Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

SILHOUETTES, The

Vocal quartet formed '55 in Philadelphia as gospel group the Gospel Tornados; they sang R&B as the Thunderbirds, then lead singer Billy Horton (b 25 Dec. '29) plus tenor Richard Lewis (b 2 Sep. '33), baritone Earl Beal (b 18 July '24), bass Raymond Edwards (b 27 Sep. '22), all from Philadelphia, became the Silhouettes. They had only one hit but it was a monster: "Get A Job' was no. 1 both R&B and pop charts '58, co- written by Lewis, arranger Howard Biggs; its doo-wop lyrics provided the name for the rock'n'roll revival group Sha Na Na in the '70s. They re-formed early '80s for oldies shows.