The Shells Golden Classics - Baby Oh Baby (cut-out)

Everyone who followed popular music in the early l960’s remembers the classic urban harmony group, the Shells, for their hit record, “Baby Oh Baby". What is not so well known, is that the song was actually recorded three years prior to it making the charts in late 1960. In fact, the original Shells, had long since disbanded by the time the record became a hit!

The original Shells came from Brooklyn and were led by tenor, Nate Bouknight. The passage of time has obscured the names of the rest of the members of this group. What is known is that the Shells were first discovered and recorded by Hiram Johnson, brother to the famous bandleader, Buddy Johnson. Hiram Johnsorfs Johnson record label also gave a start to another wellknown vocal group, the Dubs.

The original Shells first recorded in 1957, waxing sides like “Baby Oh Baby”, “What Do You See In An Angels Eyes”, “Explain It To Me", “Don’t Say Goodbye”, “Pleading No More” and “My Cherie”. “Baby Oh Baby” was popular locally, but ailed to click nationally and the group broke up.

In I958, Hiram Johnson had put together a new group of Shells, consisting of Bobby Nurse (first tenor), Shade Randy Alston (second i tenor), Gus Geter (baritone) and Danny Small (bass). Nate Bouknight was persuaded to rejoin the group and the new Shells recorded for End records (“Sippin’ Soda”). By 1959, Nate had again left the Shells and was replaced by lead singer, Roy Jones. This group recorded briefly for Roulette records.

The Shells’ story took a sudden turn for the better in 1960, when R823 vocal harmony connoisseurs Wayne Stierle and Donn Fileti convinced , Johnson records to repress “Baby Oh Baby”. Through their persistent efforts, Stierle and Fileti were able to get air-play for ‘Baby Oh Baby” and the record broke into the national Top 20 charts. Nate, who had in the meantime recorded with Nate and the Chryslers (“Someone Up There"), rejoined the second Shells group for appearances and new recordings. Back in the studio, the Shells recorded “An Island Unknown”, “Better Forget Him", “Can’t Take ll“, “In The Dim Light Of The Dark", “O-Mi Yum-Mi Yum~Mi” and a more polished version of “Explain It To Me” for Johnson records.

The short-lived success of “Baby Oh Baby” was not enough to keep Nate Boulmight with the Shells. Alter experimenting with a new lead for one record, Roy Jones was brought back for recordings of “Happy Holiday”, “Deep In My Heart”, “A Toast To Your Birthday” and “On My Honor”- “Happy Holiday" received air-play as a Christmas song, in spite of the fact that it is not about Christmas. The other sides were only marginally successful, despite being fine vocal harmony songs. The Shells remained relatively inactive until Wayne Stierle brought back the quartet of Nurse, Alston, Geter and Small for an acappella album in 1966. Collectables records now presents the greatest hits of one of the finest of the New York vocal groups, the Shells.

The Shells

Baby Oh Baby

He may not have enjoyed the same name recognition as his bandleading brother Buddy, but Hiram Johnson did have his own claim to fame: he formed a self-named label in New York in 1957 with Buddy's publisher Jim McCarthy and had success with his first release by The Dubs. The Shells were his next major discovery. Led by tenor Nathaniel 'Little Nate' Bouknight, they hailed from Brooklyn and displayed the classic New York street corner sound on their haunting debut, Baby Oh Baby.

Johnson and associate Walter Coleman shared writer's credit with Bouknight on the atmospheric ballad, pianist Cliff Driver leading the combo. Pressed up with another ballad, What's In An Angel's Eyes, on the flip (some pressings had it What In An Angel's Eyes), Baby Oh Baby was issued during the summer of 1957. Despite distribution from George Goldner, it didn't hit. Neither did their followup, pairing the ballad Don't Say Goodbye with a bubbly Pleading No More. The Shells moved on to Goldner's End logo for 1958's Sippin' Soda b/w Pretty Little Girl and Shooma Dom Dom b/w Whispering Wings the next year. Bouknight split to form Little Nate and The Chryslers, who waxed Someone Up There for Johnson in 1959. Roy Jones sang lead on The Shells' She Wasn't Meant For Me for Roulette the same year.

Young New York doo-wop collectors patronized Slim Rose's Times Square Record Shop in Manhattan in 1959. New Jersey high school students Donn Fileti and Wayne Stierle took it further; they haunted the halls of 1619 and 1650 Broadway, where countless tiny R&B labels were headquartered, searching for caches of obscure doo-wop 45s that they'd buy and resell to Rose. Sometimes they'd convince a label owner to repress a revered oldie so Slim could stock it. Such was the case with The Shells' Baby Oh Baby. Airplay on Alan Fredericks' popular 'Night Train' radio program got the ball rolling, and before long The Shells had themselves an out-of-left-field national hit that charted at the end of 1960 and made it to an amazing #21 pop early the following year.

The Shells didn't even exist by then. Little Nate assembled a new lineup (first tenor Robert Nurse, second tenor Randy Alston, baritone Gus Geter, and bass Daniel Small) and rebooted their recording career with a series of fresh singles for Johnson, now run by Jim McCarthy (Fileti and Stierle produced 1961's Baby, Walk On In). The Shells recorded for Stierle into '62, but the kind of once-in-a-lifetime luck that briefly shone on them couldn't be replicated.

- Bill Dahl -

Various Street - Corner Symphonies 1957 Vol.9

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