Song:Oh How Happy
Album:Oldies But Goodies Vol. 2
Oh How Happy was a top twenty hit in 1966 and the only significant hit for the vocal group Shades Of Blue. A lot of folks think the group was black and they were on Motown. Neither of those things was true but they are from the Detroit suburb of Livonia, MI. They started out as the doo wop group The Domingos in 1961. Nick Marinelli was lead singer. Other members were Bob Kerr, Ernie Dernai and Dan Guise. They performed locally in Detroit and split up after graduating from high school. While attending college, they became friends with members of The Reflections. They had just had a big hit with (Just Like) Romeo and Juliet. They suggested to Marinelli that they should audition for their record company Golden World and the owner Ed Wingate. Golden World was Motown's chief rival and Motown bought them in 1966. They couldn't find Guise so he was replaced by Linda Steinberg. She married Bob Kerr. The problem was The Reflections were a very unpleasant experience for Wingate. So he didn't want a similar group. But he allowed them to hang around the studio. Golden World's chief asset and the reason Motown bought them was Edwin Starr. Starr wrote Oh How Happy. The Domingos cut a demo of the song. Starr liked it and took it to producer John Rhys. He produced The Newbeats hit Bread and Butter. Rhys renamed the group Shades Of Blue and released Oh How Happy on Impact Records. Oh How Happy reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. Then they recorded an album and went out on tour. In the end, Shades Of Blue were not successful and split up in 1970. You can get Oh How Happy on this various artists comp. Shades Of Blue toured the oldies circuit in recent years but I'm not sure if they still tour. Their website is kaput. Here's Shades Of Blue performing Oh How Happy 1966.
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