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The Blossoms were a backing group from California.
They had a recording career in their own right and were to the American West Coast what The sweet inspirations were to the East Coast andThe andantes were for Motown.
Their career began in L.A, in California, while still in high school in 1954.
Originally the group was a sextet of young girls singing for fun. Calling themselves The Dreamers the group originally sang spirituals since two of the members had parents who were against their daughters singing secular rhythm and blues music popular on the radio during the early 1950s.
Fanita Barrett (later known as Fanita James), Gloria Jones, Jewel Cobbs, Pat Howard and twin sisters Annette and Nanette Williams all came from musical backgrounds. The twins had taken vocal and dancing lessons as youngsters. Fanita's brother Ronald was already a success with his vocal group, The Meadowlarks. The Dreamers were introduced to local musicians through Dexter Tisby, then successful with his own group The Penguins who had a hit with "Earth Angel".
The Dreamers joined Richard Berry in the studio and during 1955 and 1956 made several recordings for Flair and RPM Records. Among them was a version of Harry Warren and Mac Gordon's "At Last" and several of Richard Berry's compositions: "Together", "Wait For Me", and "Daddy, Daddy". The Dreamers gained attention as versatile singers and began to get studio work singing backup for other artists as well as recording a few singles of their own as The Dreamers.
The Dreamers signed with Capitol Records where one of the executives, noticing their different skin tones, said they looked like a bouquet; which is how they became The Blossoms. Even though signing to Capitol was considered a step up, the group's stay at Capitol was short - yielding only three singles - none of which made the charts. The Blossoms also underwent significant changes at this time. By 1958 Annette was married, pregnant, and planning a leave of absence from the group.
Darlene Wright (later known as Darlene Love replaced Annette and was selected to be the lead, which the ensemble-based Blossoms had not previously had. The addition of Wright would change the style of the group but chart success was still elusive, despite Darlene's unique presence as lead, on songs like "No Other Love" for Capitol in 1958, "Sugarbeat" for RCA as The Playgirls in 1960 and "Write Me A Letter" for Challenge in 1961.
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They had a recording career in their own right and were to the American West Coast what The sweet inspirations were to the East Coast andThe andantes were for Motown.
Their career began in L.A, in California, while still in high school in 1954.
Originally the group was a sextet of young girls singing for fun. Calling themselves The Dreamers the group originally sang spirituals since two of the members had parents who were against their daughters singing secular rhythm and blues music popular on the radio during the early 1950s.
Fanita Barrett (later known as Fanita James), Gloria Jones, Jewel Cobbs, Pat Howard and twin sisters Annette and Nanette Williams all came from musical backgrounds. The twins had taken vocal and dancing lessons as youngsters. Fanita's brother Ronald was already a success with his vocal group, The Meadowlarks. The Dreamers were introduced to local musicians through Dexter Tisby, then successful with his own group The Penguins who had a hit with "Earth Angel".
The Dreamers joined Richard Berry in the studio and during 1955 and 1956 made several recordings for Flair and RPM Records. Among them was a version of Harry Warren and Mac Gordon's "At Last" and several of Richard Berry's compositions: "Together", "Wait For Me", and "Daddy, Daddy". The Dreamers gained attention as versatile singers and began to get studio work singing backup for other artists as well as recording a few singles of their own as The Dreamers.
The Dreamers signed with Capitol Records where one of the executives, noticing their different skin tones, said they looked like a bouquet; which is how they became The Blossoms. Even though signing to Capitol was considered a step up, the group's stay at Capitol was short - yielding only three singles - none of which made the charts. The Blossoms also underwent significant changes at this time. By 1958 Annette was married, pregnant, and planning a leave of absence from the group.
Darlene Wright (later known as Darlene Love replaced Annette and was selected to be the lead, which the ensemble-based Blossoms had not previously had. The addition of Wright would change the style of the group but chart success was still elusive, despite Darlene's unique presence as lead, on songs like "No Other Love" for Capitol in 1958, "Sugarbeat" for RCA as The Playgirls in 1960 and "Write Me A Letter" for Challenge in 1961.
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