One group - two names and a hell of a first compilation from the premier west coast doo wop group, who cut for Modern & RPM in the late 50s.
Early in 1955, Joe Bihari of Modern Records hired a local gospel quintet and turned them into an in-house R&B act. From 1955-1958, the group recorded 20 singles - 14 as The Cadets and 6 as The Jacks - on a variety of different labels. They hit the charts under both guises. "The Cadets Meet The Jacks" is the first of two volumes of their collective output, this CD concentrating on the recordings attributed to The Cadets (the next is called "The Jacks Meet The Cadets", CDCHD 535 and emphasises recordings released as The Jacks.) The Cadets big hit was Stranded In The Jungle. Released on Modern, it entered Billboard??s R&B chart on 21st July 1955, rising to the No. 4 slot and crossing over into the Pop chart at No. 15. It was released in the UK on London Records. Recently the song was used in the movie "Dead Poets Society". Maxwell Davis arranged and Joe Bihari supervised most of the groups sessions. Usually bass singer Dub Jones or tenor Aaron Collins sang lead on The Cadets recordings, while tenor Willie Davis fronted The Jacks. (Ted Taylor was also featured on several songs). A couple of Jacks recordings which sound stylistically closer to The Cadets are included for good measure on this volume. The compilation is by Walter De Venne and there are extensive sleeve notes by West Coast R&B expert Jim Dawson.
