
info--Based on an interview with Madison Flanagan,thank you,,There have been several groups called the Velvetones over the years. Probably the finest of these recorded for Coronet and Sonora in the mid- to late 40s. The Velvetones were from Newark, New Jersey, and formed around 1943. An article in the Baltimore Afro-American dated August 18, 1945, mentions that the Velvetones are appearing at the Piccadilly Club (at Peshine & Waverly, in Newark). This is the same club that had recently given its name to the Piccadilly Pipers. The gist of the article was that the Velvetones were Enoch Martin, Madison Flanagan, Walter Dawkins, and Sam Rucker. All except Enoch Martin had attended Newark's South Side High School; Martin had gone to Barringer High. All had been in glee clubs. In addition, Enoch Martin had attended Wilberforce University in Wilberforce, Ohio (he'd been an arranger for the Wilberforce Collegians dance band and the Wilberforce Singers) [read carefully, this is probably the last time you'll see the word "Wilberforce" five times in one sentence]. By the time of the article, in August 1945, they had been together for about two years. John Hammond, identified as a "noted talent scout," got Martin to come back east and put together the group. According to Madison, John Hammond (whom he'd never met) was a music critic from New York and was "a pretty good judge of entertainers." Their manager was Mort Browne. In truth, the Velvetones formed as a chorus with about eight <b>...</b>
The
Velvetones
Sweet
Lorraine
1946
45-Coronet
Amnondoowop