McGUIRE SISTERS Do You Remember When - While The Lights Are Low

McGuire Sisters

Sincerely

The doo-wop classic Sincerely, written by Harvey Fuqua and his 'co-writer,' influential rock 'n' roll disc-jockey Alan Freed, was originally recorded for the independent Chess Records label by the Moonglows, who scored a # 1 R&B Jukebox hit with the tune in 1954. The record spent twenty weeks on the R&B chart, making the Moonglows, the Chess brothers and Alan Freed very happy guys.

Even better, Phil Chess found himself on the same plane as the McGuire Sisters and their manager while on a sales trip. He let the sisters and their manager know that he had a song they might be interested in. They ended up at the same hotel in Detroit where Phil managed to get a copy of Sincerely up to the sisters' room. The gals loved the song and, perhaps inspired by the success of their #7 mid-1954 cover of the Spaniels' doo-wop number, Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight, recorded Sincerely in November 1954, taking it to the top of the charts where it sat at #1 for ten weeks in early 1955.

Orchestra leader Dick Jacobs stays out of the way of the McGuires on their recording of Sincerely, lightly sketching in the Moonglows' bass vocal part for the male background singers, adding some colour by using a few light string flourishes here and there. The McGuires do their solid Andrew Sisters-inspired close-harmony thing with one of the sisters taking the occasional solo line, including all of the last bridge. It's an excellent pop performance, ushering R&B and doo-wop into mainstream American popular music. As well, the Chess brothers learned the value of a copyright. 

Various The Popsters - They Tried To Rock Vol.3
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