Song:Oh, Julie
Album:The Golden Age of American Rock 'n' Roll Vol. 2: Hot 100 Hits From 1954-1963
The doo wop group The Crescendos hit the top five in 1958 with Oh, Julie. They never charted again and split up in 1959 after recording only ten singles. The man behind The Crescendos was Nashville DJ and TV show host Noel Ball. He discovered The Crescendos and wrote Oh, Julie. Ball hosted TV shows like Sock Hop and Saturday Showcase on Nashville TV station WSIX. The Crescendos were students at Cumberland High School in Nashville. At first they were called The Spades and then wisely changed it to The Crescendos. The lead singer was George Lanius along with Kenneth Brigham, Jimmy Hall, Tommy Fortner and later George's brother Jimmy Lanius. Ball saw them perform on the annual high school talent show. He took them to Globe Recording Studio in Nashville and recorded Oh, Julie. The girl singer in the background was 16 year old Janice Green who happened to be auditioning for Globe owner Jim Maxwell at the time. She didn't know the group. Hall sold Oh, Julie to Nashboro Records and they released it on the Nasco label. It reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1958. You can get it on this Ace records various artists comp. The Crescendos were on a tour called The Biggest Show Of Stars. But subsequent singles did not catch on. Jimmy Hall had already left by the time The Crescendos split up in 1959. Janice Green went on to be a backup singer for producer Bob Crewe. Here's a video for Oh, Julie by The Crescendos. Thanks to Way Back Attack for the Crescendos bio.
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