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.
Singles of The Diamonds & Mp3s
These
singles
cover
the
recordings
of
the
Coral
and
Mercury
releases
and
include
the
members
of
all
four
“versions”
of
the
Diamonds.
Singing are Phil Levitt, Ted Kowalski, Bill Reed, Dave Somerville, Mike Douglas, Evan Fisher, John Felten, and Jim Malone.
Although
the
Diamonds
were
known
for
being
a
cover
group,
most
of
their
recordings
were
not
covers.
(More
on
the
subject
of
“covers”.)
Listed
below
are
their
original
recordings
and
and
their
cover
songs.
It
also
states
who
had
the
original
song
that
they
covered.
Hear
a
sample by clicking on the
Play Buttons
of the songs you wish to hear.
The
Diamonds
released
five
albums
under
the
Mercury
label.
Over
the
years
there
have
been
many
compilation
albums
and
they
vary
from
12
songs
to
the
4
CD
set
with
86
songs!
On
the
“Albums”
page
there
are
nine
albums
that
have
sample
mp3s
of
each
song
from
that album.
1955 - The Coral Recordings
Black Denim Trousers & Motorcycle Boots
Nip Sip
Smooch Me
Be My Lovin Baby
Play
Title
Status
Original Artist
Cover
Cover
Original
Original
The Cheers
The Clovers
1956
Why Do Fools Fall In Love
You Baby You
Church Bells May Ring
Little Girl Of Mine
Love, Love, Love
E'vry Night About This Time
Soft Summer Breeze
Ka-Ding-Dong
My Judge And Jury
Put Your House In Order
A Thousand Miles Away
Every Minute Of The Day
Moonglow
Cover
Cover
Cover
Cover
Cover
Original
Original
Cover
Original
Original
Cover
Original
Original
Frankie Lymon/Teenagers
The Cleftones
The Willows
The Cleftones
The Clovers
The G-Clefs
The Heartbeats
1957
Little Darlin
Faithful And True
Words Of Love * (See Video)
Don't Say Goodbye
Oh How I Wish
Zip Zip
Silhouettes
Honey Bird
Daddy Cool
The Stroll
Land Of Beauty
Straight Skirts
Patsy
Cover
Original
Original
Original
Original
Original
Cover
Original
Cover
Original
Original
Cover
Original
The Gladiolas
The Rays
The Rays
Gene Summers
1958
*Although
The
Diamonds'
version
of
'Words
Of
Love'
is
often
cited
as
a
cover
of
the
Buddy
Holly
recording,
this
is
not
the
case.
While
it
is
not
known
who
was
first
to
actually
record
the
song,
The
Diamonds
version
was
released
before the Holly recording and is noticeably different in arrangement and tempo to Buddy's version.
High Sign
Don't Let Me Down
Kathy O
Happy Years
Where Mary Go See Note Below *
Honey
Passion Flower
Walking Along
Eternal Lovers
Original
Original
Original
Original
Original
Original
Original
Revival
Original
The Solitaires**
1959
*This was originally recorded for the 1957 movie The Big Beat, then again for the recording which was released in 1958.
(See the story of Where Mary Go)
She Say
From The Bottom Of My Heart
Gretchen
A Mother's Love
Sneaky Alligator
Holding Your Hand
The Twenty Second Day
Young In Years
Oh Carol
Believe Me
Walkin The Stroll
Original
Cover
Original
Original
Cover
Original
Original
Original
Cover
Cover
Original
The Clovers
Ellis Brothers
Neil Sedaka
The Royal Teens
1960
Tell The Truth
Real True Love
San Antonio Rose
Slave Girl
The Pencil Song
You'd Be Mine
The Crumble
Original
Original
Original
Original
Original
Original
Original
1961
I Sho' Lawd Will
You Short Changed Me
The Munch
Woomai-Ling
One Summer Night
It's A Doggone Shame
Horizontal Lieutenant*
Vanishing American*
Original
Original
Original
Original
Revival
Original
Original
Original
The Danleers
1995
Sleigh Ride*
*This
was
released
about
1995
and
was
listed
as
"The
Diamonds",
but
it's
Dave
Somerville
singing
all
the
parts.
It
is
part
of
a
compilation
called
"
A
Most
Excellent
Poppin'
Oldies
Christmas
"
and
you
can
hear
a
sample
of
this
song.
Download
is
available.
Note
the
Little
Darlin'
style
with
cowbell
and
"Hup-Do-Waddys"
in
the
background.
It’s also not the first time Dave has been a one man quartet.
Listen
Here’s another version of Sleigh Ride by Dave Somerville, in a more traditional style.
Listen
Songs Charted On Billboard
1. Why Do Fools Fall In Love
2. The Church Bells May Ring
3. Love, Love, Love
4. Ka-Ding-Dong
5. Soft Summer Breeze
6. Little Darlin’
7. Words Of Love
8. Zip Zip
9. Silhouettes
10. The Stroll
11. High Sign
12. Kathy-O
13. Happy Years
14. Walking Along
15. She Say (Oom Dooby Doom)
16. One Summer Night
Debut on 02/18/56, Peaked at #12
Debut on 04/21/56, Peaked at #14
Debut on 06/23/56, Peaked at #30
Debut on 09/08/56, Peaked at #35
Debut on 09/22/56, Peaked at #34
Debut on 03/16/57, Peaked at #2 (Gold Certified)
Debut on 06/24/57, Peaked at #13
Debut on 08/26/57, Peaked at #16
Debut on 11/04/57, Peaked at #10 (Gold Certified)
Debut on 12/30/57, Peaked at #4 (Gold Certified)
Debut on 04/14/58, Peaked at #37
Debut on 07/28/58, Peaked at #16
Debut on 08/04/58, Peaked at #73
Debut on 10/27/58, Peaked at #29
Debut on 01/26/59, Peaked at #18
Debut on 07/03/61, Peaked at #22
2015
“Anglo
Rhythnblues”
Clever
in
the
fact
that
Dave
Somerville
is
telling
a
brief
history
of
himself
and
his
first
group,
The
Diamonds
back
the
1950s.
Interesting
in
the
fact
its
a
80
year
old
guy
that
can
still
belt
out
a
song
in
a
Rock-a-Billy
style.
There's
a
surprise
at
the
ending
with
the
placement
of
two
iconic
musical
phrases
from
the
The
Diamonds'
biggest
hit,
Little
Darlin'.
For
Diamonds'
fans
it's
a
real
treat.
(Listen
to
a
clip
of
Anglo
Rhythmnblues)
/
(Available
thru
Amazon)
Seventeen Songs The Diamonds Recorded That Were Never Released
There
could
be
many
reasons
to
record
a
song
and
then
not
release
it,
so
I’ll
leave
that
to
the
reader
to
decide
what
they
are.
Knowing
the
format
that
Mercury
had
for
the
Diamonds,
some
of
these
were
probably
covers.
The
song
“Wild
Female”
was
recorded
by
Frankie
Lymon
and
the
Teenagers
and
The
Diamonds
first
hit
was
cover
of
this
group.
Personally
I
would
like
to
have
these
songs,
even,
if
they’re bad.
*With the departure of Dave Somerville, Jim Malone is singing lead on these recordings.
Click here for The Diamonds Jukebox. It contains alphabetical listing of
all the songs that were released to the public with mp3 samples.
SHADOWS - 1958
YOU GOT IT BABY - 1958
NEVER ENDING LOVE - 1958
MY FOOLISH HEART - 1959
WILD FEMALE - 1959
YOU'RE FOR ME - 1960
MY BABE - 1960
SORRY I RAN ALL THE WAY HOME - 1961
HOW - 1956
HOUSE OF CARDS - 1956
LOVE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT - 1956
IF IT’S SUNNY WALTZ - 1956
PENNSYLVANIA WALTZ - 1956
CARBON COPY - 1957
OUR LOVE 1957
THE ROCKIN' YEARS - 1958
I JUST WANT TO LOVE YOU - 1958
Title / Date
The following additional information was supplied my good friend and contributor, Ric Tester from Australia.
"Shadows" was a minor hit for The Five Satins and would have suited The Diamonds perfectly.
"Our Love" from 1959 was written by Clyde Otis and is almost identical to "A Mother's Love" (albeit with a few lyrics
changed).
"The Rockin' Years" is another Otis composition and is almost identical to "Happy Years".
"My Babe" is a Chicago blues song and a blues standard written by Willie Dixon for Little Walter.
"Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home) was a hit for The Impalas and I think it featured Jim Malone on lead vocal (on The
Diamonds version).
**The Solitaires’ version was released in 1956