1959 Skyliners – Since I Don’t Have You

1959 Skyliners – Since I Don’t Have You

In 1958, five singers from the Pittsburgh area formed a new group. Jimmy Beaumont, Jackie Taylor, and Wally Lester from the Crescents joined forces with Janet Vogel and Joe VerScharen from the El Rios to form the Skyliners. Their name came from the theme song of jazz orchestra leader Charlie Barnett. Jimmy became the lead singer of the new group.

They co-wrote their first single with Joseph Rock and Lennie Martin. Since I Don’t Have You peaked at #12 on the Hot 100 and #3 on the R&B chart in early 1959.

On May 9, 1959, the group appeared on  Dick Clark’s Beechnut Saturday Night Show. That episode of the show had a cowboy theme, and all the Skyliners appeared in cowboy costumes (Janet appeared as a hostess in the bar). Even Dick had on a cowboy hat! The group lip-synced their hit record and appeared in a small skit with Dick.

On the same show, the group also performed This I Swear To You, the follow-up to their first hit. Unfortunately, no high-quality videos of that second song seem to have survived (although they were still in the same outfits they wore for their first song).

Perhaps because their second single sounded a lot like their first single, it only reached #26 on the Hot 100 and #20 on the R&B chart later in 1959.

The group’s remake of Pennies From Heaven reached #24 in 1960, after which they never reached the top forty again.

The group disbanded in 1963. Four of the original members reformed the group in 1974. They played in oldies shows, and in addition to recording a few new singles, they recorded a comeback album in 1976 and a Christmas single in 1990.

While Jimmy continued singing lead vocals for the group until his death in 2017, all the other members were replaced through the years. A group of Skyliners continues to appear in public although none of the original members are still in the group.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-skyliners-mn0000423095/biography
https://www.theskyliners.org/history.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Skyliners

I have collected older articles about Lost or Forgotten Oldies in my books.

Please visit my author page on Amazon where I sell my paperbacks, eBooks, and audiobooks.

You can even read the books for free if you have Kindle Unlimited!

Advertisement