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The Marcels was one of several doo-wop-influenced American vocal groups to achieve success in the early 60s, despite the passing of the genre's golden age. Cornelius 'Nini' Harp (lead singer), Ronald 'Bingo' Mundy (tenor), Fred Johnson (bass), Gene Bricker (tenor) and Richard Knauss (baritone), all native to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, USA, achieved fame for their distinctive version of Richard Rodgers / Lorenz Hart's classic 'Blue Moon', previously a UK Top 10 hit for Elvis Presley in 1956, which topped both the US and UK charts in 1961. Johnson's distinctive bass introduction to the song has remained one of the most enduring vocal phrases of the time. The quartet scored a further US Top 10 hit that year with 'Heartaches', but its personnel was unstable, with Allen Johnson (d. 28 September 1995) replacing Knauss, and Walt Maddox replacing Bricker. Mundy walked out on the group during this same period, which did little to prepare them for the ever-changing trends prevalent during the early 60s, and eventually undermined the Marcels' long-term aspirations.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
"Heartaches" is a popular song with music by Al Hoffman and lyrics by John Klenner. The song was published in 1931.
The biggest recorded version of the song was by the Ted Weems Orchestra, with Elmo Tanner whistling. The recording was made in 1933 but subsequently revived (not in a new recording, but in the original 1933 recorded version) fourteen years later. This recording was jointly released by Decca Records as catalog number 25017 and by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-2175. It first reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on February 21, 1947 and lasted 16 weeks on the chart, peaking at #1. [1]
The recording by Harry James was released by Columbia Records as catalog number 37305. It first reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on April 18, 1947 and lasted 3 weeks on the chart, peaking at #8. [1] This was his last charting hit.
A radically altered arrangement of "Heartaches" also became popular in 1961 as a version by The Marcels was released as a followup to their U.S. hit "Blue Moon". Although the Marcels' "Heartaches" single failed to match the #1 position on the U.S. singles charts achieved by "Blue Moon", "Heartaches" reached the Top 10 (peaking at #7) and eventually sold over one million copies worldwide. In addition to a vocal hook similar to that of "Blue Moon", the Marcels added to the introduction of the recording of "Heartaches" the group saying, then singing, "Watch out! Here we go again..."
In 1963, Allan Sherman produced a parody version titled "Headaches," a commentary on television aspirin commercials. In the middle of the whistled part, a kid named Tom Greenleigh shrieks, "Mommy, can't you keep Daddy's car out of the driveway?!"
