The Hollywood Flames

The Hollywood Flames were an American R&B vocal group in the 1950s, best known for their hit, "Buzz Buzz Buzz".

They formed as The Flames in 1949, in Watts, Los Angeles, at a talent show where members of various high school groups got together. The original members were Bobby Byrd (lead), David Ford, Curlee Dinkins and Willie Ray Rockwell. Rockwell was sometimes replaced by Clyde Tillis, and Ford sometimes sang lead. Their first paying gig was at Johnny Otis's Barrelhouse Club. They first recorded in 1950 for the Selective label, and the following year, billed as The Hollywood Four Flames, released "Tabarin", a song written by Murry Wilson (father of The Beach Boys). They later recorded another Wilson song, "I'll Hide My Tears".

Over the years the group, under various names, is believed to have recorded for about nineteen different record labels, including Aladdin and Specialty. Although they had no big hits for several years, they were a successful local act in the Los Angeles area. The group also had a series of personnel changes, with Rockwell being replaced by Gaynel Hodge, and for a short while Dinkins being replaced by Curtis Williams. Hodge and Williams, with Jesse Belvin, were co-writers of The Penguins' "Earth Angel".

By 1954, the group were usually billed as The Hollywood Flames, but also recorded as The Turks, The Jets, and The Sounds. David Ford and Gaynel Hodge recorded with Jesse Belvin and Hodge's brother Alex, as The Tangiers, before Hodge left The Hollywood Flames in 1955 to form a new version of The Turks. He was replaced by Earl Nelson, who had previously recorded with Byrd as The Voices, and with Byrd later formed the duo Bob & Earl.

In 1957, the group - Byrd, Ford, Dinkins and Nelson - signed with Class Records, where Byrd was renamed "Bobby Day". The group recorded as The Hollywood Flames, as Bobby Day & the Satellites, and as Earl Nelson & the Pelicans. In July 1957, Bobby Day & the Satellites recorded "Little Bitty Pretty One", which was covered more successfully by Thurston Harris. Later that year, The Hollywood Flames - with Nelson singing lead - released "Buzz Buzz Buzz", co-written by Byrd, which reached #5 on the R&B chart and #11 on the pop chart.

Byrd (alias Day) then left The Hollywood Flames, but continued to release singles, at first as Bobby Day & the Satellites, and then as a solo performer. His greatest success came in 1958 with "Rockin' Robin". The Hollywood Flames continued to record for several more years, with a fluctuating line-up, the only constant being David Ford. The last version of the group split up around 1967. Earl Nelson also known as Jackie Lee died on July 13th, 2008fact|date=July 2008.

External links

* [http://home.att.net/~uncamarvy/HollywoodFlames/hollywoodflames.html Marv Goldberg's R&B Notebook]