Jay black singing this magic moment8/7/2023 ![]() L&S had a production deal with United Artists and got the group signed to that label. Apparently L&S were not used to this kind of back talk because they finally said that they would go through with the deal. Kenny got angry and decided to go back to their office and tell them off. L&S had promised the guys the world and four very dejected boys walked out of the office. There was a dispute in the office between L&S and Terry, and L&S threw Jay and the Americans (although they still had no name at the time) out, along with Terry. L&S (Leiber and Stoller) loved the group but didn’t want to record any of Terry’s songs. The group sang “Wisdom of a Fool” for their audition and some songs that had been written by Terry. ![]() This was when Leiber/Stoller were the hottest producers/writers in the business. Terry knew Danny Kessler, who was partners with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in a publishing company. The group auditioned for Terry and he liked the way they sang. Living also in Belle Harbor was a song writer/producer named Terry Philips (now the owner of Perception Records). Shortly after, Sandy called on an old buddy of his, Howie Kane and got him to join the group. Through the Gribble Office, they met Jay and he agreed to join their, as yet, unnamed group. Kenny and Sandy decided that they wanted to have a male recording group. They were guys who had grown up together and they resented anybody taking Phil’s place. Jay sang lead on two of The Mystics’ songs – “White Cliffs Of Dover” and Blue Star”, as well as on some of their unreleased records, but was unhappy with the group because they had not accepted him. John Traynor (Jay) was filling in as lead until Phil returned to the group. ![]() Another of his groups was The Mystics, who, at that time, were minus a lead singer, Phil Cracolici, who had to drop out of the group for awhile – just after their hit record “Hushabye”. The Harbor Lites, had, like so many other white groups of that era, been managed by Jim Gribble. ![]() Cousin Brucie (Morrow), a very popular New York City Disc Jockey, liked the record and because of him, it was a minor hit. This time they were signed to a contract and their first record was “Is That Too Much To Ask”- originally on Ivy but Jaro Records purchased the master. When they thought that they were good enough they went back to his office to audition again. Linda, Gail and Richie left the group at this point and the three remaining members practiced constantly. He thought that the group was terrible and told them to go home and do a lot of practicing. One of the owners of IVY Records, Stan Feldman, also lived in that neighborhood and the Harbor Lites went to his home to audition for his label. The other members were Sydell Sherman, Gail Sherman, Linda Kahn and Richie Graff. The Harbor Lites, Sandy Yaguda, Sydell Sherman, and Kenny Vance In 1959, Kenny Vance and Sandy Yaguda were part of a vocal group called the Harbor Lites so called because they lived in Belle Harbor, New York. ![]()
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