{"id":12466,"date":"2021-07-20T09:51:47","date_gmt":"2021-07-20T16:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.louielouie.net\/blog\/?p=12466"},"modified":"2021-07-20T09:51:47","modified_gmt":"2021-07-20T16:51:47","slug":"an-appreciation-of-the-dreamers-to-the-blossoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.louielouie.net\/blog\/?p=12466","title":{"rendered":"An Appreciation of The Dreamers to The Blossoms"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Dreamers – Annette Williams, Gloria Jones and Nannette Williams<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This week, we’re pointing the mighty LOUIE spotlight at The Dreamers<\/strong>, a vocal group that would became the Blossoms<\/strong>. As music writer Jay Warner<\/strong> once declared, this band was “the most successful unknown group of the 60s.” <\/em> <\/p>\n

Richard Berry<\/strong>, the man who wrote LOUIE LOUIE, played a significant role in the early years of this musical group of teenage girls that included Gloria Jones, Fanita Barrett<\/strong>, twins Annette and Nannette Williams<\/strong>, as well as Jewel Cobbs<\/strong> and Pat Howard<\/strong>. When they met Richard, he was a recording artist that was transitioning from a member of the Flairs<\/strong> to a solo artist. He became a mentor and dear friend for these young ladies, as he brought them to Modern Records<\/strong>, where they were christened with “the Dreamers<\/strong>” name and signed to the Flair Records<\/strong> subsidiary label. <\/p>\n

Their first recording, as The Dreamers featuring Richard Berry in 1954, included a cover version of “At Last” – originally a Glenn Miller<\/strong> song that would become a big hit for Etta James<\/strong> six years later, and “Bye Bye (Baby)” – a song that was probably written by Richard Berry, but credited to “Joe Josea<\/strong>,” an alias used by record company honcho Joe Bihari<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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After an appearance by the Dreamers on Johnny Otis<\/strong>‘ radio show to promote this new record, Jewel Cobbs<\/strong> and Pat Howard<\/strong> found themselves at odds with their fathers over this controversial rhythm and blues music, and had to quit the band. The Dreamers continued to record for Flair Records, as Richard Berry & the Dreamer<\/strong>s or simply “The Dreamers” before moving over to Flip Records, where Richard was recording with a band known as the Pharaohs<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

When Richard Berry and the Pharaohs<\/strong> recorded the very first version of “Louie Louie,” Gloria Jones<\/strong> of the Dreamers, was the only woman singing backup vocals. As fate would have it, she is also the last survivor of that recording session.<\/p>\n

After some semi-concurrent sessions with three Dreamers recording as The Rollettes<\/strong> for Googie Rene<\/strong>‘s Class<\/strong> record label, the Dreamers signed to Capitol Records<\/strong> in 1957 as The Blossoms<\/strong>. When Annette Williams<\/strong> took a leave of absence to have a baby in 1963, Darlene Love<\/strong> stepped in as a replacement, which changed the dynamics of the group. <\/p>\n

Over the the course of 45 assorted years, members of the Dreamers-Blossoms did recordings for Phil Spector<\/strong>, and performed as backup singers for such artists as Sam Cooke, Gene Autry, Aretha Franklin, Doris Day, Tom Jones, Dick Dale<\/strong> and Elvis Presley<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Morgan Neville<\/strong>\u2018s 2013 Oscar-winning documentary \u201c20 Feet from Stardom<\/strong>,\u201d shared some of the stories of Dreamers-Blossoms<\/p>\n

I’m grateful Richard Berry invited me to what turned out to be the final performance of Richard Berry and the Dreamers. Here’s a snippet from that performance that took place on February 24, 1996 in Long Beach,California…<\/p>\n