Biography

Grew up as a neighbor of The Orioles' Sonny Til and The Swallows' Earl Hurley.

In 1954 he formed The Whispers (no relation to the more famous Los Angeles-based group) with four high school friends, and recorded for Gotham Records (based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). He wrote, arranged and sang lead on "Fool Heart" and "Are You Sorry?", both released in 1955.

In 1996 he and the surviving Flamingos were awarded the Rhythm & Blues Foundation's Pioneer Award.

In 2001 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with The Flamingos.

Is the duet lead heard, along with Paul Wilson, on "Lovers Never Say Goodbye", "Love Walked In", "Time Was" and "But Not For Me", all Billboard chart hits (except the latter). He recorded three albums with The Flamingos, Flamingo Serenade, Requestfully Yours and Flamingo Favorites. They toured extensively and appeared five times on the TV show American Bandstand.