Sunday, June 24, 2007
Obscure Audio Post of the Day
In the news today we learned that Hank Medress, a member of the Tokens, has died. An easy choice for music would be the Tokens' biggest hit, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," but I'm pretty sure even those not alive in 1961 can sing that one by themselves (if not exactly hit the high notes as well). The best song ever recorded by the Tokens, earlier that same year, was "Tonight I Fell in Love," a real doo-wop classic if there ever was one ("Dom doo-bee dom, woh-oh, doo-bee doo-bee dom doo-bee dom, woh-oh, tonight I fell in love"). But you can hear that lots of places.
No, instead we reach into the wayback machine, to a time in 1958 when the Tokens were known as Darrell & the Oxfords, and recorded an early doo-wop hit called "Picture in My Wallet." It's definitely not a "gem," but you can hear the echoes of that high-pitched "Lion Sleeps Tonight" sound throughout. In searching for "Picture in My Wallet" with Google, I found a copy of the 45 going for $25 on eBay, so I guess somebody likes it!
