 Club, the Celebrity Room, and any other saloon that would hire me. A friend of mine that owned a record store and also acted as my manager, named Nick Pertrillo, said 'Why don't you go and see Steve Gibson. He's always looking for something new.' I sang, did comedy, and impressions. I went to Lee Guber's joint on Walnut Street in Philadelphia and auditioned. That was on a Saturday night in October 1952. That Monday, I opened with the group at Harry Altman's Town Casino in Buffalo, New York and stayed with the group until 1958." Interestingly, Jay says, "In the early years, Steve may have had a black following, but when I joined the group in 52, I can only think of one black club that we worked with the group, and that was the Flame Show Bar in Detroit around 56 or 57. The rest of the time we worked Vegas, Miami, New Jersey." (Jay's cousin, Sal Reyes, was the bus driver for the Red Caps, and ended up marrying Joan Proctor, a later female lead of the group.)

      THE ROMAINES

By mid-1953, Romaine Brown, tired of the constraints placed on his arranging ambitions, formed his own group, the Romaines. It featured Romaine Brown (bass voice and piano), Bobby Bushnell (baritone and bassist), Roy Hayes (tenor and guitar), Henry Tucker Green (drums). By June, Earl Plummer had joined as lead tenor.

The Romaines' first session was for Groove, in June of 1954. They later got a contract with Decca, with the help of Harry Mills of the Mills Brothers. By the time the group broke up in 1959, only Romaine Brown and Roy Hayes remained. Earl Plummer had been replaced by Jimmy Thomas (Plummer recorded "Two Loves Have I" and "Give Me Your Love" on East West in 1958), Bobby Bushnell by Johnny Eaton, Henry Tucker Green by Frank Shea, and Earl Edwards had been added as baritone (and tenor sax). The output of the Romaines was:

GROOVE
   0035 Your Kind Of Love/Till The Wee Wee Morning - 8/54

DECCA
   30054 Soft Summer Breeze/Autumn Leaves - 9/56
   30122 Ooba Dabba Dabba Da/Hold 'Em Joe - 10/56
   30399 When Your Lover Has Gone/Satin Doll - 7/57

      BACK TO THE RED CAPS

By 1953, a definite trend was visible in R&B and the Red Caps were not following it: the golden age of the vocal groups was under way. Still plugging along in the same old-time jive and ballad styles of the 40s, the Red Caps soon found themselves with a dwindling audience. Never having achieved the popularity among whites as the Mills Brothers and Ink Spots, the group also lost its black audience to a whole new generation of singing groups. RCA, in its heavy-handed fashion, didn't quite know "where" the Red Caps belonged; consequently, through poor material and poor management, the group never succeeded in earning a stable place in the music picture. The fast and furious pace of the personnel changes in the Red Caps that followed is best understood in light of these changes in the music scene and the group's jockeying for position.

It took over two years for the Red Caps to get back into the studio. Their next session was on December 17, 1954. On that day they recorded "Feelin' Kinda Happy," "My Tzatskele," "Nuff Of That Stuff," and "Win Or Lose." The session sheet only lists Steve Gibson and Damita Jo, but by this time RCA had generally stopped listing vocalists, so anyone could be present. However, the studio orchestra on this session consisted of Connie Kay, Mickey Baker, Jonah Jones, Taft Jordan, Kai Winding, and Budd Johnson.

By the time of their September 23, 1955 RCA session, Henry Tucker Green had left the Romaines and returned to the Red Caps. On that day, they recorded "Free Hearted," "Always," "How I Cry," and "Bobbin." Damita Jo was there, as was Ormonde Wilson, David Patillo, Emmett Mathews, Steve Gibson, and James "Jay" Price (in his only session). A second sax man, Gene Redd, had been added. Carrying on this double-threat mode, a second drummer, Bobby Gregg, who was white, was added to augment Henry Tucker Green, and a second bassist, Jimmy Johnson, joined, in addition to Dave Patillo. Gone however was Jimmy Springs. Two other sax men who were in and out of the group during this period were Frank Happingstall and Walkin' Willie Smith.

Within a year, the group had abandoned RCA for ABC Paramount. On April 3, 1956, they recorded "Love Me Tenderly" and "Rock And Roll Stomp." September 7 saw "Write To Me" and "Gaucho Serenade." On January 1, 1957, they did the old standby, "Flamingo," followed by "You May Not Love Me" and "You've Got Me Dizzy" on February 6. There was no further recording until September 13, when they did a cover of the Rays' "Silhouettes." The lead on this song was Nate Nelson (currently the lead of the Decca Flamingos), whom Steve Gibson brought in specifically for the session. This was done, according to Jay Price, to have a "teenage sound," which no one else in the group at the time was capable of. Nelson never appeared with them and newly-added high tenor George Tindley (former lead of the Dreams on Savoy) sang the lead at appearances.

When Jay Price left the Red Caps in 1958 (after a gig at Andy's Log Cabin in New Jersey), the vocalists were Steve Gibson, Damita Jo, Dave Patillo, George Tindley, and Emmett Mathews. The musicians included drummers Bobby Gregg and Henry Tucker Green; the sax men were Frank Happingstall and Gene Redd. Some new additions were bassist Kenny Mitchell, and sax man Vance Wilson. While Tindley was brought on board to replace Jimmy Springs, Springs would soon return.

Vance Wilson (who had been with Chris Powell's Blue Flames ⁙ he's the sax "lead voice" heard on the Johnny Echo records) was playing with an 18-piece band when the Red Caps rolled into Philadelphia to play at the Uptown Theater. It turned out that they needed a saxophone player at the time (to replace Frank Happingstall) and someone suggested Vance. After giving his two-week notice to the band, Vance joined the Red Caps; the others were Steve Gibson, Emmett Mathews, Dave Patillo, Jimmy Springs, Bobby Gregg, and newly-added George Tindley.

In 1958, the Red Caps hooked up with Al Browne's Rose Records. They recorded "Itty-Bitty," "I Want To Be Loved" (with June Henry), "It's Love," and "Forever 'N' A Day", which were released on Rose's Hi Lo subsidiary that year.

When the Romaines dissolved in 1959, Romaine Brown returned to the Red Caps. There were 1959 releases on Rose ("Bless You" and "I Miss You So") and its Casa Blanca subsidiary ("Where Are You" and "San Antone Rose" - as the Original Red Caps). "Blueberry Hill" and "Poor Poor Me" were issued on Stage (another Rose subsidiary) in 1960.

In 1959, ABC-Paramount purchased a lot of Red Caps masters from Rose. Four of them were released on ABC's Hunt subsidiary in 1959: "Bless You," "Cheryl Lee," "Where Are You," and "San Antone Rose." These were issued a month after the corresponding Rose releases. The last two of the purchases were released on ABC itself in April 1960: "I Went To Your Wedding"/"Together."

In 1960, Romaine Brown left once again to do a single, as did Damita Jo. She was replaced first by Gloria Smith, and then by a succession of other female singers, one of whom was named "Rayna Shine." (Others were Joya Sherill, Vivian Cervantes, Dottie Joy, Roberta Swede, and Joan Proctor.) There were several others in the group over the years, including Kenny Mitchell (baritone voice and bass player) and drummer Chippy Broncato, who replaced Bobby Gregg.

      THE MODERN RED CAPS

Around 1961, the Red Caps split into two groups due to what Vance Wilson describes as "tax problems." He, George Tindley, Chippy Broncato, and Dave Patillo, formed the "Modern Red Caps" [even manager Hymie Diamond went with the new group]. The fifth member was guitarist Bert Payne (who had been with Louis Jordan). Dave Patillo didn't last too long and was replaced by bass player Stanley Gaines. Note that Tindley was the only member who routinely sang. This aggregation lasted a little over a year, during which time they were the house band at a club in Wildwood, New Jersey (where they'd back up the headliners, like Dinah Washington and the Isley Brothers).

In 1962, the Modern Red Caps were completely re-formed. George Tindley recruited his old friend tenor George Grant (from the Castelles) and they recorded for Smash, Rowax, Penntowne, Lawn, and Swan in the early and mid 60s (see discography). George Grant sang lead on their version of "Golden Teardrops" (all other leads were by George Tindley). Other members of the group included Gerald "Twig" Smith, Kirk Manual, and another former member of the Castelles, Billy Taylor. This group lasted at least until 1970, when George Grant left for California (eventually joining George Holmes' Ink Spots, along with Sonny Til). Their last known recordings were for United Artists, on July 14, 1967, but none of these was ever released.

After the breakup, Steve Gibson and Emmett Mathews constructed a new Red Caps group around three of the Furness Brothers (Bill, Joe, and Arthur "Peck" Furness). A fourth brother, leader John "Slim" Furness, had recently passed away. Once again Bon Bon Tunnell is part of the history: he, Slim Furness, and Bob Pease had recorded for Columbia, Brunswick, and Vocalion as the 3 Keys. Around 1942, Slim, Bill, and Peck Furness (guitar, piano, and bass respectively) were, with drummer Ernie Hatfield, calling themselves the 4 Keys and doing backup work on Decca. By 1950, brother Joe was the fourth member, and a fifth brother was being groomed to join. (When Rudy West and the 5 Keys burst upon the music scene, the 4 Keys tried to enjoin them from using the name, but lost; instead they changed their own group name to the Furness Brothers ⁙ "The Entertainment World's Handsomest Quartet.")

When Dave Patillo left the Modern Red Caps, he joined up with Jay Price in the "Jay Price Sextette." The other members were Fred Back (tenor sax), Johnny Walker (trombone), Art Romano (guitar), and Francis Mickey O'Donnell (drums). This aggregation lasted for a couple of years.

The last known original release by Steve Gibson and the Red Caps was on Band Box in 1962: "No More" and "Peppermint Baby" (part of the Twist craze).

In the mid-60s, the Red Caps' female singer was one Tammy Montgomery, who had had some releases on Scepter/Wand. Harvey Fuqua (of the Moonglows, then working for Motown) heard her and thought she'd sound good paired with Marvin Gaye. Her name was changed to "Tammi Terrell" and she had a string of hits with Gaye, starting in 1967.

When Jay Price returned from a tour of the Far East in 1965, he rejoined Gibson, Mathews, and the Furness brothers for a short while. Chippy Broncato had returned as drummer, Wynona Carr was pianist, and Vince Brando was the bassist.

Gibson kept the Red Caps circulating for a few more years, before finally deciding success would be forever elusive, and disbanding them for good.

Around 1980, Steve Gibson was part of the "New Ink Spots." A promotional album ("The Wonderful World of the New Ink Spots" on Spot Records) listed Gibson as baritone, Lucius "Dusty" Brooks (formerly of the 4 Tones) as bass, Johnny Taylor as lead tenor, and Rufus Larue McKay as second tenor. Old friend Henry Tucker Green was the drummer.

Of the core group, Dave Patillo died around 1970; Romaine Brown and Jimmy Springs in 1987; Steve Gibson had a stroke and subsequently passed away too (around 1995). Damita Jo died in 1999. Emmett Mathews, in the late 80s, was living in New York, but was unavailable for an interview; he too may have passed on.

No one would deny that the Red Caps declined musically in the waning years of their career, perhaps having reached their peak while at Mercury. The fact remains that this prolific and long-lived group helped bridge the gap between the "race" era groups of the 40s and the R&B era of the 50s, leaving many, many fine recordings behind them.

Special thanks to Peter Grendysa, Ferdie Gonzalez, Ray Funk, Greg Centamore, Phil Beauchamp, Paul Ressler, Richard Reicheg, Joel Scherzer, and Jay Price.

Also used were the liner notes to Krazy Kat 779 ("The 5 Red Caps - Lenox Avenue Jump") by Bruce Bastin.

AMMOR (Larry Breese and His Orchestra, vocal by the 4 Toppers)
100 Carry Me Back To Old Virginia/(I Found A New Baby - instrumental) - ca. 3/40
101 Jumpin' Jive/(What's New - vocal by Dyana Gayle) - ca. 3/40

Notes on the Joe Davis recordings: Davis assigned a series to each artist, so missing numbers might exist. Consecutively-numbered records were not necessarily issued in order. Except for the first four Beacon releases, the same number series was used on several of his labels (Beacon, Davis, Joe Davis, Gennett).

BEACON (The 5 Red Caps)
115    I'm The One/Tuscaloosa – 8/43
116    I Made A Great Mistake/There's A Light On The Hill – 8/43
117    Don't Fool With Me/Mama Put Your Britches On – 10/43
118    No Fish Today/Grand Central Station – 11/43
7115 I'm The One/I Made A Great Mistake – 43
7116 There's A Light On The Hill/Don't Fool With Me – 43
7117 Tuscaloosa/Mama Put Your Britches On – 43
7118 No Fish Today/Grand Central Station – 43
7119 Just For You/I'm Going To Live My Life Alone – 43
7120 I Learned A Lesson I'll Never Forget/Words Can't Explain – 1/44
7121 Boogie Woogie Ball/Lenox Avenue Jump – 2/44
7122 Don't You Know/Strictly On The Safety Side – 8/44
7123 Somebody's Lyin'/Was It You – 5/44
7124 Sugar Lips/Gabriel's Band – 10/44
7127 Red Caps Ball/I Didn't Mean To Be Mean To You – 44
7128 If I Can't Have You/After I've Spent My Best Years On You – 44
7129 It's So Good Good Good/Spellbound – 44
7130 No One Else Will Do/I'm Crazy 'Bout You – 10/44

       (NOTE: Beacon 7115-7123 were re-released on Davis' Gennett label,
        with the same numbers, in September, 1944)

JOE DAVIS (The Red Caps Trio)
7220 Get Off Of That Kick/It's Got A Hole In It – 2/45
7221 Monkey And The Baboon/That's The Stuff – 2/45

SAVOY (As The Toppers)
559 If Money Grew On Trees/Palace Of Stone – 45

JOE DAVIS (The 5 Red Caps)
7120 I Learned A Lesson I'll Never Forget/Words Can't Explain – 45
7121 Boogie Woogie Ball/Lenox Avenue Jump – 45
7123 Somebody's Lyin'/Was It You – 45
7125 Don't Say We're Through/Destination Unknown – 6/45
7126 The Tables Have Turned On Me/Never Give Up Hope – 3/45
7131 I Was A Fool To Let You Go/Thinking – 7/45
7132 Pleasant Dreams/Mary Had A Little Jam – 10/45
7133 I'm To Blame/Boogie Woogie On A Saturday Night – 4/45
7136 I'll Remind You/My Everlasting Love For You – 8/45

JOE DAVIS (Bon Bon And The Red Caps Trio)
7190 Apple Honey/Were You Lyin' – 45
7191 Don't Be Angry With Me/Can't You See – 45
7192 Truthfully/Better Stop Playing Around – 2/45
7195 I'm Not Ashamed/Julia – 45
7196 Again And Again And Again/If You Cared For Me – 45
7199 Please Think Of Me Sometime/Don't Go Back On Your Word – 45
7200 Playin' The Field/Riffin' With The Riff-Raff – 45
7203 Building A Dream/I Just Had To See You, Dear – 45
7206 You'd Better Stop Playin' With Fire/My Dreams Are Getting Me Nowhere – 45
7210 I Admit/Two Can Play That Game – 45

DAVIS (The 5 Red Caps)
7134 In The Quiet Of The Dawn/Thru Thick And Thin – 45
7135 You Thrill Me/The Boogie Beat'll Getcha If You Don't Watch Out – 12/45
7136 I'll Remind You/My Everlasting Love For You – 8/45

JOE DAVIS (Bon Bon and The Park Avenue Trio)
7196 Again And Again And Again/If You Cared For Me – 45

JOE DAVIS (The Park Avenue Trio)
7201 I Drove You Into Someone Else's Arms/Do You Know How It Feels To Be Lonesome – 45
7202 Must We Say Goodbye/Heaven Happens Tonight – 45
7205 Too Bad/It Was So Nice Knowing You – 45

JOE DAVIS (As Magnolia Five)
6666 It Hurts Me, But I Like It/Don't Come Cryin' To Me – 11/45
6667 If You Can't Get Five, Take Two/Ouch! – 11/45

DAVIS (The 5 Red Caps)
2101 Seems Like Old Times/I'm Glad I Waited For You – 3/46
2102 I Love An Old-Fashioned Song/Atlanta, Ga. – 3/46

DAVIS (The 5 Red Caps)
7141 Confused/Have A Heart For Someone Who Has A Heart For You – 4/46

JOE DAVIS (The Park Avenue Trio)
7213 Foolishly/Do Anything But Cry, Sweetheart ** – 46
       (** this title is really by Bon Bon & the Park Lane Trio; see text)

DAVIS (The Park Avenue Trio)
2106 I Didn't Mean A Word I Said **/Regretting ** – 46
2109 There's No One But You/Without Any Strings – 46
      (** this title is really by Bon Bon & the Park Lane Trio; see text)

BEACON (The 5 Red Caps)
7142 Words Can't Explain/Strictly On The Safety Side – 46

MERCURY (Steve Gibson And The Red Caps)
5011 You Can't See The Sun When You're Cryin'/Bless You (For Being An Angel) – 1/47

DAVIS (Bon Bon And The Red Caps Trio)
7210 I Admit/Two Can Play That Game – 2/47

BEACON (The Red Caps Trio)
7220 Get Off Of That Kick/It's Got A Hole In It – 47
7221 Monkey And The Baboon/That's The Stuff – 47

MERCURY (Steve Gibson And The Red Caps)
8038 Jack You're Dead/San Antonio Rose – 5/47
8052 I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire/You Never Miss The Water Till The Well Runs Dry – 9/47

BEACON (Bon Bon And The Park Avenue Trio)
7201 I Drove You Into Someone Else's Arms/Do You Know How It Feels To Be Lonesome – 10/47
7202 Must We Say Goodbye/Heaven Happens Tonight – 10/47

BEACON (Bon Bon And The Red Caps Trio)
7210 I Admit/Two Can Play That Game – 10/47

MERCURY (Steve Gibson And The Red Caps)
8059 Walkin' Through Heaven/You're Driving Me Crazy – 10/47

SAVOY (As The Toppers)
656 I'm All Alone/I'm Living For You – 10/47
      ("I'm All Alone" and 1945's "Palace Of Stone" are the same master)

MERCURY (Steve Gibson And The Red Caps)
8069 Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up That Old Gang Of Mine/I've Lived A Lifetime For You – 1/48

CELEBRITY (Bon Bon And The Red Caps Trio; this is a Joe Davis label)
2008 I'm Thinking Twice/Truthfully – 3/48

MERCURY(Steve Gibson And The Red Caps)
8085 Little White Lies/Turnip Greens – 4/48

BEACON (The 5 Red Caps)
4120 Words Can't Explain/Strictly On The Safety Side – 48

REGENT (Savoy Subsidiary - As Steve Gibson And The Toppers)
130 Nat's Boogie Woogie/I'm Living For You – 48

MERCURY (Steve Gibson And The Red Caps)
8091 Scratch! And You'll Find It/Danny Boy [credits group, but a Steve Gibson Solo] – 6/48
8093 Money Is Honey/Give Me Time – 6/48

MGM (The 5 Red Caps) (Old Masters Purchased From Joe Davis, 8/48)
4001 Thru Thick And Thin/I'm To Blame – 48
10285 Boogie Woogie On A Saturday Night/If I Can't Have You – 10/48
10330 I Learned A Lesson I'll Never Forget/Sugar Lips – 12/48

MERCURY (Steve Gibson And The Red Caps)
8109 I Learned A Lesson I'll Never Forget/You Made Me Love You – 12/48

BOURNE MUSIC CO. (Steve Gibson And The Red Caps)
8069 I've Lived A Lifetime For You/
5233M I've Lived A Lifetime For You – Eddy Howard – early 49
      This was a promo, pressed by Mercury. Bourne Music owned publishing rights to the song.

MERCURY (Steve Gibson And The Red Caps)
8146 Blueberry Hill/I Love You – 7/49

REGENT (Savoy Subsidiary - As Steve Gibson And The Toppers)
1008 Steve's Boogie Woogie/I'm Living For You – 8/49
       ("Nat's Boogie Woogie" and "Steve's Boogie Woogie" are the same master)

MERCURY (Steve Gibson And The Red Caps)
8157 Petunia/I've Been Living For You – 10/49
            (same as the Toppers' "I'm Living For You")
8165 I Wake Up Every Morning/They Ain't Gonna Tell It Right – 1/50
5380 I'll Never Love Anyone Else/I Want A Roof Over My Head – 2/50
8174 Are You Lonesome Tonight/Sentimental Me – 3/50
8186 Steve's Blues/Dirt-Dishin' Daisy – 7/50

RCA VICTOR (Steve Gibson And The Red Caps)
47-3986* Am I To Blame/The Thing – 12/50
47-4076* Three Dollars And Ninety-Eight Cents/D'Ya Eat Yet, Joe – 3/51
50-0127* I'm To Blame/Sidewalk Shuffle – 5/51
50-0138* Would I Mind/When You Come Back To Me – 7/51
47-4294 Shame/Boogie Woogie On A Saturday Night – 9/51
47-4670 I May Hate Myself In The Morning/Two Little Kisses – 4/52
47-4835* I Went To Your Wedding/Wait – 7/52
47-5013 Truthfully/Why Don't You Love Me – 10/52
47-5130 Big Game Hunter/Do I, Do I, I Do – 1/53
      (* = label says "Steve Gibson And The Original Red Caps")

MERCURY (Steve Gibson And The Red Caps)
70389 Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up That Old Gang Of Mine/Second Hand Romance – 5/54

JAY-DEE (Steve Gibson And The Red Caps - old Joe Davis masters)
796 Ouch!/It Hurts Me But I Like It – 11/54

RCA VICTOR (Steve Gibson And The Red Caps)
47-5987 My Tzatskele/Win Or Lose – 1/55
47-6096 Feelin' Kinda Happy/Nuff Of That Stuff – 4/55
47-6345 Bobbin'/How Do I Cry – 11/55

ABC-PARAMOUNT (Steve Gibson And The Red Caps)
9702 Love Me Tenderly/Rock And Roll Stomp – 5/56
9750 Write To Me/Gaucho Serenade – 11/56
9796 You May Not Love Me/You've Got Me Dizzy – 3/57
9856 Flamingo/Silhouettes – 9/57

HI LO (Steve Gibson And The Red Caps; part of ROSE Records)
101 Itty Bitty/I Want To Be Loved (with June Henry) – 9/58
103 It's Love/Forever 'N' A Day – 1958

ROSE (Steve Gibson And The Red Caps)
5534 Bless You/I Miss You So – 2/59

CASA BLANCA (Steve Gibson And The Original Red Caps; part of ROSE Records)
5505 Where Are You/San Antone Rose – 9/59

HUNT (Steve Gibson And The Red Caps; part of ABC PARAMOUNT Records)
326 Bless You/Cheryl Lee – 3/59
330 Where Are You/San Antone Rose – 10/59

ABC-PARAMOUNT (Steve Gibson And The Red Caps)
10105 I Went To Your Wedding/Together – 4/60

STAGE (Steve Gibson And The Red Caps; part of ROSE Records)
3001 Blueberry Hill/Poor Poor Me (voc. by George Tindley) – 60

BAND BOX (Steve Gibson And The Red Caps)
325 No More/Peppermint Baby – 62

SMASH (George Tindley And The Modern Red Caps)
1768 I Couldn't Care Less/Done Being Lonely – 6/62

ROWAX (George Tindley And The Modern Red Caps)
801 Don't You Hear Them Laughing/They Can Dream – 63

PENNTOWNE (The Modern Red Caps)
101 Free/Never Kiss A Good Man Good-bye – early 65

LAWN (The Modern Red Caps)
254 Our Love Will Never Be The Same/Empty World – 7/65

SWAN (The Modern Red Caps)
4243 Golden Teardrops/Never Too Young – 1/66

UNITED ARTISTS (The Modern Red Caps) - recorded 7/14/67; all unreleased
      The Sound Of Music
      When You Wish Upon A Star
      We Walked In The Moonlight
      As Long As I Want Someone
      Layers And Layers
      When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through Her Eyes

DOO-WOPP (George Tinley [sic] And The Modern Red Caps)
101 Since I Met Cindy/Ain't Gonna Worry About You – ??/??