The Vogues

The Vogues

The Vogues in 1965
Background information
Origin Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres Rock and roll, traditional pop music, blue eyed soul
Years active 1958–present
Labels Co & Ce, Reprise
Members Royce Taylor
Bill Burkette
Troy Elich
Tom Lamb
Artie Deleonardis
Dean Mastrangelo
Rich Gooch
Past members Chuck Blasko
Don Miller
Jim Campagna
Stan Elich
Terry Brightbill
Hugh Geyer

The Vogues are an American vocal group from Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The original group consisted of Bill Burkette (lead baritone), Don Miller (baritone), Hugh Geyer (first tenor) and Chuck Blasko (second tenor).[1]

They are best known for their chart topping singles "You're The One", "Five O'Clock World", "Magic Town", and "Turn Around, Look At Me". In addition to touring the world, the group appeared on American Bandstand, The Tonight Show, and The Ed Sullivan Show. They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001.

Career

The group, originally named the Val-Aires, formed in 1958 at Turtle Creek High School. They signed with Pittsburgh manager Elmer Willet, who produced their first recording release "Which One Will It Be/Laurie My Love". DJ Porky Chedwick became a supporter booking the group for his rock and roll shows and record hops. Chedwick put them on bills with the Drifters, the Platters, and the Dells. Clark Race of KDKA radio promoted the group on his KDKA TV dance show. Having strong regional sales it was picked up for national distribution by Coral Records.

After high school, several members of the group joined the Army while others went to college. A few years later with their enlistments completed and degrees in hand, they decided to record again. They pitched in $100 apiece to record a demo tape. They hired Nick Cenci, who had broken Lou Christie, to produce the recording. In 1965, Cenci produced recording sessions for the Val-Aires at Gateway Studios in Pittsburgh. The band recorded vocals for a cover of the Petula Clark song "You're The One." It was released on the band's own Blue Star label. Cenci persuaded John Rook, program director of KQV, to play the single. With local airplay and sales Cenci signed them to the Co & Ce label as the "Vogues". He had the single distributed nationally. The song became a national hit reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100. Later in 1965, Cenci produced another Vogues recording session giving the world the no. 4 Billboard hit, "Five O'Clock World".

In 1966 Co & Ce Records released the singles "Magic Town", which reached no. 21 in February, and the no. 29 "The Land of Milk and Honey". The singles "Summer Afternoon" and "Lovers Of The World Unite" were released on Co & Ce in 1967. Co & Ce leased the Vogues to Reprise Records (distributed by Warner Bros.) where they scored a no. 7 hit with the song "Turn Around, Look at Me". They continued to hit the charts with cover versions of "My Special Angel", "Till" ,"No, Not Much", "Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)", "Moments To Remember," and Green Fields".[2]

From 2004 until 2006, original member Hugh Geyer toured with Blasko's group in the 14 Western Pennsylvania counties that Blasko's group was permitted to tour in. This limitation on Blasko's group was awarded to him by a Pennsylvania court. After creative differences with Blasko, Geyer left that group at the end of 2006.

In March 2007, Geyer joined the national touring group of The Vogues of "trademark" owner Stan Elich. Geyer continued to perform with this group until his retirement in December 2012.

In May 2008, original lead vocalist Bill Burkette joined Geyer in touring the USA with the "trademark" Vogues. The members of this group included Burkette, Geyer, group owner Stan Elich, Troy Elich and Jim Campagna. Stan Elich died in December 2010. His son Troy now owns the trademark "The Vogues".

The Vogues line-up, as of January 2016, is original lead singer Bill Burkette, Troy Elich and Royce Taylor. Taylor had previously been a member of The Vogues from 1991–1997. Current band members are Albert Pavlik (Lead Guitar), Artie Deleonardis (drums), JR Wright (keyboards), and Rich Gooch (bass).

The original group made many TV appearances in the 1960s, including The Tonight Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, Shindig, The Red Skelton Show, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, American Bandstand, Hullabaloo and several appearances on The Mike Douglas Show.

The original group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001.[3]

Studio albums

Singles

Year A-side B-side
From same album as A-side except where indicated		 Record Catalog Number Notes US US AC AU Album
1959"Launie, My Love""Which One Will It Be?"Willett 114as The VALAIRES--- Non-album tracks
1960"Launie, My Love""Which One Will It Be"Coral 62177Re-release, as The VAL-AIRES---
1965"You're The One""Some Words" (Non-album track)Blue Star B-229---- Meet The Vogues
1965"You're The One""Some Words" (Non-album track)Co & Ce 229Re-release4-55
1965"Five O'Clock World""Nothing To Offer You" (from Meet The Vogues)Co & Ce 232-4-64 Five O'Clock World
1966"Magic Town""Humpty Dumpty" (from Five O'Clock World)Co & Ce 234-21--The Vogues' Greatest Hits
1966"The Land Of Milk And Honey""True Lovers"Co & Ce 238-29-- Non-album tracks
1966"Please Mr. Sun""Don't Blame The Rain"Co & Ce 240-48--
1966"That's The Tune""Midnight Dreams"Co & Ce 242-99--
1967"Summer Afternoon""Take A Chance On Me Baby"Co & Ce 244----
1967"Lovers Of The World Unite""Brighter Days"Co & Ce 246----
1967"Lovers Of The World Unite""Brighter Days"MGM 13813Leased by MGM---
1968"Just What I've Been Lookin' For "I've Got You On My Mind" (Non-album track)Reprise 0663---- The Vogues Sing The Good Old Songs and Other Hits
1968"Turn Around, Look At Me""Then"Reprise 0686-7343 Turn Around, Look At Me
1968"My Special Angel""I Keep It Hid"Reprise 0766-7136
1968"Till""I Will"Reprise 0788-275- Till
1969"Woman Helping Man""I'll Know My Love (By The Way She Talks)"Reprise 0803----
1969"Woman Helping Man""No, Not Much"Reprise 0803Re-release47/346/6-
1969"Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)""P.S. I Love You"Reprise 0820-427- Memories
1969"Moments To Remember""Once In A While"Reprise 0831-471797
1969"Green Fields""Easy To Say" (From The Vogues Sing The Good Old Songs and Other Hits)Reprise 0844-9219- The Vogues' Greatest Hits
1969"See That Girl""We Only Have Love" (Non-album track)Reprise 0856--13-
1970"God Only Knows""Moody"Reprise 0887-10121- The Vogues Sing The Good Old Songs and Other Hits
1970"Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye""Over The Rainbow" (Non-album track)Reprise 0909-10118-
1970"Theme (The Good Old Songs)""Come Into My Arms" (From Turn Around, Look At Me)Reprise 0931--27-
1970"Since I Don't Have You""I Know You As A Woman"Reprise 0969--8-
1971"Love Song""We're On Our Way"Bell 991X-11823- Non-album tracks
1971"Take Time To Tell Her""I'll Be With You"Bell 45,127--38-
1971"An American Family""Gotta Have You Back"Bell 45,158----
1973"My Prayer""I've Got To Learn To Live Without You"20th Century 2041--31-
1973"Wonderful Summer""Guess Who"20th Century 2060--47-
1974"As Time Goes By""Prisoner Of Love"20th Century 2085---/37-

References

  1. ↑ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 251. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  2. ↑ "The Vogues - Pittsburgh Music History". Sites.google.com. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
  3. ↑ "Inductees - The Vocal Group Hall of Fame Foundation". Vocalgroup.org. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
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