West Saint Paul Antiques

By the mid spring "Sorry" is one of the top sellers in the country. In May, The Impalas appear at a big benefit concert in Detroit presented by WJBK radio. In June the group goes back into the studio and records a follow up to their smash hit. The result is "Oh What A Fool" and "Sandy Went Away" on Cub # 9033. By August Cub issues a LP album by The Impalas on # 8003 to capitalize of "Sorry". The group's second record for Cub could not duplicate the success of their initial effort and so they tried again. In October Cub Records releases the newest effort by the group with "Bye Bye Everybody" and "Peggy Darling" on # 9053. In November the group appears at a MGM Records promotional tie in with the F.W. Woolworth chain of stores celebrating their long time presence in the Times Square area of New York City. That month The Impalas do a television spot with Clay Cole in New York. Reports in the trade press claim that "Peggy Darling" is selling well in Chicago and Gary, Indiana. However the record does not break nationally on the hit charts.

In 1960 the group has one last release issued by Cub Records. This time they are listed as Speedo & The Impalas. The songs are "All Alone" and "When My Heart Does The Talking" and are issued on Cub # 9066. After that the group reforms at sporadic times through the nineteen sixties, and there is one last forgettable record for Red Boy Records in the mid sixties. And so - that is the story of The Impalas who recorded one of the great songs that defined the late 1950s for all of us. "Sorry I Ran All The Way Home" had that certain something that made it part of the soundtrack of our lives all those years ago.

The group recorded follow-ups including "Oh What A Fool," and an album for Cub, and one further single for the 20th Century label, before disbanding in 1961. Frazier went on to sing with Love's Own in 1973, and in 1980 resurrected the Impalas as a touring act.

Late in the year the group made some important connections that would help them on their way. They were heard by music manager Artie Zwerin and performer "Gino" Giosasi which led to a chance meeting with Alan Freed who still had some clout in the New York recording industry despite his legal troubles and loss of his spot at radio station WINS in the city. Through him the group had a shot at a recording session with MGM Records. The group with Frazier singing lead had a new tune given to them called "Sorry Sorry" which MGM liked and so the recorded version of the song was released on a new subsidiary label called Cub Records on # 9022 in January of 1959. The song "Fool Fool Fool" was on the flip side of the new release. Almost immediately the record was a hit. The 'A' side now known as "Sorry I Ran All The Way Home" took off like a rocket in the Northeast and by the beginning of February it was on everybody's pick hit list. As the sales numbers add up the group is suddenly a hot commodity. They are signed to do the big Easter show at the Brooklyn Fox Theater, and are in demand for television and club appearances.

JOE "SPEEDO" FRAZIER

Born 5 September 1943, New York City, New York

Joe Frazier was the lead singer and only black member of the Impalas, a vocal quartet from Brooklyn who are best remembered for their 1959 hit "Sorry (I Ran All The Way Home)". The group was formed in 1958 by Tony Carlucci (first tenor), Richard Wagner (baritone) and Lenny Renda (second tenor). They began practicing in the back room of a candy store and on local street corners, where they were heard by Joe Frazier, who called himself Speedo. His offer to help their harmonies turned into a full-fledged frontrunning spot with the group. They issued a song called "First Date" on the small Hamilton label, which went unnoticed. One evening their street-corner singing attracted the attention of Artie Zwirn and Aristides Giosasi (Gino of the act Gino and Gina, "Pretty Baby", # 20, 1958), who liked their sound and also had an original song called "Sorry, I Ran All The Way Home". In early 1959 an introduction to Alan Freed led to an MGM audition and a record deal with MGM's Cub subsidiary. "Sorry" became a # 2 hit single on the pop charts and peaked at # 14 R&B. It managed to make it to the UK at # 28 in the summer of 1959. The famous "uh-oh" at the beginning of the record was not intended, but a knee-jerk utterance by Speedo acknowledging that he had missed the cue given by Leroy Holmes, the arranger and conductor of the session. The A&R man said to leave it in there, so the "uh-oh" was repeated on the next take. The follow-up, "Oh What A Fool", also penned by Zwirn and Giosasi, had 100,000 advance sales. This led Cub to believe that no promotion was necessary and the single was given only the slightest exposure. A big mistake : the record died at # 86. Two more Cub singles and an LP followed, but there were no further hits and after a final single for 20th Century in 1961, the Impalas hit the pavement. "Speedo" Frazier went on to sing with Love's Own in 1973. In 1980, he resurrected the Impalas as a touring act ; they also issued one single, "My Hero" on UGHA in 1982.

Joe "Speedo" Frazier died on April 1, 2014.