The Aquatones

The Aquatones were an American doo-wop group in the 1950s. The group's lead singer was 17-year-old Lynne Nixon, a soprano who had had formal operatic training. The Aqua-Tones had one Billboard Hot 100 hit, entitled "You", for the Fargo label. Their subsequent releases all failed to reach the Hot 100. They were issued in the early 1960s and finally on an album that gathered together most of their songs, which was issued three years after their hit single, and just before their final Fargo release in July 1961, a remake of The Heartbeats' "Crazy For You". That song was not on the original album, but was included in the reissue in the 1980s. In the late 1990s, the group reformed with a new lead singer, Colette Delaney. They released a number of CDs on the Debra label of remakes and new material, including a Christmas album in 2006. Sound The Aquatones were a four-part harmony group with a female lead vocalist, Lynne Nixon (22 March 1941 – 9 January 2001). The group began in 1956 as three males from Valley Stream, New York, United States, called the Rhythm Kings; the members were Dave Goddard, Larry Vannata and Gene McCarthy. They came together to record a song written by Goddard for their junior class play at Valley Stream Central High School. All of the men played instruments as well as singing vocals — McCarthy on the clarinet and tenor sax, Vannata the alto and tenor saxophones and Goddard on piano. Bob Boden played drums when they performed live. A classmate's father, a record distributor, heard the group and suggested that they add a high falsetto voice. Shortly thereafter Vannata met Lynne Nixon at a dance and asked McCarthy and Goddard to give her an audition. Upon hearing her voice they agreed to add her to the group. At first Nixon only sang backgrounds, until Vannata wrote the song "You" for her to sing. The group later changed its name to the Aquatones. In 1957, the three original members decided to add Nixon as a fourth member to give the group some versatility. It was not long after the group became a foursome that they found themselves performing at a talent contest at Malverne High School. The contest, entitled "Stairway to the Stars", was just that for the group, as local real estate mogul-turned-music-promoter Lou Fargo heard them and liked what he saw and heard. In December 1957, he signed the group and they went to record on Fargo's own label.