![]() ![]() Mercury execs heard a record by a black group called The Chords named "Sh-Boom!", which hadn't been released yet. Many labels signed white vocal groups to re-record those particular songs to make them more "acceptable" to listeners-in other words, to "whiten" them up-and then released them to an unsuspecting public that believed them to be original material (Pat Boone, for one, had a major hit when he re-recorded Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally"). At the time it wasn't uncommon for many radio stations to refuse to play records by black singers or black groups, even if a record sold well in black areas. Their first few records for Mercury went nowhere. He also got them an audition with Mercury Records, which signed them to a contract. They met up with DJ Bill Randle, who liked their sound but not their name, and changed it to The Crew Cuts. They later got booked to appear on a TV show in Cleveland (OH) called "The Gene Carroll Show". ![]() When they returned to Toronto they started getting better bookings, and got a gig opening for Gisele MacKenzie at the Casino Theatre. In 1953 they got a spot on Arthur Godfrey's New York-based radio and TV show, "Talent Scouts", and came in second place. They soon quit their full-time jobs to pursue a music career, and sang in clubs in the Toronto and Niagara Falls areas. They changed their name to The Canadaires when a Toronto disc jockey booked them on his weekly music show. In 1952, after graduating high school, Maugeri and Perkins got together with Pat Barrett and Ray Perkins and formed a group called The Four Tones. Maugeri and John Perkins formed a quartet they called The Jordanaires with Frank Busseri and Corrado Codarini (both of whom eventually joined The Four Lads). The members of the group-Rudi Maugeri, Pat Barrett and brothers John Perkins and Ray Perkins-attended school together at St. The Crew Cuts was a vocal group popular in the early and mid-'50s that had a smooth vocal sound in the manner of The Four Preps, The Four Freshmen and The Four Lads (in fact, an early version of the group contained two members who later joined The Four Lads). ![]()
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