Gee - Music
Gee by The Crows
The Crows
Artist Biography For The Crows
There Are Currently At Least Three Bands Charting As The Crows None Of Which Are To Be Confused With Crows Or Crowes 1 The Crows Were An American Rhythm & Blues Doo-Wop Group Who Achieved Commercial Success In The 1950s. The Group's First Single And Only Major Hit "Gee" Released In June 1953 Has Been Credited With Being The First Rock N’ Roll Hit By A Rock And Roll Group. It Peaked At Position #14 And #2 Respectively On The Billboard Magazine Pop And Rhythm-And-Blues Charts In 1954. When The Crows Started Out In 1951 Practicing Sidewalk Harmonies The Original Members Were Daniel "Sonny" Norton Lead William "Bill" Davis Baritone Harold Major Tenor Jerry Wittick Tenor And Gerald Hamilton Bass . In 1952 Wittick Left The Group And Was Replaced By Mark Jackson Tenor And Guitarist . They Were Discovered At Apollo Theater's Wednesday Night Talent Show By Talent Agent Cliff Martinez And Brought To Independent Producer George Goldner Who Had Just Set Up The Tiny New Rama Records Label. The Crows Were The First Group Signed And The First To Record. The First Songs They Recorded Were As Backup To Singer Viola Watkins. The Song "Gee" Was The Third Song Recorded During Their First Recording Session On February 10 1953. It Was Put Together In A Few Minutes By Group Member William Davis With Watkins Also Being Credited As Cowriter.
The Song Was First Released As The B-Side Of A Ballad "I Love You So". However Radio Stations Began Turning It Over And Playing "Gee " First In Philadelphia And Later In New York And Los Angeles. By January 1954 It Had Sold 100 000 Copies And By April It Entered The National R&B And Pop Charts Rising To #2 R&B And #14 Pop. The Song Was A Huge Hit A Year After It Was Recorded. The Crows Were A One-Hit Wonder. While "Gee" Was On The Charts The Record Company Released A Number Of Other Singles By The Group Including "Heartbreaker " "Baby " And "Miss You " But None Were Successful. Their Failures And The Inability To Perform Regularly To Support Their Recordings Led To The Breakup Of The Group A Few Months After "Gee" Dropped Off The Hit Parade. They Maintained The Original Line Up For The Entire Career Of The Group With No Hope For A Reunion Following The Deaths Of Gerald Hamilton In The 1960s And Daniel Norton In 1972. 2 The Crows Were A Short Lived Band That Released One LP The Crows On The Highly Influential In Noise Rock Circles Amphetamine Reptile Records Label In 1994. In Keeping With That Label's Other Products The Crows Can Be Loosely Classified As A Noise Rock Band. Their Own Particular Sound However Tended Not Be An Unorganized Mass Of Noise But Was Instead More Succinct And Twangy In A Way That Calls To Mind A Rockabilly Band Testing The Boundaries Of Their Genre. They Liked To Create Space In Their Songs And Were Rarely In A Hurry. Their Singer Had A Tendency To Growl His Lyrics But Not In The Manner Of Singers Of Hardcore Bands. These Growls Were More Akin To The Guttural Noises One Would Expect From A 300 Lbs. Bearded Lumberjack Sitting Down For A Steak Dinner With A Red And White Checkered Napkin Tucked Into His Collar. "mmmmmMMMMMM!" Tom Waits Comes To Mind In Particular. 3 The Crows Was An Obscure Power Pop Band From Belgium Lead By Frontman 'Zip Wookee'. The Four-Piece Band Produced Their Long Single "Don't Play Around" B-Side "Irina" In 1980.
Frogtoon Music - Song Info: Gee
The-Crows - Gee
"Gee" Released In June 1953 By The Crows Is A Song Which Has Been Credited As The First Rock And Roll Hit By A Rock And Roll Group. It Is A Doo-Wop Song Written By William Davis And Viola Watkins And Recorded By The Crows On The Independent Label Rama Records At Beltone Studios In New York City In February 1953. It Charted In April 1954 One Year Later. It Took A Year To Get Recognized On Your Hit Parade. It Landed No.2 On The Rhythm And Blues Chart And No. 14 On The Pop Chart. It Was The First 1950s Doo-Wop Record To Sell Over One Million Records. Recorded On An Independent Label It Was One Of The First Such R&B Records To Crossover To The Wider Pop Market. The Song Starts With A Few Bars Of Nonsense Duh-Duda-Duh-Duda-Duh-Duda-Duh-Duh-Duba
followed By The Lead Vocal Oh-Ho-Ho-Ho Gee My Oh-Oh Gee-Hee Well Oh-Ho Gee Why I Love That Girl.
then The Group Love That Girl! The Vocals Are Infectiously Upbeat With Wonderful Harmonies And Use Of Nonsense Syllables Sounding Like Enthusiastic Street-Corner Singing. The Modified Jump Blues Instrumental Backup With Its Infectious Melody And Charlie Christian- Like Guitar Solo Is The Perfect Accompaniment. The Crows Formed In 1951 As A Typical Street Corner Doo-Wop Group And Were Discovered At Apollo Theater's Wednesday Night Talent Show By Talent Agent Cliff Martinez And Brought To Independent Producer George Goldner Who Had Just Set Up Tiny New Independent Rama Records Label. The Crows Were The First Group Signed And The First To Record. The First Songs They Recorded Were As Back-Up To Singer And Pianist Viola Watkins. The Song "Gee" Was The Third Song Recorded During The First Recording Session On February 10 1953. It Was Put Together In A Few Minutes By Group Member William Davis With Viola Watkins Also Being Credited As Co-Writer. Watkins Also Played Piano On And Co-Arranged The Song. It Has Been Suggested That The Guitar Break Based On The Traditional Scottish Tune "The Campbells Are Coming" May Have Been Played By Session Guitarist Lloyd "Tiny" Grimes. The Song Was First Released As The B-Side Of A Ballad "I Love You So". However Radio Stations Began Turning It Over And Playing "Gee" First In Philadelphia And Later In New York And Los Angeles. By January 1954 It Had Sold 100 000 Copies And By April Entered The National R&B And Pop Charts Rising To # 2 R&B And # 14 Pop. Although The Song Became A Huge Hit In Early 1954 A Year After It Was Recorded The Crows Were A One-Hit Wonder As None Of The Follow-Up Records Released Had Any Chart Success. The Group Broke Up A Few Months After "Gee" Dropped Off The Hit Parade. The Crows Were One Of The First Doo Wop Groups And One Of The First "bird" Groups. "Gee" Was One Of The First Rock And Roll Hit Records. It Has Also Been Called The First Rock And Roll Record Because It Was An Original Composition And Had A Quick Dance Beat. Although The Orioles' Song "Crying In The Chapel" Is Frequently Called The First R&B Record To Crossover To A Big White Audience It Is Actually A Cover Of A Country Song. "Gee" And Its B-Side "I Love You So" Are Considered Seminal As It Is An Original Song By An All But Amateur Group. It Encapsulated All That Has Been Written Later About Neighborhood Kids Singing On Corners And Retains That Wonderfully Amateurish Feel. According To Bruce Eder At Allmusic "Gee" By The Crows Walked In On In The Spring And Summer Of That Year 1953 And The Music World Was Never The Same. There Would Be Better Records Than "Gee " Even From Goldner's Labels But It Was Recognized As The First R&B Single To Get A Significant Part Of Its Sales And Chart Success From Purchases By White Teenagers - The First Rock & Roll Single. Jan And Dean Released The Song In 1960 On Their Album The Jan & Dean Sound. The Hollywood Flames Released A Version Of The Song As A Single In 1961 That Reached #26 On The US R&B Chart. The Beach Boys Recorded A Brief Idiosyncratic Adaptation Of The Song As Part Of The Unfinished Concept Album Smile. It Was Included On Brian Wilson's 2004 Solo Recording Of The Album In Medley With "Our Prayer" As The Introductory Piece To "Heroes And Villains". Frank Zappa's The Mothers Of Invention Played The Song Some Times During Their First European Tour September–October 1967 . A Live Recording Can Be Found On Frank Zappa's Official Bootleg Live Album 'Tis The Season To Be Jelly Included In The First Volume Of The Collection Of Bootleg Recordings Entitled Beat The Boots Released In July 1991. The Crows' Recording Features In The Film American Graffiti 1973 .
The Crows' Recording Features In The Film Cry-Baby 1990 .
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Biography - The Crows
There Are Currently At Least Three Bands Charting As The Crows None Of Which Are To Be Confused With Crows Or Crowes 1 The Crows Were An American Rhythm & Blues Doo-Wop Group Who Achieved Commercial Success In The 1950s. The Group's First Single And Only Major Hit "Gee" Released In June 1953 Has Been Credited With Being The First Rock N’ Roll Hit By A Rock And Roll Group. It Peaked At Position #14 And #2 Respectively On The Billboard Magazine Pop And Rhythm-And-Blues Charts In 1954. When The Crows Started Out In 1951 Practicing Sidewalk Harmonies The Original Members Were Daniel "Sonny" Norton Lead William "Bill" Davis Baritone Harold Major Tenor Jerry Wittick Tenor And Gerald Hamilton Bass . In 1952 Wittick Left The Group And Was Replaced By Mark Jackson Tenor And Guitarist . They Were Discovered At Apollo Theater's Wednesday Night Talent Show By Talent Agent Cliff Martinez And Brought To Independent Producer George Goldner Who Had Just Set Up The Tiny New Rama Records Label. The Crows Were The First Group Signed And The First To Record. The First Songs They Recorded Were As Backup To Singer Viola Watkins. The Song "Gee" Was The Third Song Recorded During Their First Recording Session On February 10 1953. It Was Put Together In A Few Minutes By Group Member William Davis With Watkins Also Being Credited As Cowriter.
The Song Was First Released As The B-Side Of A Ballad "I Love You So". However Radio Stations Began Turning It Over And Playing "Gee " First In Philadelphia And Later In New York And Los Angeles. By January 1954 It Had Sold 100 000 Copies And By April It Entered The National R&B And Pop Charts Rising To #2 R&B And #14 Pop. The Song Was A Huge Hit A Year After It Was Recorded. The Crows Were A One-Hit Wonder. While "Gee" Was On The Charts The Record Company Released A Number Of Other Singles By The Group Including "Heartbreaker " "Baby " And "Miss You " But None Were Successful. Their Failures And The Inability To Perform Regularly To Support Their Recordings Led To The Breakup Of The Group A Few Months After "Gee" Dropped Off The Hit Parade. They Maintained The Original Line Up For The Entire Career Of The Group With No Hope For A Reunion Following The Deaths Of Gerald Hamilton In The 1960s And Daniel Norton In 1972. 2 The Crows Were A Short Lived Band That Released One LP The Crows On The Highly Influential In Noise Rock Circles Amphetamine Reptile Records Label In 1994. In Keeping With That Label's Other Products The Crows Can Be Loosely Classified As A Noise Rock Band. Their Own Particular Sound However Tended Not Be An Unorganized Mass Of Noise But Was Instead More Succinct And Twangy In A Way That Calls To Mind A Rockabilly Band Testing The Boundaries Of Their Genre. They Liked To Create Space In Their Songs And Were Rarely In A Hurry. Their Singer Had A Tendency To Growl His Lyrics But Not In The Manner Of Singers Of Hardcore Bands. These Growls Were More Akin To The Guttural Noises One Would Expect From A 300 Lbs. Bearded Lumberjack Sitting Down For A Steak Dinner With A Red And White Checkered Napkin Tucked Into His Collar. "mmmmmMMMMMM!" Tom Waits Comes To Mind In Particular. 3 The Crows Was An Obscure Power Pop Band From Belgium Lead By Frontman 'Zip Wookee'. The Four-Piece Band Produced Their Long Single "Don't Play Around" B-Side "Irina" In 1980. read less
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The Song Was First Released As The B-Side Of A Ballad "I Love You So". However Radio Stations Began Turning It Over And Playing "Gee " First In Philadelphia And Later In New York And Los Angeles. By January 1954 It Had Sold 100 000 Copies And By April It Entered The National R&B And Pop Charts Rising To #2 R&B And #14 Pop. The Song Was A Huge Hit A Year After It Was Recorded. The Crows Were A One-Hit Wonder. While "Gee" Was On The Charts The Record Company Released A Number Of Other Singles By The Group Including "Heartbreaker " "Baby " And "Miss You " But None Were Successful. Their Failures And The Inability To Perform Regularly To Support Their Recordings Led To The Breakup Of The Group A Few Months After "Gee" Dropped Off The Hit Parade. They Maintained The Original Line Up For The Entire Career Of The Group With No Hope For A Reunion Following The Deaths Of Gerald Hamilton In The 1960s And Daniel Norton In 1972. 2 The Crows Were A Short Lived Band That Released One LP The Crows On The Highly Influential In Noise Rock Circles Amphetamine Reptile Records Label In 1994. In Keeping With That Label's Other Products The Crows Can Be Loosely Classified As A Noise Rock Band. Their Own Particular Sound However Tended Not Be An Unorganized Mass Of Noise But Was Instead More Succinct And Twangy In A Way That Calls To Mind A Rockabilly Band Testing The Boundaries Of Their Genre. They Liked To Create Space In Their Songs And Were Rarely In A Hurry. Their Singer Had A Tendency To Growl His Lyrics But Not In The Manner Of Singers Of Hardcore Bands. These Growls Were More Akin To The Guttural Noises One Would Expect From A 300 Lbs. Bearded Lumberjack Sitting Down For A Steak Dinner With A Red And White Checkered Napkin Tucked Into His Collar. "mmmmmMMMMMM!" Tom Waits Comes To Mind In Particular. 3 The Crows Was An Obscure Power Pop Band From Belgium Lead By Frontman 'Zip Wookee'. The Four-Piece Band Produced Their Long Single "Don't Play Around" B-Side "Irina" In 1980. read less
16 Similar Artists To The Crows - Frogtoon Music
The Cleftones The Capris The Moonglows The Chantels The Earls Little Anthony & The Imperials Frankie Lymon And The Teenagers The Monotones The Five Keys The Elegants The Orioles The Cadillacs The Marcels The Heartbeats The Del-Vikings The Spaniels.
"Gee", released in June 1953 by The Crows, is a song which has been credited as the first rock and roll hit by a rock and roll group. It is a doo-wop song, written by William Davis and Viola Watkins, and recorded by the Crows on the independent label, Rama Records, at Beltone Studios in New York City in February 1953. It charted in April 1954, one year later. It took a year to get recognized on Your Hit Parade. It landed No.2 on the rhythm and blues chart and No. 14 on the pop chart. It was the first 1950s doo-wop record to sell over one million records. Recorded on an independent label, it was one of the first such R&B records to crossover to the wider pop market.
The song starts with a few bars of nonsense:
duh-duda-duh-duda-duh-duda-duh-duh-duba
followed by the lead vocal;
Oh-ho-ho-ho gee,my oh-oh gee-hee, well oh-ho gee, why I love that girl.
then the group:
Love that girl!
The vocals are infectiously upbeat with wonderful harmonies and use of nonsense syllables, sounding like enthusiastic street-corner singing. The modified jump blues instrumental backup, with its infectious melody and Charlie Christian- like guitar solo, is the perfect accompaniment.
The Crows formed in 1951 as a typical street corner doo-wop group and were discovered at Apollo Theater's Wednesday night talent show by talent agent Cliff Martinez, and brought to independent producer George Goldner who had just set up tiny new independent Rama Records label.
The Crows were the first group signed and the first to record. The first songs they recorded were as back-up to singer and pianist Viola Watkins. The song "Gee" was the third song recorded during the first recording session, on February 10, 1953. It was put together in a few minutes by group member, William Davis, with Viola Watkins also being credited as co-writer. Watkins also played piano on and co-arranged the song. It has been suggested that the guitar break, based on the traditional Scottish tune "The Campbells Are Coming", may have been played by session guitarist Lloyd "Tiny" Grimes.
The song was first released as the B-side of a ballad, "I Love You So". However, radio stations began turning it over and playing "Gee", first in Philadelphia and later in New York and Los Angeles. By January 1954 it had sold 100,000 copies, and by April entered the national R&B and pop charts, rising to # 2 R&B and # 14 pop. Although the song became a huge hit in early 1954, a year after it was recorded, the Crows were a one-hit wonder, as none of the follow-up records released had any chart success. The group broke up a few months after "Gee" dropped off the Hit Parade.
The Crows were one of the first doo wop groups and one of the first "bird" groups. "Gee" was one of the first rock and roll hit records. It has also been called the first rock and roll record because it was an original composition and had a quick dance beat.
Although the Orioles' song "Crying in the Chapel" is frequently called the first R&B record to crossover to a big white audience, it is actually a cover of a country song. "Gee" and its b-side "I Love You So" are considered seminal, as it is an original song by an all but amateur group. It encapsulated all that has been written later about neighborhood kids singing on corners, and retains that wonderfully amateurish feel.
According to Bruce Eder at Allmusic:
"Gee" by the Crows walked in on in the spring and summer of that year, 1953, and the music world was never the same. There would be better records than "Gee," even from Goldner's labels, but it was recognized as the first R&B single to get a significant part of its sales and chart success from purchases by white teenagers - the first rock & roll single.
Jan and Dean released the song in 1960 on their album, The Jan & Dean Sound.
The Hollywood Flames released a version of the song as a single in 1961 that reached #26 on the US R&B chart.
The Beach Boys recorded a brief, idiosyncratic adaptation of the song as part of the unfinished concept album Smile. It was included on Brian Wilson's 2004 solo recording of the album in medley with "Our Prayer" as the introductory piece to "Heroes and Villains".
Frank Zappa's The Mothers of Invention played the song some times during their first European Tour (September–October 1967). A live recording can be found on Frank Zappa's official bootleg live album 'Tis the Season to Be Jelly included in the first volume of the collection of bootleg recordings entitled Beat the Boots released in July 1991.
The Crows' recording features in the film American Graffiti (1973).
The Crows' recording features in the film Cry-Baby (1990).
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