Song:You Can't Sit Down
Album:The Best Of The Dovells 1961-1965
You Can't Sit Down was the second of two top five hits for The Dovells. Their other big hit was The Bristol Stomp. They started out as The Brooktones in 1957. They all went to Overbrook High School in Philadelphia. The group leaders were Jerry Gross and Len Barry along with Arnie Silver, Mike Freda and Jim Mealey. Their single No No No was a local hit. Gross and Freda left in 1959 to form The Gems. After The Brooktones signed with Parkway Records, the group name was changed to The Dovells and Gross and Freda returned. The 1961 single The Bristol Stomp reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written and produced by Parkway house producers Kal Mann and Dave Appell. Of course Parkway was also the home for Chubby Checker's The Twist. So dance records were all the rage at the time. So subsequent Dovells singles were all dance related. They also appeared in the 1961 Chubby Checker movie Don't Knock The Twist. After the dance singles went nowhere, The Dovells score their second big hit You Can't Sit Down in 1963. It reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. That song was written by session guitarist Phil Upchurch and organist Cornell Muldrow. Upchurch's instrumental version was a top 30 hit in 1960. Dave Appell wrote the lyrics. The Dovells continued to record without much success. Barry left in 1963 and scored a top five hit with 1-2-3 in 1965. That song and all The Dovells singles are on this comp. Some of The Dovells went on to record for MGM as The Magistrates in 1968. Barry went on to be a key figure in 70s Philly Soul working for WMOT Records. Gross and Mark Stevens of The Gems have led a version of The Dovells on the oldies circuit since the 70s. Here's The Dovells performing You Can't Sit Down in the 80s.
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