Artist:Jay & the Americans
Song:This Magic Moment
Album:Come a Little Bit Closer: The Best of Jay & the Americans
Considering that they were a doo wop throwback group, Jay & the Americans had a pretty good run in the 60s. After the top ten singles She Cried (1962), Come a Little Bit Closer (1964) and Cara Mia (1965), they went through a dry spell. Just when it looked like they were through, Jay & the Americans scored their final top ten hit with the 1968 single This Magic Moment. Of course in their initial run, they had to compete with British Invasion bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. They even opened for those bands. The group in those days was Jay Black, Howard Kane, Kenny Vance, Sandy Deanne and Marty Sanders. Black was usually lead singer and Sanders played guitar. They never wrote their own songs. After Cara Mia was a hit in 1965, they didn't have much success. Cara Mia was produced by DJ Gerry Granahan. After United Artists released a 1965 Greatest Hits album, Jay & the Americans released the 1966 album Sunday and Me. Granahan produced this album and Artie Butler wrote the arrangements. As with their previous albums, the songs were mostly covers. But with the exception of Roy Orbison's Crying, none of the songs were hits elsewhere. They did score a top 20 hit with the Neil Diamond song Sunday and Me. That was Diamond's first chart hit as a songwriter. Meanwhile, Jay & the Americans appeared in the 1966 film Wild Wild Winter. And they decided to start their own production and publishing company. They had the same problem with the albums Livin' Above Your Head (1966) and Try Some of This! (1967). They even brought in Jeff Barry and Lieber and Stoller to write and produce some songs on Try Some of This!. It didn't help. So for the 1969 album Sands of Time, Jay & the Americans decided to return to recording classic covers. Their cover of The Drifters classic This Magic Moment reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. That song was written by the legendary team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. Jay & the Americans produced the album. But Thomas Jefferson Kaye arranged and conducted. He had previously produced The Shirelles at Scepter Records. He brought in Donald Fagan and Walter Becker to write arrangements. And of course they went on to lead Steely Dan in the 70s. But they couldn't keep it going. The 1970 album Wax Museum was again produced by Kaye. The single Walkin' in the Rain reached #19 on the Billboard Hot 100. After Black took over and wrote and produced most of the 1970 album Capture the Moment and it was a failure, Jay & the Americans split up though Black continued to lead a version of the group. Due to gambling debts, Black filed for bankruptcy in 2006 and lost the rights to the name Jay & the Americans to Sandy Deanne. He continues to lead a version of the group today. They have released a couple of albums and tour the oldies circuit. The new lead singer John Reincke led a Jay & the Americans tribute band for 30 years. Sanders is also in the band. Kenny Vance leads his band The Planotones. Jay Black died in 2021 and Howard Kane died in 2023. You can get all of Jay & the Americans hits on this comp. Here's Jay & the Americans performing This Magic Moment.
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