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.

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Album Notes

The Diamonds Meet Pete Rugolo Released 1958

At   the   time   with   musical   styles   being   very   defined,   some   would   question   the pairing   of   a   top   40   Do-Wop   group   with   a   jazz-master   like   Pete   Rugolo.   The Diamonds   had   honed   their   formative   skills   on   this   style   of   music   and   the   vocal blend   and   the   quality   of   sound   was   probably   the   best   of   all   their   recordings. Vocal   arrangements   were   very   interesting,   and   resulted   in   a   good   quartet sound. Add to that, some nice jazz solos by the members of Rugolo's band. Personnel: Lead-David Somerville. Tenor-Ted Kowalski. Baritone-Mike Douglas. Bass-Bill Reed. (MERCURY MG20368) Update: For the first time ever, this complete album is now available on the CD, “The Diamonds - The Stroll - 2 CD Set” through Amazon.

1.   WRAP YOUR TROUBLES IN DREAMS 2.   BABY WON'T YOU PLEASE COME HOME 3.   THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE 4.   AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' 5.   UNTIL THE REAL THING COMES ALONG 6.   I'LL ALWAYS BE IN LOVE WITH YOU

7.   WILL YOU STILL BE MINE 8.   TENDERLY 9.   FOR ALL WE KNOW 10. ONE FOR MY BABY 11. LULU'S BACK IN TOWN 12. YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONG

So   you   think   you've   heard   the   Diamonds!   Sure   you   have   if   you've   heard   the   rambunctious   group   that   wailed   Li'l   Darling   and   a   frantic succession of hits that followed. But   hold   on.   There   is   more   flash   to   these   Diamonds   than   has   so   far   met   the   eye-or   ear.   When   they   met   up   with   orchestral   master   of   the modern   sound,   Pete   Rugolo,   to   record   this   album,   the   Diamonds   emerged   with   a   new,   smooth,   high   polish   that   few   had   heard. Against   the insidious   mischief   of   these   winging,   swinging   Rugolo   arrangements,   the   Diamonds   sparkle   with   a   solid   musicality   to   excite   the   most demanding taste of the modern jazz fan, as well as of the Diamonds' friends from the rock-and-roll idiom. In   this   album   of   established   standards,   the   Diamonds   prove   that   they   are   an   established   contribution   to   the   forward   flow   of   solid   new sounds in popular music. Here is a whole new set of Diamonds to excite you.  

Commentary

Ted Kowalski reminisces about this recording. “Mercury   Records   decided   it   was   time   for   us   to   do   something   other   than   rock   'n   roll.      They   set   up   a   recording   session   in   Los Angeles   with Peter   Rugolo   and   the   West   Coast   Jazz   groups. The   recording   session   took   some   time   (days)   and   we   used   two   microphones.      One   was   for the   lead   and   the   other   was   for   background   voices.      When   a   voice   was   to   be   featured,   e.g.   Bill   Reed   or   myself,   we   used   the   second microphone.     A   great   deal   of   time   was   spent   in   arrangements   by   Pete   Rugolo.     There   was   quite   a   bit   of   time   put   into   rehearsing. The   songs were not recorded all at one time but at various times of convenience for the quartet and musicians.  In   my   opinion I   believe   this   is   what   we   originally   started out   to   sing,   however,   at   that   time   in   order   to   "get   anywhere   in   the   business",   we   had to   do   rock   'n   roll.      We   did   continue   to   incorporate   all   types   of   music   -   not   only   rock   'n   roll   in   our   shows.     As   it   turned   out,   we   enjoyed   doing the rock 'n roll very much.   I personally like this album”. - Ted Kowalski - Original Tenor

Commentary from Barry Worrell

“Until   1958,   what   you   probably   knew   about   the   Diamonds   was   what   you   heard   on   pop   radio   or   American   Bandstand.   Then   Mercury released   "The   Diamonds   Meet   Pete   Rugolo".   Pete   Rugolo   was   a   very   successful   composer,   jazz   arranger   and   with   Mercury   had   a   string   of recordings   with   the   "Meet   Rugolo"   series.   Rugolo   usually   put   together   bands   with   jazz   personnel   such   as,   Maynard   Ferguson,   Jimmy Giuffre,   Bob   Fitzpatrick,   Howard   Roberts,   and   Shelly   Mann,   to   name   a   few.   So,   the   Diamonds   were   in   some   "heavy"   company   in   their second   completely   new   album. As   a   fan,   I   was   very   surprised   when   I   got   it,   not   being   privy   to   their   formative   years   of   growth.   This   was   not unfamiliar   territory,   but   I   dare   say   the   Diamonds   invested   a   lot   of   time   and   effort   only   to   gain   very   little   from   this   project   for   I   have   never heard any cuts from this recording on the airways. That’s not to say it never had air play. Also   it   was   the   time   when   records   companies   were   "experimenting"   with   stereo   recordings   and   sometimes   didn't   have   their   act   together. This   album   is   a   good   example.   If   you   ever   had   a   chance   to   compare   both   versions   in   the   same   setting,   the   mono   version   has   a   much richer,   warmer   sound   and   the   bass   range   is   in   better   balance   with   the   over   all   recording.   I   just   wish   all   of   the   Diamonds   recordings   were recorded   as   well.   On   the   stereo   version   the   voices   are   on   channel   A,   and   the   accompaniment   music   is   on   channel   B,   with   the   reverb   fed with the voices, resulting in a pseudo-stereo sound. Still it's one of my favorite Diamonds recordings.

Sample tracks from this album can be heard below.

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