1963 The Earls – Remember Then
Larry Chance grew up in Philadelphia and went to high school with a few other notables: Chubby Checker, Frankie Avalon, and Danny Rapp (of Danny and the Juniors). He didn’t get involved with singing until his family moved to the Bronx in 1957.
Larry recruited four other singers and formed the Hi-Hatters. The group practiced singing doo-wop songs. It sounds like a Hollywood story, but they were actually discovered while singing on a street corner by a subway station.
The group recorded several songs for the Rome record label in 1959. The label released at least three singles by the group, now using the name The Earls. Their first single was Life Is But A Dream almost reached the Hot 100 in 1961.
In 1962, the group recorded Remember Then for the Old Town Record label. That single was their national breakthrough, peaking at #24 in early 1963.
Larry co-wrote the group’s next single, Never (also called Never Fall In Love Again), which I remember doing well in the New York area. Unfortunately, the record didn’t reach the national charts. Several other singles followed, but when none of them charted, Larry left the group and pursued a solo career. When that didn’t work out, Larry rejoined the group.
The members in the group changed a great deal, and they eventually began playing their own instruments. The group changed its billing to The Earls featuring Larry Chance and eventually to Larry Chance and the Earls. The group performed constantly and released singles for several different labels.
In 1961, the Velvets had a minor hit with Tonight (Could Be The Night). The Earls recorded a disco version of the song in 1977 that somehow combined doo-wop and disco. The world wasn’t ready for that combination.
The group is still active today and maintains a website at http://www.larrychanceandtheearls.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Earls
https://acerecords.co.uk/the-earls-1
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