The 1950’s Fabulous Foursome!
This
is
a
fan
site
of
the
original
Diamonds
of
the
1950s.
All
hailing
from
Canada,
they
made
their
way
to
the
U.
S.,
and
with
their
songs
and
energy,
endeared
themselves
to
their fans forever.
The Diamonds Songbook
Released 2007
In
2007
Canetoad
Records
in
Australia,
released
this
compilation
of
recordings
by
the
Diamonds.
With
33
cuts,
this
is
not
your
run
of
the
mill
collection.
Just
look
at
the
list
and
chances
are
there
is
a
song
you
have
never
heard
before.
From
"Black
Denim
Trousers
&
Motorcycle
Boots"
of
the
Coral
recordings,
to
"The
Horizontal
Lieutenant"
with
lead
Jim
Malone,
this
is
the
largest
collection
yet.
A
13
page
insert
with
history,
written
by
Tony
Watson,
and
photos
is
included.
This
use
to
be
available
from
CD
Universe
but
is
listed
as
“Not
Available”.
Canetoad
Records
is
no
longer
in
production, we may never see it again.
Personnel: Lead-David Somerville - Jim Malone. Tenor-Ted Kowalski - Evan
Fisher. Baritone-Phil Levitt - Mike Douglas. Bass-Bill Reed - John Felten.
(CANETOAD CDI-013)
Sample tracks from this collection can be heard on the “Jukebox” page of this
website.
1. Little Darlin’ (1957)
2. The Stroll (1957)
3. Silhouettes (1957)
4. Cool Cool Baby (1957)
5. The Church Bells May Ring (1956)
6. Why Do Fools Fall In Love (1956)
7. Love, Love, Love (1956)
8. Daddy Cool (1957)
9. Black Denim Trousers & Motorcycle Boots (1955)
10. Passion Flower (1958)
11. Straight Skirt (1958)
12. One And Only (1957)
13. Where Mary Go (1958)
14. Kathy-O (1958)
15. You Are The Limit (1957)
16. Honey (1957)
17. Oh How I Wish (1957)
18. Sweet Wild Honey (1958)
19. Words Of Love (1957)
20. I’ll Always Be In Love With You (1958)
21. Walking Along (1958)
22. Don’t Let Me Down (1958)
23. Happy Years (1958)
24. High Sign (1958)
25. She Say (1958)
26. Eternal Lovers (1958)
27. Sneaky Alligator (1959)
28. Walkin’ The Stroll (1959)
29. Batman, Wolfman, Frankenstein or Dracula (1959)
30. Land Of Beauty (1957)
31. One Summer Night (1961
32. You’d Be Mine (1960)
33. The Horizontal Lieutenant (1962)
Cuts
Commentary
The commentary by Tony Watson is quite extensive, seven pages to be exact, so I’ll quote here the first and last paragraphs.
“Almost
50
years
have
passed
since
The
Diamonds’
recording
of
“Little
Darlin”
burst
out
of
radio
speakers
into
the
homes
of
record
buyers
around
the
world.
In
that
time,
it’s
estimated
the
record
has
achieved
sales
in
excess
of
20
million
copies.
The
record
quite
rightly
is recognized as one of the genuine classics of the early years of Rock & Roll Music”.
“Sometimes,
you
just
need
to
get
lucky
in
life
to
achieve
success.
That
certainly
wasn’t
the
case
with
The
Diamonds.
They
made
it
through
a
combination
of
having
the
right
talent
from
the
start,
good
management
and
making
the
right
moves
at
the
height
of
their
recording
career.
Sixteen
charted
songs
in
eight
years
and
three
certified
gold
records
isn’t
too
bad
by
any
standards.
A
hundred
years
from
now,
if
a
future
generation
wants
to
know
what
sounds
were
popular
in
the
formative
years
of
rock
&
roll,
they
need
look
no
further
than
the
year
1957
when
life
was
a
whole
lot
simpler
and
a
song
from
a
Canadian
quartet
was
making
it
into
buyer’s
homes
right
around
the world. As the old saying goes, “they can’t be all wrong”. Aaah, ya-ya-ya indeed!”
