39-21-40 Shape/Hey Baby by Dan River Breeze

Added: Feb 22, 2012

From: EagleMedieval

Duration: 4:12

***The info about the original artist, General Norman Johnson, is very good on this one. I did meet him at an Apple Festival in Eden, NC when I was playing in Floydz Circle. He was a nice guy who I saw live more than once. I probably should have found a pic and put it on here, too.***Recorded April 13, 1985, this is the tenth song from the last night Stan's was open. I cut a couple of minutes off the end.The first 2-3 photos were taken by Andy. All the rest came from Google Image Searches.CREDITS:Lead Vocal & Guitar: Vaughn (May 7, 1954 - Oct 6, 2006)Back-up Vocals: Cindy & John N.Bass Guitar: SteveDrums: TimKeyboards and Slideshow: JimmyNOTES ABOUT General Norman Johnson and "39-21-40 Shape" are included from Wikipedia. See Wikipedia also for information about "Hey Baby" and Neil Sedaka...The Showmen were a New Orleans based American doo-wop and R&B group formed in 1961. They are best remembered for their track, "It Will Stand", issued on Minit Records. "It Will Stand" (Minit 632) reached #61 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961, and when re-released in 1964 (Imperial 66033) re-charted and reached #80. They had another hit, the Carolina Beach Music standard "39-21-40 Shape;" the label on the single, however, was mistakenly printed "39-21-46," and this soon supplanted the official title.Unlike the majority of musicians that recorded for New Orleans record labels controlled by Joe Banashak, The Showmen were not from that locality. They all came from Norfolk, Virginia, moving to New Orleans in May 1961 and April 1962, to record fifteen titles under the studio supervision of the then barely known Allen Toussaint.General Norman Johnson, at the age of twelve, formed the group The Humdingers that would eventually become The Showmen. In the late 1950s, Noah Biggs began managing The Humdingers. He sent a demo to Banashak. The songs on the demo were "The Owl Sees You", "For You My Darling", "Skinny McGinny" and "I Go On Loving You". Banashak arranged for Toussaint to record The Humdingers."Our Love Will Grow" on Swan Records became a Northern soul track, listed as number 382 on the Northern Soul All Time Top 500.In 1968 Johnson amicably left the group, to begin his association with Holland-Dozier-Holland's Invictus Records. He became leader of the group Chairmen of the Board.The Showmen (once managed by the now deceased Johnson) presently consists of Warren Brown, Rubin Collick, Michael Spratley, and Bill Talley.Johnson made an early start in music when he began singing in his church choir at the age of six. His recording debut came six years later on Atlantic Records, who waxed his group the Humdingers, although the tracks remain unreleased. In 1961, and following a change in name to The Showmen, Johnson and the group issued via Minit Records the single "It Will Stand." The track was a chart hit in both 1961 and 1964. Although The Showmen recorded other offerings for Minit and Swan, including such hits as "39-21-46", they split up in 1968.Johnson attempted an abortive solo career before joining the then new Invictus label in Detroit, Michigan. Steered by Holland-Dozier-Holland, Johnson recruited Danny Woods (ex-The Showmen), Harrison Kennedy, and Eddie Curtis and created Chairmen of the Board. Their debut single, "Give Me Just a Little More Time", rose to #3 in the US Billboard R&B chart in 1970. Further hits included "(You've Got Me) Dangling on a String" and "Everything's Tuesday."Johnson commenced a career as songwriter with "Pay to the Piper," becoming a modest success for Chairmen of the Board. Other songs he penned were successful when recorded by other musicians. These included the Grammy Award winning "Patches" for Clarence Carter (Jerry Reed also recorded a country music cover version). Invictus Records labelmates Honey Cone recorded the Johnson penned tracks "Want Ads", "Stick Up," and "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show." Also Johnson wrote "Bring the Boys Home", for Freda Payne.Chairmen of the Board's popularity diminshed in the middle of the 1970s, although Johnson and Woods remained together re-billed as the Chairmen. Johnson tried a solo career again in 1979, and his debut solo album on Arista Records was a modest success. He teamed up again with Woods in the following decade, making a living on the beach music circuit. In 1993, having lost little of his distinctive vocal style, Johnson released another album, What Goes Around Comes Around, recorded with Woods.In recognition of the contribution that Johnson has made to American popular music, the Virginia General Assembly designated June 9, 2001 as General Johnson Day in Virginia.Johnson died on October 13, 2010, in suburban Atlanta, Georgia. His obituary in The New York Times reported that his family attributed his death to complications of lung cancer. Other obituaries did not mention lung cancer but did note that he was recovering from recent knee surgery.

Channel: Music

Tags: beach music  the showmen  neil sedaka  39-21-40 shape  39-21-46  hey baby  1960s  sixties  60s  chairmen of the board  live  classic  oldies  r&b  rhythm and blues 

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