El-Deons
Cleveland, late 1950s
The El-Deons were a R&B vocal group in the late 1950s. They recorded a demo that was supposedly going to be released on Dot records. The record was never released and apparently lost to time. The songs were "It's Raining" and "Turn On Me".
The group was started by high school students from Glenville HS. The group members included Larry Banks, Kenneth Head, Mike Turner, Eddie Williams, and Randolph Hardy. The group performed locally and built a fan base, including a matching girl group named the La-Deonettes.
Here is a bit of the story as told by Larry:
"It
was Eddie O'Jay who came out to Phoenix for a very short time as a DJ,
late 1963-64, with the O'Jays before they took his last name and before
the beginning of 5 guys began with "Lipstick Traces". With
the influence and connections of Eddie O'Jay, I can now see why my
manager of the El Deons,(Walter Ratcliffe, nickname (Tubs) would give our tapes to Eddie O'Jay,
because he was the man with the connections in New York, the center of
the record world and Cleveland has never had that kind of
infra-structure for it's recording artist. Edwin Starr
(Charles Hatcher) leaves. Charles(Sonny)Turner leaves, and so
did many more.
I remember my manager producing two (2) demos from the tapes. He keep one and gave us one. He's long passed so that's what it is. But the demo belonging to us, one of the guys and we won't ever let him forget it took it over one of his young lady's house and it disappeared."
After Larry graduated high school in 1959, he joined the Air Force. From 1960 until 1964 he served in France. He was still in the service but relocated to Phoenix, AZ where he formed another vocal group, the Tridels. The US military encouraged musical groups by staging talent shows and competitions between the different military bases. The group, after some membership changes, became the Servicemen, who lasted from 1966 until 1967, releasing three 45s (five songs) of outstanding soul harmony.
Larry returned to Cleveland in 1968 after his military commitment was completed and he attended Arizona State University. He was no longer performing but in 1974, he was part of a vocal group reunion at Glenville HS with other members of the El-Deons. They recorded a rehearsal of the group singing "Stormy Weather" using the Spaniels arrangement. That was the last performance for the El-Deons.