Oldies But Goodies Doo Wop Cruise

Ed Wells a young 17-year old put together a vocal group in 1955. Looking back over fifty years shows that simplicity and purity did exist in some form in the so-called Age of American Innocence. The Six Teens were originally five teens and one preteen lead singer Trudy Williams only twelve when she joined the group. All the group members studied hard at school and listened to their parents, even if they did not like what they heard. In addition, what they recorded were Songs of Innocence, poetically allegorizing gifts of flowers, fortune-telling matchmakers, buses, Army guys, Navy guys, nice guys, and guys in general. Guys, not men, lovers, or thugs.

Trudy Williams, a child with a singing voice older than her years, yet not jaded by experience, and clearly communicated all the young pure love, without being coquettish and coy. And Ed Wells, who sang baritone, the Six Teens consisted of first tenor Kenneth Sinclair, bass Darryl Lewis, soprano Beverly Pecot, alto Louise Williams, and Louise's younger sister Trudy. Who had been casually brought along to a rehearsal and ended up singing lead. Ed had an unflagging passion for music since his youth and played classical music on the piano, as no one would believe, and a straight-A student as well. He formed the group and wrote the innocent and sincere lyrics and music that Trudy Williams' voice so beautifully expressed. Ed wrote more than twenty songs for the Six Teens alone. Whatever he got out of it financially, he put right back in. "He had every kind of fancy equipment and bought all the latest fancy tape recorders. His record collection like you wouldn't believe." recalls Beverly

The Six Teens' name derived from the average age of the six members divided by six; Ed Wells was the oldest at 17 and Trudy Williams the youngest at 12. Like most teenage groups of that era, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers inspired them. Originally the Sweet Teens, they recorded one single under that name "Don't Worry About a Thing" for Flip Records in 1956), with Wells singing lead on the first recording but Williams taking the helm for later releases. The first Six Teens single, "A Casual Look," became their biggest hit. Flip's owner picked "Teenage Promise" but the disc jockeys flipped it, and it went to number 25 on the pop charts and number seven R&B.

The group began performing and spent much of the summer of 1957 performing in Hawaii. "Send Me Flowers," their second release, was number one there, but their third record, "Only Jim," did nothing to advance their career. The fourth, "Arrow of Love," showed at number 80, and when Flip began marketing the Six Teens to teenyboppers, their songs and lyrics became unbelievably trite. Tunes like "Stop Playing Ping Pong With My Little Heart" had no chance for success, and a personnel shake-up did nothing to stabilize the group. The Six Teens recorded "My Surprise," credited to the Six Teens featuring (14-year-old) Trudy Williams. Three final recordings failed to chart, but they continue performing with different members until the late '60s. They have since regrouped and performed on the Doo Wop circuit, releasing a CD of new recordings on Lacoriha Records, The Six Teens Greatest Hits.

The Six Teens ran their course and then faded away. Ed Wells made one more Flip recording, with his sister Maydiea Cole: "Bye Bye Baby (My Pride)" and "Why Don't You Tell Me" were released on Flip in July 1962. There was also a 1964 brother-sister duet as by the "Important III" on the Wells-Desett label: "Hey Mr. Loser" and "Change My Personality." After this, Ed walked away from recorded music for keeps. He kept none of the sheet music on which he composed "A Casual Look," "Arrow of Love," and all the others. In later years, he had expressed perplexity at the popularity of what he regarded as products of a callow youth for record collectors. Not crediting the fact that what he had written was a beginning of a promising songwriting career that never developed. One of the keys to the success of the group lies with the nature of the songs that Ed Wells put together for them. Many of these were 'story' songs whose lyrics progressed throughout the number as opposed to the more repetitive and more short-lived lyrics, which were quite common in the second half of the 50s. Good examples are Afar Into The Night, Only Jim, Was It A Dream Of Mine, and My Surprise.

The Six Teens re-formed in the 1990s appearing on radio and in oldies shows. Today Ed Wells, Richard Owens, Kenny Sinclair and Jimmie Smith have all unfortunately passed away. Darryl Lewis and Beverly Pecot Martin are still performing as the Six Teens with Kevin Carroll, Al Bold and Kim Foley. Trudy Williams has retired and no longer performing.