The Cadets
- Soundtrack
The Cadets were an R&B/"doo wop" group formed in the Los Angeles area in the late 1940s. In addition to their distinctive sound, they also had another distinction--they recorded under two different names for two different labels at the same time (The Jacks for Modern Records, The Cadets for RPM Records).
The Jacks began as a gospel group guided by Lloyd McCraw, formerly of the Dixie Hummingbirds. He joined up in 1954 with Austin "Ted" Taylor, Aaron Collins (brother of Rosie Collins and Betty Collins, who had a hit as The Teen Queens with "Eddie My Love"), Willie Davis and Will "Dub" Jones. Modern Records' president Joe Bihari got the idea of using the group as two different ones with two different names--The Jacks as a more traditional R&B "harmony" group using Aaron Collins to write most of the material, and The Cadets as a more fun, higher-spirited "novelty" act, doing covers of other artists' songs.
The Jacks released several records on Modern, including "Do You Wanna Rock", a version of The Drifters' hit "Whatcha Gonna Do". They scored a regional hit with their next record, "How Soon". In 1956 Prentice Moreland replaced Ted Taylor. They had hits with more covers, including Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Church Bells May Ring" by The Willows. They had a bigger hit with "Why Don't You Write Me?", which hit the #3 spot on the R&B charts.
Meawhile Bihari was looking for some material for the group to release as The Cadets, and found it in "Stranded in the Jungle", a novelty song written and recorded by Jay Hawks. He knew it was just what he was looking for, had The Cadets cut their own version of it, got it out to the major radio stations across the country before Hawks' version did, received good airplay and got it into record stores. Sales soared, and in 1956 it reached #4 on the R&B charts and #15 on the pop charts.
Prentice Moreland left the group after that record and was replaced by Thomas "Pete" Fox. Lloyd McCraw also left. While The Cadets had other hits, their "The Jacks" group didn't. In 1957 Bihari dropped the "Jacks" persona altogether and kept the group named The Cadets. Dub Jones later went to The Coasters. Davis and Collins rebooted The Cadets and added Thomas Miller and George Hollis. The group renamed itself The Flares, went to Felsted Records and had a hit with "Foot Stompin'" (1961). By 1964 the Jacks / Cadets / Flares had run their course.
The Jacks began as a gospel group guided by Lloyd McCraw, formerly of the Dixie Hummingbirds. He joined up in 1954 with Austin "Ted" Taylor, Aaron Collins (brother of Rosie Collins and Betty Collins, who had a hit as The Teen Queens with "Eddie My Love"), Willie Davis and Will "Dub" Jones. Modern Records' president Joe Bihari got the idea of using the group as two different ones with two different names--The Jacks as a more traditional R&B "harmony" group using Aaron Collins to write most of the material, and The Cadets as a more fun, higher-spirited "novelty" act, doing covers of other artists' songs.
The Jacks released several records on Modern, including "Do You Wanna Rock", a version of The Drifters' hit "Whatcha Gonna Do". They scored a regional hit with their next record, "How Soon". In 1956 Prentice Moreland replaced Ted Taylor. They had hits with more covers, including Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Church Bells May Ring" by The Willows. They had a bigger hit with "Why Don't You Write Me?", which hit the #3 spot on the R&B charts.
Meawhile Bihari was looking for some material for the group to release as The Cadets, and found it in "Stranded in the Jungle", a novelty song written and recorded by Jay Hawks. He knew it was just what he was looking for, had The Cadets cut their own version of it, got it out to the major radio stations across the country before Hawks' version did, received good airplay and got it into record stores. Sales soared, and in 1956 it reached #4 on the R&B charts and #15 on the pop charts.
Prentice Moreland left the group after that record and was replaced by Thomas "Pete" Fox. Lloyd McCraw also left. While The Cadets had other hits, their "The Jacks" group didn't. In 1957 Bihari dropped the "Jacks" persona altogether and kept the group named The Cadets. Dub Jones later went to The Coasters. Davis and Collins rebooted The Cadets and added Thomas Miller and George Hollis. The group renamed itself The Flares, went to Felsted Records and had a hit with "Foot Stompin'" (1961). By 1964 the Jacks / Cadets / Flares had run their course.
