The Velvets
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The Velvets | |
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Origin | Odessa, Texas, United States |
Genres | Doo-wop |
Years active | 1959–1962 |
Labels | Monument |
Past members | Virgil Johnson Will Solomon Mark Prince Clarence Rigsby Bob Thursby |
The Velvets were an American doo-wop group from Odessa, Texas, United States. They were formed in 1959 by Virgil Johnson, a high-school English teacher, with four of his students. Roy Orbison heard the group and signed them to Monument Records in 1960. Their first release was a tune called “That Lucky Old Sun“.
Their biggest hit single was “Tonight (Could Be the Night)”, which hit #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1961.
“Tonight (Could Be the Night)” | |
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Single by The Velvets | |
B-side | “Spring Fever” |
Released | 1961 |
Format | 7-inch single |
Genre | Doo-wop |
Length | 2:04 |
Label | Monument |
Songwriter(s) | Virgil Johnson |
“Tonight (Could Be the Night)” is a 1961 rock and roll song by the doo-wop quintet The Velvets.
The song refers to a young woman waiting to fall in love or perhaps for her intended to propose marriage and present her with a ring of commitment. The Velvets can be heard chanting “doo-wop” as a refrain in a song, a musical phenomenon which first surfaced in 1955 in the song “When You Dance” by The Turbans.
Johnson wrote the lyrics to “Tonight.” The song reached No. 26 on the Billboard Top 100 chart. The Velvets continued producing songs until 1966. In 1977 the New York rhythm and blues vocal group The Earls released a disco version of the song. Johnson sometimes still appears in nostalgia concerts.
The follow-up, “Laugh”, peaked at #90, and after a half-dozen further singles the group disbanded.
Virgil Johnson, a former deejay at Radio KDAV in Lubbock, Texas, was the lead tenor singer, with backup from Mark Prince (bass), Clarence Rigsby (tenor), Robert Thursby (first tenor), and William Solomon (baritone). The four were originally Johnson’s eighth-grade pupils in an English class which he instructed in Odessa in the 1959-1960 school year.
“That Lucky Old Sun” (#46) and “Tonight (Could Be the Night)” (#50) made brief appearances in the UK Singles Chart in 1961.
Their complete recorded output runs to 30 songs, which were collected on one compact disc and released by Ace Records in 1996.
Aftermath
Johnson was later a school principal before his death in February 2013. Clarence Rigsby was killed in an automobile accident in 1978.
Members
- Virgil Johnson (December 29, 1935– February 24, 2013)
- William Solomon (1941–2006)
- Mark Anthony Prince (September 26, 1942– November 11, 2021)
- Clarence Rigsby (1947–1978)
- Robert “Bob” Thursby
Discography
Singles
Side A 1961 : That Lucky Old Sun
Side B 1961 : Time And Again
Side A 1961 : Tonight (Could Be The Night
Side B 1961 : Spring Fever
Side A 1961 : Laugh
Side B 1961 : Lana
Side A 1962 : The Love Express
Side B 1962 : Don’t Let Him Take My Baby
Side A 1962 : Let The Good Times Roll
Side B 1962 : The Lights Go On, The Lights Go Off
Side A 1963 : Crying In The Chapel
Side B 1963 : Dawn
Side A 1964 : Nightmare
Side B 1964 : Here Comes That Song Again
Side A 1964 : If
Side B 1964 : Let The Fool Kiss You (But Dont; Let The Kiss Fool You)
Side A 1966 : Baby The Magic Is Gone
Side B 1966 : Let The Fool Kiss You (But Dont; Let The Kiss Fool You)
More Songs From The Velvets
- The Velvets- Alicia
- The Velvets- Kiss Me
- The Velvets- You Done Bad
- The Velvets- Be Ever Mine
- The Velvets- Bird Dog
- The Velvets- My Love
- The Velvets- Who Has The Right
- The Velvets- I’m Trusting In You
- The Velvets- Time And Again
- The Velvets- That’s Out Of My Line
- The Velvets- Poison Love
- The Velvets- I Can Feel It
- The Velvets- Husbands And Wives
- The Velvets- Almost But Not Quite
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