- The Silhouettes
The Silhouettes were an American
doo wop /R&B group whose single "Get A Job" was a #1 hit on the BillboardR&B singles chart and pop singles chart in 1958. The doo-wop revival groupSha Na Na derived their name from the song'slyrics . "Get A Job"' is included in thesoundtrack s of the movies, "American Graffiti ", "Trading Places " and "Stand By Me".Group Members
*Richard Lewis (
tenor , 1933 - 2005)
*Bill Horton (lead, 1929 - 1995)
*Earl Beal (baritone , 1924 - 2001)
*Raymond Edwards (bass, 1922 - 1997)Career
The Silhouettes were formed in Philadelphia
Pennsylvania in 1956, at first using the name The Thunderbirds. Their classic hit "Get A Job" - originally the B-side to "I Am Lonely" - was issued by their manager on the local Junior Records label before being sold to the nationally distributed Ember label in late 1957. It reached #1 on both the R&B and pop charts in U.S. and the group performed it ontelevision 's "American Bandstand ".The lyrics of "Get a Job" are notable for the depiction of a household in tension because of unemployment, despite the man's desperate attempts to find work, all delivered in a relentlessly upbeat style. A second release, "We're Heading for the Poorhouse" continued the economic theme. It was one of the few songs to allude to
inflation , the trip to the poorhouse being because "all our money turned brown". It was less successful, though also rollicking.The Silhouettes toured with
Sam Cooke ,Jackie Wilson ,Clyde McPhatter and others but the group never reached the top of the charts again. They disbanded in 1968, but the four original members reformed the group in the 1980s and continued to work until 1993.External links
* [http://www.thesilhouettes.org/ The Silhouettes Official Site]
* [http://home.att.net/~marvart/Silhouettes/silhouettes.html The Silhouettes] (Marv Goldberg's R&B Notebook)
* [http://doowopy.de/02page/S/eSilhouettes.html The Silhouettes at doowopy.de]
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