The Crew Cuts

 

Formed: 1952, Toronto, Ontario

Disbanded: 1964

 

Members:

 

–  John Perkins (lead)

–  Rudi Maugeri (baritone)

–  Ray Perkins (bass)

–  Pat Barrett (1st or high tenor)

 

Genre: Pop

Achievements: Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Juno Lifetime Achievement Award.

 

Biggest Hit:

 

“Sh-Boom” (1954)

–  Peaked at #1 on the charts

–  5th biggest song of the year (Cashbox)

 

Some Other Hit Singles:

 

–  “Crazy ‘Bout Ya Baby” (1954)

–  “Gumdrop” (1955)

–  “Earth Angel” (1955)

–  “Angels In The Sky” (1955)

–  “Mostly Martha” (1955)

–  “Don’t Be Angry” (1955)

–  “Young Love” (1957)

 

Like the Four Lads, The Crew Cuts’ members also attended the St. Michael’s Choir School in Toronto. They gave up their provincial government jobs when they began making money with their singing. They were asked by Toronto deejay Barry Nesbitt to sing on his weekly teen show and began performing gigs in local clubs around Niagara Falls. When they had saved some money, they drove down to New York City and entered the Arthur Godfrey Talent contest, finishing in second place. But this led them nowhere. They did record a song—“Chip, Chip Sing a Song Little Sparrow”—with a minor label but this did nothing to improve their lot and they continued performing at more shabby clubs.

 

In March, 1953, the band returned to Toronto and opened for singer Gisele MacKenzie at the Casino Theatre. She raved about them to her record label but failed to remember the group’s name. The following winter, the band was playing at a club in Sudbury one night. It was 40 below. Their agent contacted them saying that they had been invited to appear on the Gene Carroll television show in Cleveland (U.S.). Hoping that this was the break they were awaiting, they hopped into their car and drove nearly a thousand kilometers without a heater. They thawed themselves out I suppose and managed to perform three times.

 

The Crew Cuts had been going by different names at the time and Bill Randle, a local disc jockey in Cleveland, was the one who, after seeing their unique hairstyles, came up with the band’s permanent name. He booked them for an audition with Mercury Records. Mercury was blown out of the solar system and immediately signed them.

 

The Crew Cuts’ scored their first hit, the original “Crazy ‘Bout You Baby” in 1954; it made the Top Ten. They recorded a cover of The Chords’ “Sh-Boom” beefing it up with a big-band orchestration. And it lunged up the charts all the way to number one. It was to become the 5th biggest song of the year according to Cashbox, doing far better than the original version. The band recorded a number of original songs and cover tunes. Interestingly, their cover tunes, which were usually pop treatments of former R&B songs, tended to do well in the U.S.; whereas, their original songs became big hits in Canada.

 

After their huge success, the band returned to Toronto where they were greeted with a full-blown ticker-tape parade. They continued breaking into the Top 20 for the next few years. Their cover of The Penguins’ “Earth Angel” went to number three in 1955. Their last Top 20 hit in the U.S. was “Young Love” in 1957; a country version by Sonny James was also a hit. The following year, the group moved from Mercury to RCA Victor where they stayed for six years, disbanding in 1964. In addition to their singles, they released nine albums. They received a Juno Lifetime Achievement Award in 1984 and were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.