The Skyliners

The Skyliners
Origin	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	American doo-wop
Years active	1958-1963, 1974-present
Website	[1]
Members
Jimmy Beaumont Donna Groom Nick Pociask Rick Morris Mark Groom
Past members
Jimmy Beaumont Wally Lester Jack Taylor Joe Verscharen Janet Vogel

The Skyliners are an American doo-wop group from Pittsburgh fronted by Jimmy Beaumont. The original line-up also included Wally Lester, Jack Taylor, Joe Verscharen, Louis M. Tutino and Janet Vogel. While this quintet constituted the formal group of vocalists, they were backed by a variety of Pittsburgh musicians including Joe Dalu, a drummer from Pittsburgh's Manchester neighborhood who also played with local favorites Ray and The Furys (COED Label, 1959).

The Skyliners were best known for their 1959 hit "Since I Don't Have You". Popular covers by Trini Lopez, Chuck Jackson, Don McLean, Guns N' Roses, The Brian Setzer Orchestra, Ronnie Milsap and Buckaroo Banzai have helped keep the song in the public consciousness. They also hit the Top 40 with "This I Swear" and "Pennies from Heaven". Other classics include "It Happened Today" (1959), "Close Your Eyes" (1961) and "Comes Love" (1962). The original group dissolved in 1963 but re-united eleven years later (without Jack Taylor) for what would become their last charted record, "Where Have They Gone?"

In 1965, Jimmy Beaumont recorded two notable singles for the Bang label. The first, "Tell Me" b/w "I Feel Like I'm Falling in Love", were pleasant medium-tempo soul-styled tracks. For his second Bang 45, "I Never Loved Her Anyway" b/w "You Got Too Much Going for You", Jimmy was transformed into an impressive soul singer sounding nothing like his previous more pop styled efforts, leading some to question in later years if it actually was his singing. These two tracks are now considered Northern soul collectibles. The second 45 was also issued on UK London HLZ 10059 in 1966.

In 1978, Detroit producer Don Davis — who produced Marilynn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr., Johnny Taylor, the Dramatics, and the Dells — picked up one of his favorite groups (the Skyliners) to record in his United Sound Studios. There they recorded the group's "comeback" album for the RCA subsidiary, Tortoise International Records. The songs "Oh, How Happy" and "The Love Bug" were included, as was a hefty re-make of Dan Schafer's original RCA Victor single, "A Day Without You, Dear".

1978 Tortoise International/RCA Side B

Today, Jimmy Beaumont still performs with The Skyliners in their current line-up of Nick Pociask, Rick Morris, and Donna Groom (whose husband, Mark Groom, has been the group's drummer/conductor for more than 25 years). Two of the original members have died — Janet Vogel (suicide) in 1980 (aged 37), and Joe Verscharen of cancer in 2007 (aged 67). Their longtime manager and producer Joe Rock, who also co-wrote "Since I Don't Have You", died on April 4, 2000 after complications from quadruple bypass heart surgery at age 63.

Chart hits

• "Since I Don't Have You" (1958), U.S. #12, Cashbox #7
• "This I Swear" (1959), U.S. #26
• "It Happened Today" (1959), U.S. #59
• "Pennies from Heaven" (1960), U.S. #24
• "The Loser" (1965), U.S. #72
• "Where Have They Gone" (1975), U.S. #100

Awards and recognition

The Skyliners were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002.

References

• Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. 7th edn, 2000
• Joel Whitburn, Billboard's Top Pop Singles, 1955-2009.

External links

• Official Website
• 'The Skyliners' Vocal Group Hall of Fame Page
• Interview with Nick Pociask of the Skyliners
• [2] Tortoise International Records