Doo Wop: The Heartbeats and Shep & The Limelites

Welcome to Rock and Roll Flashback and the Doo Wop Series!  I'm Bill Price, and in this episode we will flash back to the 1950's and early 1960's for a look at two Doo Wop vocal groups from that era: The Heartbeats and Shep & The Limelites. Interestingly, there was a historical connection between the two groups and unfortunately conflict.

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Transcript

Welcome to Rock and Roll Flashback and the Doo Wop Series. In this episode we will flash back to the 1950's and early 1960's, for a look at two Doo Wop vocal groups from that era: The Heartbeats and Shep & The Limelites. Interestingly, there was a historical connection between the two groups and unfortunately conflict.

In 1953,The Heartbeats were formed as a quartet in the New York borough of Queens and initially went by the name of The Hearts. The vocal group consisted of Vernon Sievers, Wally Roker, Albert Crump and Robbie Tatum. However, later it was revealed that there was a female group already using the name, so The Hearts were renamed The Heartbeats. Soon after James “Shep” Sheppard joined the group as the lead vocalist, they were signed to a record company, but over the next few years they moved from one record label to several others.

In 1956, The Heartbeats recorded a song written by Shepard and William Miller titled “A Thousand Miles Away”, a song that was written after Shepard’s ex girlfriend moved to Texas. In 1957, the single rose to number five on the R&B singles chart and number fifty-two on the Billboard Hot 100. Later in 1960, the single was released again and peaked at number ninety-six on the Hot 100. The song was also later covered by The Diamonds, The Fleetwoods and Harry Nilson.

In 1959, The Heartbeats disbanded. Sheppard later would go on to form another Doo Wop group Shep and The Limelites. On May 13, 2003 four of the original surviving members reunited and performed on the PBS television special “Rock and Roll at 50” held at the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Heartbeats released eleven singles, but only “A Thousand Miles Away” managed to chart. In 1973, it was featured in the film “American Graffiti”.

Here is The Heartbeats’ 1957 R&B hit: “A Thousand Miles Away”.

After Heartbeats disbanded, James “Shep” Sheppard, Charles Baskerville and Clarence Bassett formed a group in 1960. Initially they were called “Shane Sheppard And The Limelites”. The three members all had been in other groups, Shepard with The Heartbeats, Bassett with The Five Sharps and Baskerville with The Videos. The group’s harmonies and Sheppard’s songwriting impressed the Hull Records owner and were subsequently signed to the label. In 1960, Shep and The Limelites began recording for Hull Records. The first hit was titled “Daddy’s Home”, rising to number two. Hull Records then went on to release twelve singles by the group. The only other single titled “Our Anniversary”, managed to enter the R&B chart at number seven in 1962.

In 1963, Kahl Music the publisher of “A Thousand Mile Away” sued Keel Music the
publisher of ‘Daddy’s Home” for copyright violation, in claiming that ‘Daddy’s Home” was copied from “A Thousand Miles Away”. The court found Keel Music guilty and liable for damages. This resulted in the Limelites disbanding in 1966. Bassett joined The Flamingos and Baskerville became a member of The Players and later The Drifters. In the late 1960s, Sheppard reformed The Limelites. However on January 24th, 1970, he was found dead in his car. The discography of Shep and The Limelites includes 15 singles and one album. 

Here is Shep and The Limelites’ number 7 hit “Daddy’s Home”. Notice the similarity between “A Thousand Miles Away” and “Daddy’s Home”.

This has been another episode in the Doo Wop series, featuring two vocal groups from the 50's and 60's, The Heartbeats and Shep and The Limelites on Rock and Roll Flashback. Until next time, I’m your host, Bill Price.