The origins of the Jacks go back to Los Angeles in the late 1940s and the formation of the Santa Monica Soul Seekers, a spiritual group. Baritone Lloyd McCraw came to L.A., from Chicago in 1947. His resume included time with the Dixie Hummingbirds and the Royal Four. By 1954, the other Soul Seekers were: Willie Davis (first tenor), Austin “Ted” Taylor (first tenor), Aaron Collins (second tenor), Glendon Kingsby (baritone), and Will “Dub” Jones (bass).
In the spring of 1955, the Soul Seekers approached Modern Records for a recording deal and were sent to arranger extraordinaire Maxwell Davis. After listening to them, Davis suggested that they abandon gospel singing to concentrate on Rhythm & Blues. They all agreed, except for Glendon Kingsby, who left the group to continue singing spirituals. The Soul Seekers signed with Modern on April 10, 1955.
A real family affair, Modern had lots of subsidiaries (not all of which were in existence at that time). Modern and RPM were run by Saul Bihari, Crown and Kent by Jules Bihari, and Flair by Joe Bihari (a fourth brother, Lester, ran Meteor Records in Memphis). You may recognize a few of the other names at Modern: Jules Taub, Joe Josea, and Sam Ling. These were pen names used by Jules, Joe, and Saul when they decided to give themselves writer credit for other artists' songs.
Joe Bihari (who had a sharp eye for local hits with national potential) was the one who dubbed the new group the Cadets. He also selected all the group's songs and, along with Maxwell Davis, supervised their sessions. The Jacks/Cadets were recorded in the old Modern studios at 9317 West Washington Boulevard in Culver City, California.
The Cadets first record (released, on Modern, in April 1955) was a cover of Nappy Brown's Savoy hit “Don't Be Angry” (led by Aaron Collins). Its flip, “I Cry,” was fronted by Ted Taylor. The disc doesn't seem to have been sent for review, but it was contemporaneous with the Robins' “I Love Paris,” the 5 Wings' “Teardrops Are Falling,” the Casanovas' “That's All,” the Dudads' “I Heard You Call Me Dear,” and Champion Jack Dupree's tale of woe: “Two Below Zero.”
That same month, the guys did some other covers. A recording by the Feathers, called “Why Don't You Write Me?”, on the local Showtime label was showing a lot of promise. Since Joe Bihari thought the Cadets would be great on it, he rushed them into the studio. Not wanting it to compete with “Don't Be Angry,” he decided to release it as by the “Jacks” (on Modern's RPM subsidiary). This would be the pattern: releases by the “Cadets” on Modern and the “Jacks” on RPM. Willie Davis was the lead on “Why Don't You Write Me?”. The flip was a cover of Charles Calhoun's “Smack Dab In The Middle,” led by Dub Jones (the tune was also covered by the Du Droppers).Both sides of the Jacks record were rated “excellent” on May 14, along with the 5 Keys' “The Verdict,” the Penguins' “Kiss A Fool Goodbye,” the Cashmeres' “Don't Let It Happen Again,” and the 5 Dukes' “I Cross My Fingers.”
“Why Don't You Write Me?” rose to #3 on the R&B charts (remaining for 14 weeks) and even made the Pop charts (although only as far as #82). It earned the Jacks a station wagon, fifteen sets of uniforms, and a spot in a one-nighter tour for Associated Artists, featuring Ruth Brown, T-Bone Walker, Etta James, and the Orioles. Joe Bihari had been right; the Jacks did such a good job on the tune that they obliterated the Feathers' version from the charts.
In May 1955, the Cadets backed up Richard Berry (former member of the Flairs) on “God Gave Me You”/“Don't Cha Go.” These were released on Flair, another Modern subsidiary. This was reviewed on May 21, along with the Empires' “Magic Mirror,” the Midnighters' “Henry's Got Flat Feet,” the Dappers' “Come Back To Me,” and the 5 Owls' “I Like Moonshine.”
Also in May, the Cadets recorded a cover of the Marigolds' “Rollin' Stone” (led by Aaron). He also led the flip, “Fine Lookin' Baby” (a tune that would subsequently appear on LPs as both “Fine Lookin' Woman” and “Oo Wee Baby”). The record was reviewed on June 4, 1955, along with Shirley & Lee's “Feel So Good,” Arthur Lee Maye & Crowns' “Love Me Always,” the 4 Fellows' “Soldier Boy,” Marvin & Johnny's “Sugar Mama,” and the 5 Keys' “My Love.”
The next Jacks' record was issued in June 1955. With Willie Davis leading both sides, the disc was: “I'm Confessin'”/“Since My Baby's Been Gone.” There were two other releases of note in June: the Cadets backed up Young Jessie (another Flairs alumnus) on “Mary Lou”/“Don't Think I Will” and the Jacks were behind Donna Hightower on “Love Me Again”/“Dog Gone It.” (Of course, the “Cadets” and the “Jacks” are arbitrary designations; it's just that the Young Jessie record came out on Modern and Donna Hightower was on RPM.) There was one backup that they didn't do, however, according to Aaron Collins. It had been reported for years that the Jacks backed up Paul Anka on “I Confess,” but it isn't so.The reviews for “I'm Confessin'” and “Love Me Again” were printed on July 2, along with those for the Larks' “Honey From The Bee,” the Cardinals' “Come Back My Love,” the Tenderfoots' “Sindy,” the Meadowlarks' “Always And Always,” the Smoothtones' “Bring Back Your Love,” and the poorly-rated “Death Of An Angel,” by Donald Woods and the Bel-Airs. That same week, the trades reported “Rollin' Stone” a Territorial Tip in New Orleans.
“Mary Lou” was reviewed on July 23, 1955, along with the Coronets' “Crime Doesn't Pay,” Lou Mac's “Slow Down,” the Barons' “I Know I Was Wrong,” the Californians' “My Angel,” and the Orchids' “You're Everything To Me.”
On July 30, the trades singled out “Why Don't You Write Me?” to be a Pick Of The Week. It was doing well in New York City, Buffalo, Baltimore, St. Louis, Nashville, Atlanta, Cleveland, and Cincinnati.
In July 1955, for unknown reasons (but probably to give one more chance to songs to which they owned the copyright), Modern reissued the “B” sides of the first two Cadets records as a single disc: “I Cry” and “Fine Lookin' Baby.” This was followed, in August, with a reissue of “Why Don't You Write Me?”, this time backed by the Ted Taylor-led “My Darling.” This one was a no-brainer: since “Why Don't You Write Me?” was doing so well, Modern decided to pair it with a song to which Modern owned the publishing rights (something that couldn't be said for “Smack Dab In The Middle”).
Also in August, they backed up Richard Berry again, although it's a bit complicated. The record (on Flair) was “Jelly Roll”/“Together.” However, the label credits “Richard Berry and the Dreamers.” While “Together” really does have the Dreamers, on “Jelly Roll” it's the Jacks/Cadets in the background. “Jelly Roll” got a good review on August 27, along with the Clovers' “Nip Sip,” the Dominoes' “Take Me Back To Heaven,” Shirley Gunter's “Ipsy Opsie Ooh,” the Pyramids' “Deep In My Heart For You,” and the Sheppards' “Love.”
In September 1955, the Cadets covered the Champions' “Annie Met Henry” (led by Aaron and Dub). Its flip was “So Will I” (led by Aaron), a song that had been done by Bette McLaurin & the 4 Fellows back in April. The record wasn't sent out for review.
Also in September, RPM issued the second Jacks backup to Donna Hightower: “Bob-O-Link”/“Since You.” Modern was one of those companies that assigned master numbers at pressing time, and it's therefore impossible to know if these were recorded at the “Love Me Again” session or if they were done at another time. Fortunately, Pete Fox was able to help me sort out who's on what songs, because there's no way to group them into sessions. [In fact, without any other evidence, I usually assume that a disc's songs were recorded in the same month it was released; an absurd thing to do, but thanks to Modern's practices, there's no way around it.] “Bob-O-Link” was reviewed on October 1, 1955, along with Otis Williams & Charms' “Tell Me Now,” the Hawks' “These Blues,” Arthur Lee Maye & Crowns' “Do The Bop,” and the Kidds' “You Broke My Heart.”
October 1955 saw a record issued by each group: the Jacks had “This Empty Heart” (led by Willie)/“My Clumsy Heart” (led by Dub). Note that “This Empty Heart” appears on LPs as “My Love Has Gone.” The Cadets gave us “Do You Wanna Rock” (which appears on albums as “Hey Little Girl”). Led by Ted, it was something of a rip-off of the Drifters' “What'cha Gonna Do.” The flip, led by Aaron, is “If It Is Wrong.”
“My Clumsy Heart” was reviewed on November 12, along with Willie Mabon's “The Seventh Son,” Oscar McLollie's “Convicted,” Anita Tucker's “Let's Make Love,” and the Belvederes' “Pepper-Hot Baby.” “If It Is Wrong” was reviewed the following week, along with Marvin & Chirps' “Sixteen Tons,” the Hearts' “Until The Real Thing Comes Along,” the Sunbeams' “Come Back Baby,” Jimmy Jones & the Sparks of Rhythm's “Stars Are In The Sky,” the Saigons' “You're Heavenly,” and the Squires' “Heavenly Angel.”
On November 16, 1955, the Jacks were in Lake Charles, Louisiana, kicking off a 19-day tour along with Count Basie and Joe Williams, Ruth Brown, George Shearing, the Orioles, and T-Bone Walker. The end of the tour found them at the Apollo Theater as part of a Dr. Jive show. Others on the bill were Howling Wolf, Bo Diddley, the Flamingos, the Harptones, the Heartbeats, Dakota Staton, Etta James, Bill Doggett, and Willis “Gator Tail” Jackson.
By the end of 1955, baritone Lloyd McCraw had stopped singing with the Jacks/Cadets, although he would remain associated with them in a managerial capacity. His replacement was Thomas “Pete” Fox, a tenor from the original Flairs, who had broken up by this point.
1956 was the big year for the Modern complex. Aaron brought his sisters, Rose and Betty Collins, into the Modern studios and, in early January, the Teen Queens' “Eddie My Love” emerged. [The Teen Queens never could follow up this smash hit; Rose was a suicide in 1968 and Betty, a drug addict, died in 1971.] When Jesse Belvin and Eugene Church hit as the Cliques on “The Girl In My Dreams” in April, Modern was a pretty hot label.
In early January 1956, the Jacks appeared on Gene Norman's Los Angeles-based TV show. Later that month, RPM released two songs with Willie Davis in the lead: “How Soon” (an old Vaughn Monroe tune from 1947) and “So Wrong.” The big social event of January, however, was Joe Bihari's wedding.“How Soon” was reviewed on February 4, along with the Turbans' “Sister Sookey,” Shirley & Lee's “That's What I'll Do,” the Counts' “To Our Love,” and the Feathers' “Lonesome Tonight.”
In February, the Cadets did a double-sided cover: they took on Elvis Presley with “Heartbreak Hotel” (Dub in the lead) and the Willows with “Church Bells May Ring” (fronted by Aaron). The disc was reviewed on March 31, along with the 5 Dollars' “So Strange,” Fats Domino's “My Blue Heaven,” Joe Turner's “Corrine, Corrina,” the Moonglows' “We Go Together,” the Cadillacs' “You Are,” and the Fi-Tones' “I Call To You.”
Even though I couldn't find all that many appearances listed for the Jacks, they impressed the right people. In March, it was reported that the Jacks had been signed by the Buck Ram management agency.
April 1956 saw the release of the Jacks' “Why Did I Fall In Love” (led by Willie), coupled with “Sugar Baby” (led by Aaron). This record was reviewed on April 21 (both sides “excellent”), along with the Six Teens' “A Casual Look,” the Wheels' “My Heart's Desire,” the Harptones' “What Is Your Decision?”, the Solitaires' “The Honeymoon,” Robert & Johnny's “Train To Paradise,” the Savoys' “Say You're Mine,” the Chimes' “Chop Chop,” and Arthur Lee Maye & Crowns' “Gloria.”
By the start of the summer, the group suffered another casualty when Ted Taylor became the second original member to leave. In his case, he wanted to concentrate on a solo career.
A local group called the Jayhawks was starting to make some noise with a tune called “Stranded In The Jungle.” The Cadets were called in to cover it, and the result (led by Dub, with duet choruses featuring Aaron and Willie) was issued in June; the flip, also led by Dub, was “I Want You.”
Actually, there were five voices on “Stranded In The Jungle”/“I Want You.” Modern management decided that another high tenor should be used in place of Ted Taylor. Accordingly, they threw newly-signed Prentice Moreland into the session. Moreland, possessor of a wonderful voice, was with many, many groups (for example, the Dominoes, the Du Droppers, the Colts, and the Hollywood Flames), but didn't seem to be able to stay with any of them for long. While there wasn't really a need for a high tenor on either song, Prentice entered the R&B history books by screaming out “Great googa mooga, lemme outta here” in the middle of “Stranded.” He also did a solo effort that day, “Memories Of You,” on which he's backed up by the Cadets (I'll leave it up to you if you want to call it a Cadets tune). However, by the time “Memories
Of You” was released on a single, in February 1957, either Moreland had re-recorded it or the Dread Chorus had been overdubbed over the original.Once the “Stranded In The Jungle” session was over, the guys decided to remain with only four singers. Thus Willie Davis, Aaron Collins, Pete Fox, and Dub Jones recorded all the rest of the Jacks/Cadets songs (although occasionally Modern would reach into the vaults to issue an older master).
“Stranded In The Jungle”/“I Want You” were issued in June 1955. “Stranded” got an “excellent” review on June 30, along with the Pretenders' “I've Got To Have You Baby,” the Valentines' “Twenty Minutes Before The Hour,” Richard Berry's “Yama Yama Pretty Mama,” the Vocaltones' “Darling (You Know I Love You),” the Nitecaps' “Bamboo Rock And Roll,” and the Meadowlarks' “Please Love A Fool.” The tune took the Cadets to #4 on the R&B charts and, more important, to #15 on the Pop charts. At this time, the first rumors appeared in the trades that the Jacks and the Cadets were the same group. Also in June, former Cadet Lloyd McCraw began to manage the Rockets/Rocketeers (the group that had been the Rhythm Aces on Vee-Jay).
The Cadets' version smashed the Jayhawks', in spite of the fact that the Cadets didn't seem to understand the lyrics (or care about what they were singing). For example the Cadets' “but my soul was gone” was originally “but I saw what was goin' on.” Don't feel too sorry for the Jayhawks, however; they'd eventually change their name to the Vibrations and have a string of hits.
“Stranded In The Jungle” was a monster hit and the Cadets went off on tour. They only appeared as the “Cadets,” but they also sang “Jacks” songs (with no explanation to their mostly unsuspecting audience). While the guys were in Kansas City and Chicago in July, “Stranded In The Jungle” was proclaimed a Pick Of The Week by the trades. In only a month, the Cadets had driven the Jayhawks off the charts. There was a shaky time for the Cadets during this tour: Aaron received his draft notice and Ted Taylor rejoined the group for a couple of weeks. However, Aaron got out of it somehow and was able to continue on.
The July 1956 entry for the Jacks was one I've always liked: “Let's Make Up” (Aaron in the lead). It was coupled with Willie out front on “Dream A Little Longer.” Considering how much Alan Freed played “Let's Make Up,” it never really became a hit and, sadly, it was the last record released as by the Jacks. The half-dozen records remaining to the group would all be by the Cadets.
In September 1956, Modern released remakes of two 1951 hits, both led by Dub Jones: Peppermint Harris' “I Got Loaded” and “Dancin' Dan” (a cleaned-up version of the Dominoes' “Sixty Minute Man”). I remember liking “Dancin' Dan” a lot, never having a clue about its raunchy beginnings. Both of these tunes had been recorded in the first half of 1956: that is, Ted Taylor was still there (in fact, it was Taylor who wanted to do the “Sixty Minute Man” remake), but Lloyd McCraw wasn't. The record was reviewed on September 29, along with the Heartbeats' “A Thousand Miles Away,” Luther Bond & the Emeralds' “I Cry,” the Teentones' “Love Is A Vow,” the Rocketeers' “Hey Rube,” and the Calvaes' “Mambo Fiesta.”On September 28, the Cadets began another week at the Apollo Theater in New York. They shared the stage with Ruth Brown, the Magnificents, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, and Moms Mabley. While they were in New York, Modern had them record a few tunes: “I'll Be Spinning,” “Fools Rush In,” “You Belong To Me,” and “Wiggie Waggie Woo.” Sax work on these was done by Sam “The Man” Taylor, instead of their mentor, Maxwell Davis.
In November, Modern released the Cadets' cover of Johnnie & Joe's “I'll Be Spinning” (featuring Aaron and Willie in a duet lead). The flip was the old standard, “Fools Rush In,” led by Dub. The platter was reviewed on November 10, along with the Avalons' “It's Funny But It's True,” Lavern Baker's “Jim Dandy,” the Medallions' “Did You Have Fun,” Johnnie & Joe's “I'll Be Spinning,” Robert & Johnny's “Million Dollar Bills,” and the Gardenias' “Flaming Love.”
In December 1956, Modern issued “Heaven Help Me” (led by Willie), backed with “Love Bandit” (fronted by Dub). The record doesn't seem to have been reviewed.
In 1957, Modern entered the LP market: the Cadets' first album. Rock And Rollin' With The Cadets, was released as Modern 1215 in February. In March, Jumpin' With The Jacks, was released as RPM 3006. A few weeks later, all Modern and RPM LPs were switched to the Crown label at a list price of $1.98, a move which greatly increased their sales potential.
Modern used Jacks and Cadets sides indiscriminately on their albums. The Jacks album contained four sides originally by the Cadets; the Cadets album had one side that was originally by the Jacks. (I know, I know, they're the same group, but we purists demand that they be kept separate.) Crown released an additional album by each in 1963 (long after the group was history): The Cadets contains five calypso sides by Aaron Collins and a studio group (see below); The Jacks contains two Cadets cuts and two by the Rockets (the group that had been managed by Lloyd McCraw); their “Be Lovey Dovey” and “You Are The First One” had originally been released on Modern.
Also in March 1957, Modern released the Cadets' “You Belong To Me”/“Wiggie Waggie Woo,” both led by Aaron. This turned out to be their second record in a row that wasn't sent out for review.
The Cadets had become pretty dormant by this point (while they occasionally recorded, Pete Fox only remembered them having a single appearance after they returned from the “Stranded In The Jungle” tour in late October 1956).
There was a release in May 1957 that claimed to be by “Aaron Collins and the Cadets,” however it's Aaron, backed up by a studio group: “Pretty Evey”/“Rum, Jamaica Rum.” These cuts also appear on the Calypso U.S.A. With Aaron Collins album on Crown, probably issued the same month. Some of the other cuts from that album show up on Jacks and Cadets albums too: “The Riddle,” “Marie My Love,” “John Henry,” and “I Had But 50 Cents.” “Pretty Evey” was reviewed on May 20, along with the Drifters' “Hypnotized,” the Channels' “What Do You Do,” Alice Jean & Mondellos' “100 Years From Today,” and the Titans' “G'wan Home Calypso.” Because of the platter, Aaron found himself a guest on the Larry Finley Telethon on KTLA, along with Jimmie Beasley and Jesse Belvin. Note that “Marie My Love,” written by Aaron, had also been done by our old friend Prentice Moreland on an RPM single from February 1957.
The August 1957 Cadets release had two tunes led by Dub Jones: the standard “Hands Across The Table,” backed with “Love Can Do Most Anything.” It was reviewed August 26, along with the Coasters' “Idol With The Golden Head,” Andre Williams' “Jail Bait,” the Shells' “Baby Oh Baby,” Don & Dewey's “Leavin' It All Up To You,” and Bobby Day's “Little Bitty Pretty One.”The final Cadets record was issued in November 1957. Aaron leads “Ring Chimes,” a cover of the I.V. Leaguers local hit. The flip, “Baby Ya Know,” led by Willie, was an old master done by the original group. The trades reviewed it December 2, along with Chuck Willis' “Betty & Dupree,” the Chantels' “Maybe,” the Pastels' “Been So Long,” the Teenagers' “Flip-Flop,” the Falcons' “Now That It's Over,” and the Cadillacs' “Buzz-Buzz-Buzz.”
By this time, Modern/RPM was running into financial trouble (which may account for the spotty record of sending discs out for review). In December, Dub Jones joined Buster Williams and unknown others as the “Space Riders” behind Jesse Belvin's “My Satellite”/“Just To Say Hello.” This became the last Modern single until the label was reactivated some years later. With the coming of 1958, the Cadets, the Jacks, and Modern/RPM records itself had passed into the annals of Rock 'n' Roll history.
After this, Aaron Collins and Willie Davis joined the Flairs (soon to become the Flares) and Dub Jones joined the Coasters. Ted Taylor was busy with his solo career and Pete Fox became a guitarist (later a guitar teacher). Lloyd McCraw owned a few record labels (the M.J.C. label [with partners Dub Jones and Aaron Collins] and the Titanic label were two of them). For more on the Cadets, the Flares, the Peppers, the Thor-Ables, and the Rocketeers, see the Flairs article.
[When this was originally written in the 70s] Collins, Davis, Jones, and McCraw all recorded occasionally (mostly on spirituals). The only alumnus of the Cadets/Jacks to have an active solo career was Ted Taylor. Aaron had a thriving shoe repair business on Pico and Crenshaw in L.A. and the Biharis continued their very profitable custom record pressing business on South Normandie Avenue.
The Jacks/Cadets were the perfect example of a fifties house group; they were extremely talented and versatile. Whatever looked marketable, Joe Bihari would have them record, be it calypso, traditional Rhythm and Blues ballads, jumps, or smooth standards. If it was an up-and-coming hit by another artist, so much the better.
They're almost all gone now. Ted Taylor died in 1987, Lloyd McCraw in 1987, Prentice Moreland in 1988, Aaron Collins in 1997, and Dub Jones in 2000. Only Willie Davis and Pete Fox (still teaching guitar in 2003) are still around.
Discographical information courtesy of Ferdie Gonzalez. Ads are from various editions of Galen Gart's First Pressings series. Special thanks to Victor Pearlin and Gordon Skadberg.