The Flairs

The Flairs were a significant West Coastline doo wop group, best remembered to be the starting pad for both Richard Berry and Cornell Gunter, who both continue to success within their subsequent solo careers. The initial group — Arthur Lee Maye (tenor), Thomas “Pete” Fox (2nd tenor), Obediah “Obie” Jessie (baritone), and A.V. Odum (bass) — created within the campus of Los Angeles’ Jefferson Saturated in 1953 and documented a unitary for John Dolphin’s Documented in Hollywood label beneath the name the Hollywood Blue Jays. (Another group would utilize the name after them). Maye and Odum after that give up the group and, by 1954, had been changed by tenor Cornell Gunter, who acquired already been performing using the Platters for two a few months, and bass Richard Berry, still in his teenagers, but already documenting using the Cadets, the Chimes, the Crowns, the Five Hearts, the Hunters, the Rams, the Whips, as well as the Dreamers, an usually all-female quartet from Fremont Great. Initially, the group (who had been now contacting themselves the Flamingoes) perhaps contains Gunter, his cousin Kenneth Byle (initial tenor), Thomas Miller (baritone), and George Hollis (bass), while some provide Gaynel Hodge, Cornelius Gunter, Curtiss Williams, Joe Jefferson, and Alex Hodge as associates. A 5th Flairs member, Beverly Thompson (tenor), also became a member of the group’s roster. 1 day, while playing hooky from college, they auditioned for Contemporary Information. By 1954, Gunter was splitting in the Platters to greatly help organize a full-time Flairs, acquiring their brand-new name from brands they saw published up for Modern’s not-yet-released Flair subsidiary. They documented many singles for Contemporary before Berry and Beverly Thompson still left the group’s lineup. Berry could have great success over time, including his uncredited business lead vocals on Leiber & Stoller’s “Riot in Cell Stop #9,” documented with the Robins, afterwards to mutate in to the Coasters. Berry’s alternative to the Flairs was bass guy Randolph Jones, though it had been for recording reasons just. Tenor Charles Jackson stuffed the gap still left by Beverly Thompson. In the meantime, the brand new Flairs made an appearance across the L.A. region and West Coastline and got the distinction to be for the cover from the initial TV Information ever published in the L.A. region. They also documented for Tampa information (using the name Jac-O-Lacs),and in addition documented as the Rams so that as Arthur Lee Maye as well as the Crowns. Sometimes, Maye’s sibling Eugene (second tenor) and Charles Holm (bass) would complete at performances. In 1956, this group made an appearance on the Apollo with Shirley Gunter, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, as well as the Cadillacs, and documented as the Ermines, 1st for the Loma label, and for ABC Paramount (under Buck Ram’s administration). Internal issues among the group’s staff arose when Cornell Gunter’s sister, Shirley Gunter, became a member of as a 6th member and the initial group imploded. Obie Jessie remaining to start out his single profession in earnest as Youthful Jessie (on “Mary Lou” he was supported from the Cadets). Pete Fox remaining the Flairs and became a member of the Hollywood Flames, changing Prentice Moreland for the reason that group. Randy Jones became a member of the Penguins, after that changed Lloyd McCraw in the Jacks/Cadets lineup. The final member of the initial Flairs to truly have a following career like a single designer was Cornell Gunter, who remaining in 1958 to become listed on the Coasters along with “Dub” Jones from your Cadets. In the mean time, Aaron Collins and Willie Davis remaining the Cadets and became a member of what will be the final incarnation from the Flairs (adding Thomas Miller, baritone, and George Hollis, bass) who documented for ABC. This fresh lineup documented under three different monikers: the Peppers, the Cadets, as well as the subtly different spelling from the Flares. They authorized to the Felsted label and documented two singles in 1960 and afterwards released a unitary on Ensign in 1961. Their third one for Felsted, the lively dance record “Feet Stomping-Part I,” visited number 25 for the Pop Graphs (amount 20 R&B) in 1962. Gunter afterwards started his very own Coasters work in 1963 as well, although the people of his Coasters had been mostly previous Penguins (Randolph Jones, Dexter Tisby, and Teddy Harper). Along with Cornell’s sister Shirley Gunter (from the Flairs), they documented for Challenge beneath the name Cornell Gunter in 1964. His group shifted from a quartet to a trio over another 25 years. Gunter’s Coasters had been inducted in to the Rock and roll & Move Hall of Popularity in 1987. On Feb 27, 1990, Gunter was shot and wiped out while seated in his car in north NEVADA. Richard Berry passed on of a coronary attack on January 23, 1997, in South Central, LA, CA.