Song:Silhouettes
Album:Doo Wop Party Favorites
I'm sure most music fans are familiar with Silhouettes but may not be familiar with the original version by the doo wop group The Rays. Like a lot of 50s groups, they were from New York City. Lead singer Harold Miller and second tenor Davey Jones were members of The Four Fellows. They formed The Rays with tenor Walter ford and baritone Harry James. They recorded for Chess with no success and then recorded Silhouettes for XYZ Records. The song was written and produced by Bob Crewe and Frank Slay. Crewe wrote the song after seeing a couple making out through window shades. When a local DJ fell asleep while playing Silhouettes, it repeated until he woke up. The song was a big enough hit that it was picked up by Cameo-Parkway for national distribution. Silhouettes reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1957. The Rays never had another hit but Silhouettes was covered by many artists. The Diamonds reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1958. They were a white group from Canada known for covering black songs. But the song's biggest success was when Herman's Hermits topped the charts with Silhouettes in 1965. That's the version most fans know. You can get The Rays' original recording on this 2CD various artists budget comp from the Sony label Play 27-7. Here are The Rays performing Silhouettes on The Ed Sullivan Show 1957.
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