The Velvets
The Odessa, TX-based Velvets are best remembered for their violin-enriched 1961 Top 40 hit "Tonight (Could Be the Night)," during which the group chanted "doo-wop" behind lead singer Virgil Johnson. It was one of the first uses of the phrase in a song (the Turbans' use of the phrase on the 1955 "When You Dance" predates it by a few years). Johnson was a high school English teacher who recruited four of his students -- Clarence Rigsby (lead tenor), Robert Thursby (tenor), William Solomon (baritone), and Mark Prince (bass) -- to form the Velvets in 1960. They were soon spotted by Roy Orbison, who helped get them signed to the Nashville-based Monument label (he later cut "Lana" a song of theirs, while at the label).
The Velvets' recording career started with a catchy revival of "That Lucky Old Sun," but despite the presence of Nashville's finest session players on their releases, only the up-tempo "Tonight (Could Be the Night)," which was penned by Johnson, would score a U.S. Top 40 hit (number 26 pop, May 1961). This song tells of a guy trying to get his nerve up to ask his girl to marry him. Their next release, the spirited Roy Orbison/Joe Melson-penned "Laugh," became their last chart entry. The group released another six singles before going back to teaching and studying.
© Bryan Thomas /TiVo
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Tonight Could Be The Night
Soul - Released by Classic Records on 19 Jan 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Doo Wop Classics
R&B - Released by Master Classics Records on 1 Jun 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tonight (Could Be the Night)
Jazz - Released by Black Sheep Music on 1 Jan 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Here Come... The Velvets!
Blues - Released by Universal Digital Enterprises on 27 May 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
They Tried / She's Gotta Grin
R&B - Released by Red Robin Records on 31 Mar 1965
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Time and Again - The Velvets
Soul - Released by ISIS on 7 Sep 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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I Cried / Tell Her
R&B - Released by Red Robin Records on 19 Feb 1954
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I-I-I (love You So-so-So) / Dance Honey Dance
R&B - Released by Fury Records on 1 Nov 1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
That Lucky Old Sun (UK Chart Top 50 - No. 46)
Blues - Released by Music Manager on 7 Feb 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tonight (Could Be the Night) (Billboard Hot 100 - No 26)
Rock - Released by Music Manager on 22 Jun 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tonight / Spring Fever (Mono Version)
Rock - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Presenting The Velvets
Blues - Released by Universal Digital Enterprises on 27 May 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Velvets' I Cried
Pop - Released by Charly Records on 24 Jun 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Drinking, Fighting, Thinking
Metal - Released by The Velvets on 12 Apr 2024
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Laugh (Billboard Hot 100 - No 90)
Soul - Released by Music Manager on 7 Feb 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
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