the Spartans

Cleveland, 1950-5

The Spartans were one of Cleveland's early R&B vocal groups. According to info published on the Marv Goldberg R&B website, they started as the Mellow-Larks around 1950-1. There were no references to a group by that name in the Cleveland newspapers.

By 1954 the group included Richard Howard on lead, his brother Ronald Howard, Curtis Hafley, Paul Mahaley, and Alfonso Gordon. The Marv Goldberg story says that Herb Hinton was an original member (bass), but was replaces by Clarence Hicks as baritone while Mahaley took the bass parts. Hinton was on the recording. By the fall of 1954, Gordon replaced Hicks. Lamar Gaines joined the group around 1953 as pianist and arranger

The group's lone recording was cut at Schneider Recording, with Bill Reese's band backing. Bill was the guitarist. The group was managed by Al Rosen, an associate of Perry Stevens and Shelly Haims. Rosen - no relation to the Cleveland Indians' manager of the same name - wrote a couple songs - more like poems, according to the group member interviews - and Gaines and the group worked up the arrangements.

Stevens and Haims placed the songs with Capri records and the 45 came out arounf April 1954. For several years there was story about about copies of the record pressed with the label given a Nashville location but that was finally disproven. The original copies have no location listed. The 45 sold some copies locally and got some regional airplay.

By 1955 the group disbanded as some of the members were reaching 18 years old and needed to move on. Ronald Howard and Hafley joined the Air Force. They tried to restart the group a few years later but it didn't last. 

The only member that seems to have done much with music post - Spartans was Lamar Gaines. He played in a few different groups in the 1960s and 1970s, including the New Village Four.

Discography:
Lost / Faith, Hope, and Charity - Capri 7201, April 1954

Info thanks to Marv Goldberg - Marv Goldberg's R&B Notebooks - THE SPARTANS (uncamarvy.com)