The Harptones

The Harptones are an American doo-wop group which formed in Manhattan, New York in 1953.

The group never had a top forty pop hit, or a record on the US Billboard R&B chart,^[1] yet they are known for both their lead singer Willie Winfield and their pianist/arranger, Raoul Cita. The Harptones recorded for Coed Records and other labels. The Harptones may have been the first doo-wop group to have a full-time arranger among their members, and Cita knew how to work to Winfield's strengths.^[2] Their best-known recordings include "A Sunday Kind of Love" (1953), "Why Should I Love You?" (1954), "Life is But a Dream" (1955), "The Shrine of St. Cecilia" (1956), and "What Will I Tell My Heart" (1961).

In 1956, they recorded some songs for the film Rockin' the Blues: "Mambo Boogie", "Ou Wee Baby",^[3] and "High Flying Baby".^[4]

The song "Life is But a Dream" was featured in the 1990 film GoodFellas; it appears on the film's soundtrack album.^[5]

Members

1951–1954

• Willie Winfield (lead)
• Billy Brown (bass)
• Claudie "Nicky" Clark (first tenor)
• William Dempsey (second tenor)
• William "Dicey" Galloway (baritone)
• Raoul Cita (piano; baritone)

Early 1955

• Willie Winfield (lead)
• Billy Brown (bass)
• Claudie "Nicky" Clark (first tenor)
• William Dempsey (second tenor)
• Freddy Taylor (baritone)
• Raoul Cita (piano; baritone)

Dicey Galloway was drafted in November 1954.

Late 1955

• Willie Winfield (tenor)
• Billy Brown (bass)
• Claudie "Nicky" Clark
• William Dempsey (second tenor)
• Bernard "Jimmy" Beckum (baritone)
• Raoul Cita (piano; baritone)

Early 1956

• Willie Winfield (tenor)
• Bobby Spencer
• William Dempsey (second tenor)
• Bernard "Jimmy" Beckum (baritone)
• Raoul Cita (piano; baritone)

1956 movie Rockin' The Blues

• Willie Winfield (tenor)
• Freddy Taylor
• Billy Brown
• William Dempsey (second tenor)
• Raoul Cita (piano; baritone)

Early 1957

• Willie Winfield (tenor)
• Billy Brown
• William Dempsey (second tenor)
• William "Dicey" Galloway
• Toni Williams
• Raoul Cita (piano; baritone)

Billy Brown died of a drug overdose in spring 1957.

Late 1958

• Willie Winfield (tenor)
• William Dempsey (second tenor)
• William "Dicey" Galloway
• Toni Williams
• Curtis Cherebin

Dicey Galloway left in October and was replaced by Milton Love of The Solitares for a short time, before splitting. Galloway died on July 18, 2017, in Houghs Neck in Quincy, Massachusetts at age 84 after suffering from multiple illnesses.^[6]

1959–1963

• Willie Winfield
• Nicky Clark
• William Dempsey
• Curtis Cherebin
• Raoul Cita

Nicky Clark left after a few months, to be replaced by Wilbur "Yonkie" Paul, who was in turn replaced by Hank "Pompi" Jernigan.

Early 1964

• Willie Winfield
• Nicky Clark
• William Dempsey
• Jimmy Beckum
• Raoul Cita

Late 1964

• Nicky Clark
• William Dempsey
• Curtis Cherebin
• Hank "Pompi" Jernigan
• Raoul Cita

Nicky Clark died In July 1978, at the age of 43.

1970–1972

• Willie Winfield
• Curtis Cherebin
• Jimmy Beckum
• William Dempsey
• Raoul Cita

1972–mid-1990s

• Willie Winfield
• Marlowe Murray
• Linda Champion
• Raoul Cita

Mid 1990s–1999

• Willie Winfield
• Marlowe Murray
• Linda Champion
• William Dempsey
• Raoul Cita

The line-up appeared on Doo Wop 50. Linda Champion left due to health problems around 2000.^[7]

2000–2008

• Willie Winfield
• Marlowe Murray
• Vicki Burgess
• William Dempsey
• Raoul Cita

2008–2014

• Willie Winfield
• Don Cruz
• Vicki Burgess
• William Dempsey
• Raoul Cita
• Tommie Shider

Billy Brown died of a drug overdose in 1957.

Marlowe Murray died on December 11, 2008, from cancer, at the age of 73.^[8]

Raoul J. Cita died on December 13, 2014, from liver and stomach cancer, at the age of 86.^[9]

Willie Winfield died from a heart attack on July 27, 2021, aged 91. William Dempsey is the only original surviving member of The Harptones.^[10]

Awards and recognition

The Harptones were featured more times than any other group in the United in Group Harmony Association's official top 500 vocal group recordings list, compiled 1996–2000.^[11] They were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002.^[12]