Biography:

The Manhattans are an American popular R&B vocal group. Their songs “Kiss and Say Goodbye“, recorded in 1976, and 1980’s “Shining Star“, both sold millions of copies.^[1] The Manhattans have recorded 45 hits on the Billboard R&B Chart, including twelve top-10 R&B hits in the United States, starting in 1965.^[2] Sixteen of their songs have reached the Billboard Hot 100, including two top 10s and a number-one hit with their song “Kiss and Say Goodbye”. They also charted eight U.S. R&B top 20 Albums, three of which were RIAA certified gold.

Early history

The Manhattans, originally from Jersey City, New Jersey, formed in 1962^[3] with members George “Smitty” Smith (December 28, 1939 – December 16, 1970), Edward “Sonny” Bivins (January 15, 1936^[4] – December 3, 2014), Winfred “Blue” Lovett (November 16, 1936 – December 9, 2014),^[5][6] Kenny “Wally” Kelly (January 9, 1941 – February 17, 2015), and Richard “Ricky” Taylor (1940 – December 7, 1987). Bivins, Lovett, and Kelly graduated from Lincoln High School, while Taylor and Smith graduated from Snyder High School.^[7] All five enlisted in the armed forces and came together as a group following their discharges from their respective branches.

The group’s first single was “For the Very First Time”, released in 1964 by Carnival Records.^[3] The Manhattans continued recording successfully with songs written by various members of the group. In 1968, the group received the “Most Promising Group” award by NATRA (the National Association of Television and Radio Announcers). In 1969, the group moved to the De Luxe record label, a subsidiary of King Records, and subsequently embarked on a college tour. While playing at Kittrell College in North Carolina, the group met another group, the New Imperials, featuring Gerald Alston, nephew of The Shirelles‘ lead singer, Shirley Alston-Reeves. They were so impressed with Alston that they asked him to join the group, but he declined.

Misfortune hit the group late in 1970 when Smith fell ill. The value of this dynamic lead singer can neither be undervalued nor forgotten, with songs like, I’m the one Love Forgot and others that first established the groups popularity. With him unable to perform, the group began to search for a new lead. First they attempted to woo The Cymbals’ lead, Lee Williams, but he was unwilling to leave his current group. The group then renewed their request to Gerald Alston (born November 8, 1951), who accepted and took over the lead spot.^[3] Smith died of a brain tumor on December 16, 1970, 12 days before his 31st birthday.^[3]

The Manhattans continued recording throughout the 1970s with Alston singing lead vocals. They struck chart gold in 1973 with the Bivins-written song “There’s No Me Without You”. Then their biggest song was their March 1976 release “Kiss and Say Goodbye“,^[3] written by Blue Lovett and arranged/co-produced with the group by the Philadelphia-based record producer Bobby Martin, a former member of the MFSB band of session musicians. The song quickly became a number-1 chart-topper on both the US Billboard Pop and R&B charts.^[3] It also became the second ever single to go platinum, after the RIAA introduced that certification level in 1976.^[8] Taylor left in 1976 to concentrate on his conversion to Islam.^[3] He died in 1987 after a long illness.^[3]

The group continued as a quartet, and found further success in March 1980 with the release of “Shining Star”, which reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 4 on the R&B Chart.^[3] Produced and co-written by the Chicago-based record producer, Leo Graham, it received a Grammy Award the following spring.

In 1983, The Manhattans released the album Forever by Your Side, by Columbia Records, which had two singles that year. The first was the song “Crazy“, the great success of this album, peaked at number 4 on the R&B chart. The second single was the title track “Forever by Your Side“, which had moderate success in the United States, peaked at number 30 on the R&B chart, but has become a great success and a romantic classic in Brazil two years later, when it was included as part of the soundtrack of a soap opera in the country. The success led to a Portuguese version the following year, called “Pra Sempre Vou Te Amar”, which also was successful in Brazil, and has been recorded by several Brazilian artists. Another highlight of this album Forever by Your Side was the song “Just the Lonely Talking Again”, written by the American singer and songwriter Sam Dees, which was originally recorded by The Manhattans for this 1983 album and was later re-recorded by Whitney Houston on her second studio album, Whitney, in 1987.

The group celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1985 with the release of Too Hot to Stop It. It included the Evans/Smith-penned “When We’re Made as One”, originally recorded in 1966 but covered in an a cappella, doo wop style to emphasize the group’s doo wop roots. The album was also dedicated to George Smith.

The group continued until 1988. That year, Alston left to record as a solo artist, scoring with several major R&B hits in the late 1980s and early 1990s for Motown. Roger Harris was recruited as the new lead singer for the group, which moved to the new label, Valley Vue, when their Columbia recording contract expired.

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