BARRY LEVINE: Lee Andrews influenced many top musicians

Lee Andrews, the lead singer of one of the premier 1950s doo-wop groups Lee Andrews and the Hearts, died last month. He was 79.

He was the father of Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson of the Grammy-winning rap group The Roots.

Andrews formed the doo-wop group in Philadelphia in 1953. Four years later, they had their most successful hits.

Their first, “Teardrops,” reached No. 45 in 1957, topping Clyde McPhatter’s version. Lee Andrews & The Hearts version fared better on the R&B chart climbing to No. 11.

The group had their biggest hit later in 1957 when “Long Lonely Nights” reached No. 11 on the pop charts and No. 4 on the R&B chart.

They had their last major hit in the summer of 1958 when “Try the Impossible” rose to No. 33 on the pop chart.

One of the finest R&B vocal groups of the 1950s, they specialized in smooth ballads and were influenced by similar vocal acts including Moonglows, Orioles, Drifters the 5 Royals, Midnighters and the Ravens.

Andrews’ influences included solo artists Bing Crosby, Frankie Laine, Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole.

Born Arthur Lee Andrew Thompson in Goldsboro, N.C., in 1936, the Thompson family moved to Philadelphia when he was 2. The crooner took his performing name from his two middle names, Lee and Andrew.

When he was a student at Bertram High School in Philadelphia in 1952, Andrews began singing with four high school friends. They originally called themselves the Dreams and later the Dreamers.

Group member Jimmy McCallister is credited with naming the group The Hearts after seeing a small plastic heart on a secretary’s desk. Because Thompson was the group’s featured singer, he began toying with different name combinations that would sound better and read better on 45 labels. He just felt Arthur Thompson & The Hearts was too unwieldy.

He eventually opted to use his two middle names Lee and Andrew and Lee Andrews & The Hearts was born.

With success came problems.

The group was constantly touring in 1957 and 1958 and it caused one of the members to leave the group and join the Army. Andrews, meanwhile, opted to leave the unit to become a solo act.

Despite multiple reunions neither Andrews nor The Hearts enjoyed much success after 1958.

Andrews went into semi-retirement and opened a highly successful dress shop in Philadelphia.

Andrews and a newly formed Hearts group resurfaced during the 1970s popular rock ‘n’ roll revival shows.

Born Ahmir Khalib Thompson, the 45-year-old Questlove is a percussionist, multi-instrumentalist, music journalist and record producer. He is best known as the drummer and joint frontmen with Black Thought for the Grammy Award-winning band The Roots.

Questlove and his father had an extremely close relationship.

In a post on Instagram Questlove revealed his love and appreciation for his father,

“For every backstage experience. For every drum lesson. For giving me your tireless work ethic. For our father & son record binging expeditions. For our arguments over the summer I discovered #ItTakesANationOfMillions.

“For the look on your face when I told you ‘imma give this rap thing a try’ (I waited til our 2nd album to have this convo btw. For the look on your face 5 years later when I told you ‘you don’t have to work no more.’ For the look on your face when a year later I was like ‘Seriously dad, you don’t have to work anymore!’ ”

While Lee Andrews always will be remembered for his string of hits in 1967 and 1968, he also should be known for providing lessons and guidance for the popular Questlove.

This week in Rock History — Fats Domino’s “Ain’t That a Shame” was released on Imperial Records on April 17, 1955. It rose to No. 10, becoming the first of his 37 Top 40 hits during the next eight years. … Elvis Presley’s “All Shook Up” started an eight-week stay at the top on April 20, 1957. The song sold more than 2 million copies. … “American Bandstand” host Dick Clark testified before a Congressional committee investigating the payola scandal on April 21, 1960. He admitted he had a financial interest in 27 percent of the records he played on the show during a two-year period, but was cleared of all charges.

New York DJ Alan Freed premiered his last rock ‘n’ roll movie, “Go Johnny Go,” on April 22, 1959. It starred Chuck Berry, Jackie Wilson, Ritchie Valens, Eddie Cochran and The Flamingos. … Elvis Presley made his Las Vegas debut at the New Frontier Hotel when he opened for the Freddie Martin Orchestra and comedian Shecky Greene. Despite having “Heartbreak Hotel” at the top of the charts, Elvis was not well-received by the middle-aged audience. Management of the Frontier was so unimpressed, they gave Elvis his walking papers after one week of a two-week engagement. Presley wouldn’t play Las Vegas again for almost 13 years.

Barry Levine is an entertainment writer for The Albany Herald. He can be reached at [email protected]