Published On Apr 26, 2024
On Saturday night, October 25, 1986, 10 rhythm and blues and soul vocal harmony groups of the 1950s and ‘60s performed at the Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. All of the acts- the Silhouettes, Angels/Castelles, Blue Notes, Capris, Dreamlovers, Revels, Keystoners, Majors, Tymes and Brenda and the Tabulations- were formed in the greater Philadelphia area. Only 230 tickets were available for the show, priced at $40 each. Kae Williams, former disc jockey in the city, owner of Junior Records and producer of the Silhouettes’ “Get A Job”, served as the emcee.
In this 15-minute film shared by Seymour Simon, THE SILHOUETTES perform four of their original 1957-58 recordings, “Miss Thing”, “I Sold My Heart to the Junkman", "Bing Bong", and "Get A Job." The four original members who recorded together from 1957-1961, lead Bill Horton, tenor Rick Lewis, baritone Earl Beal, and bass Raymond Edwards reunited in 1980 and performed together until 1993. (Horton and Edwards were not part of the 1962-68 group.) Williams speaks of his early involvement with them in his introduction. This was the last time the Silhouettes and their producer appeared together on stage.
While the backing band was obviously not particularly familiar with their recordings, the Silhouettes performed well throughout. Horton died in 1995, Edwards in 1997, and Beal in 2001. Lewis was the original quartet's lone survivor when he passed in 2005.