The Elgins
The Elgins | |
---|---|
Origin | Detroit, Michigan, United States |
Genres | Tamla Motown (UK) Motorcity |
Past members | Robert Fleming Johnny Dawson Cleo "Duke" Miller Norman McLean Saundra Mallett Edwards Yvonne Vernee Allen Jimmy Charles |
The Elgins were an American
hit in the US in 1966, and in the UK when reissued in 1971.[2]
Career
Founding members Robert Fleming, Johnny Dawson, Cleo "Duke" Miller and Norman McLean
R&B chart and no. 72 on the Billboard Hot 100, and its B-side, "Darling Baby", also made the Hot 100. Several months later, they issued "Heaven Must Have Sent You", which again reached both the R&B and pop charts, becoming their biggest pop hit.[6] They also released an album, Darling Baby.[1] However, their follow-up single, "I Understand My Man," was less successful, and the group broke up in 1967.[4]
With the continuing popularity of Motown records in the UK fuelled by the
UK Singles Chart. "Put Yourself in My Place" was also reissued and made the chart.[4] With Saundra Mallett Edwards being unwilling to rejoin the group, the Elgins toured the UK with former session vocalist Yvonne Vernee Allen taking her place.[4] One of Yvonne Vernee's solo singles from the 1960s, "Just Like You Did Me", also became popular on the Northern soul scene, especially at Wigan Casino Soul Allnighters. Vernee also recorded some material with The Elgins at Motown, but none of it saw release. Bonnie Pointer recorded a hit version of "Heaven Must Have Sent You" in 1979, and, in 1989, Vernee, Dawson, McLean and Jimmy Charles recorded a new arrangement of the song in the style of Pointer's disco version for producer Ian Levine and it was released as a single that same year. They made several further recordings for Levine's Motorcity label in the 1990s, and two albums, Take the Train (1990) and Sensational (1991), were released.[4] A second single, "It's Sensational", was released in 1992, and a compilation album of their Motorcity material, The Best of the Elgins, was released in 1996. Saundra Edwards also made separate recordings for the same label.[3]
She died in February 2002.
A 1997 British import CD paired their album Darling Baby with one by
The Monitors, another group that recorded for Motown with limited success, and which featured future Temptation, Richard Street
. Recordings of the group, including their Motown album, all singles and unreleased recordings up to 1968, can be found on The Motown Anthology, released in 2007.
Discography
Albums
- 1966: Darling Baby(V.I.P. VM400)
- 1968: Darling Baby (UK issue) (Tamla Motown STML/TML11081)
- 1990: Take the Train (MOTCLP 39)
- 1991: Sensational (MOTCCD 75)
- 1996: The Best of the Elgins (HTCD 7733-2)
- 1997: The Elgins Meet the Monitors (UK issue) (Marginal ISO 9002)
- 2007: The Motown Anthology (UK issue) (Universal UK B000OONPO0)
Singles
Year | A-side | B-side | Label | Chart positions | Certifications | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Pop [6] |
US R&B [7] |
||||||
1965 | "Put Yourself in My Place" | "Darling Baby" | V.I.P. 25029 UK: Tamla Motown TMG551 |
72 / 92 | 4 / — | — | |
1966 | "Heaven Must Have Sent You" | "Stay in My Lonely Arms" | V.I.P. 25037 UK: Tamla Motown TMG583 |
50 | 9 | — | |
1967 | "I Understand My Man" | "It's Been a Long Long Time" | V.I.P. 25043 UK: Tamla Motown TMG615 |
92 | 35 | — | |
1968 | "Put Yourself in My Place" (reissue) |
"Darling Baby" | UK: Tamla Motown TMG642 | — | — | — | |
1971 | "Heaven Must Have Sent You" (reissue) |
"Stay in My Lonely Arms" | V.I.P. 25065 UK: Tamla Motown TMG771 |
— | — | 3 | |
"Put Yourself in My Place" (second reissue) |
"It's Gonna Be Hard Times" | UK: Tamla Motown TMG787 | — | — | 28 | ||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |
References
- ^ a b c d Thomas, Bryan. "The Elgins - Biography, Albums, Streaming Links - AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 7, 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
- ^ ISBN 0-00-717931-6.
- ^ a b c "The Elgins Biography". OLDIES.com. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
- ^ ISBN 0-7535-0149-X.
- ^ Productions, Global Dog. "45 Discography for V.I.P. Records". Globaldogproductions.info. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
- ^ ISBN 0-89820-155-1.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-1995. Record Research. p. 133.
- ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "British certifications – Elgins". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 16, 2022. Type Elgins in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
External links
- The Elgins discography at Discogs
- A biography of the Elgins
- Elgins discography
- The Elgins at IMDb