The Cleftones Biography, Songs, Discography, Albums, and Awards

The Cleftones Biography

Who were The Cleftones and why do they still make a difference? What was a Queens born singing group whose bright harmonies, corner soul of the streets, and subsequent crossover appeal came to define the sound people today refer doo wop but whose songs nonetheless continue to illuminate films, radio broadcasts, and stages.

The name is The Cleftones, and the birthdate and birthplace of the group were 1955 in Jamaica, Queens, New York City, where a crew of friends from Jamaica High School first harmonized for a school election and realized they liked the feeling of a room tilted in to listen.

The family background in music terms was the pairing of students who became a close unit. Lead voice Herbie Cox stood at center, Charlie James McGhee on first tenor, Berman Patterson on second tenor, Warren Corbin on bass, and William Buzzy McClane on baritone.

The Cleftones started life as the Silvertones and rehearsed at school halls, at block clubs and at the local day camp locally known as Lily Dale, until the New York recording man George Goldner heard something perky and new in their sound, produced them, and signed them to contract.

Their education was the city itself but was also quite literal in that they remained high school students learning how to facilitate themselves on stage and in a studio. The school energy influenced those initial steps into the business, and it marked themselves on their initial hit You Baby You in 1955, by Warren Corbin and Berman Patterson, a song whose lyrical melody and distinct lead like a stoop chat felt good.

Herbie Cox followed with Little Girl of Mine and Cant We Be Sweethearts, and the Cleftones found a groove on the chart and on stages, including several set nights at the Apollo at which they would sing every hour and split a not-great fee five ways, the kind of schedule that makes a young group a tight unit.

The career trajectory expanded in 1961 as a second-generation roster arrived with Cox, Charlie James, and Warren Corbin in tandem with Gene Pearson, who came over from the Rivileers, and Pat Spann, the first and only to croon for the Cleftones.

That year they charted the Billboard Hot 100’s 18 Spot on Heart and Soul, a clever, teenage reinterpretation of the 1938 classic applying pop radio nationwide. Follow-up arrived in 1962 with For Sentimental Reasons, a timeless classic retuned in their own easy swing.

Major milestones include those national charters, a string of beloved singles that provided the soundtrack for sock hops and first love nights and subsequently a second life on movie soundtracks introducing new generations to the Cleftones.

Cant We Be Sweethearts plays in Goodfellas, Heart and Soul plays in American Graffiti and Mischief and even on Family Guy, Little Girl of Mine tinges a scene in A Bronx Tale, Lover Boy glides by on Drive, and My Angel Lover plays on Susie Q, confirmation that the Cleftones’ feel good music transcends well. Major life events also impacted the direction.

Popular opinion shifted at a furious clip in early sixty’s as the British Invasion redrew the chart and many American doo wop groups saw crowds drop off. Gene Pearson went to sing for the Drifters from 1962 until 1966, and the Cleftones went their separate ways in 1964.

In the decades following, their discs still popped up on oldies compilations, on specialty station play, and on movie soundtracks, a gentle reassurance good songs return.

The human side adds in as well. Herbie Cox, born on May 6, 1938, died in Fayetteville, Georgia, on December 7, 2019, Berman Patterson on October 1, 2023, and Warren Corbin in 1978, and fans address them by name upon needle finding You Baby You or upon that familiar Heart and Soul intro kicking in.

The Complete Picture is a band that began as classmates, learned fast, whipped up songs that stuck, gained a national following, and created a clean, warm body of work that still feels like summer on a New York sidewalk.

The Cleftones Top Songs

1. You Baby You
2. Little Girl of Mine
3. Cant We Be Sweethearts
4. Heart and Soul
5. For Sentimental Reasons
6. Why You Do Me Like You Do
7. See You Next Year
8. Lover Boy
9. My Angel Lover
10. Shadows on the Very Last Row live oldies circuit versions circulate

The Cleftones Discography

1. Selected singles
2. You Baby You 1955
3. Little Girl of Mine 1956
4. Cant We Be Sweethearts 1956
5. Why You Do Me Like You Do 1957
6. See You Next Year late fifties release
7. Heart and Soul 1961 Billboard Hot 100 number 18
8. Lover Boy 1961
9. My Angel Lover 1961
10. For Sentimental Reasons 1962

1. Selected long plays and notable collections
2. Heart and Soul original era album release built around the 1961 hit
3. For Sentimental Reasons early sixties set centered on standards
4. The Best of the Cleftones various best of and anthology releases across labels

The Cleftones Top Albums

Heart and Soul
A straightforward set with the group’s blend of harmonies on originals and a new version of the title track classic. The singles series at the heart of what they did made them stars, and the album package lets the record’s harmonies breathe.

For Sentimental Reasons
Surrounded by a smooth reformation of the original, this group shows just how The Cleftones were able to take past music and make it work so well with the teen pop being produced today.The pacing is mellow and the leads sound intimate.

The Best of the Cleftones
A-spanning anthology of a career that combines the corner charisma of the early years, the late period pop crossovers, and faves that remain staples in the playlists of radio shows and movie soundtracks. The fastest new listener gateway.

The Cleftones Singles with US Charts

Year	Single	US Pop (Billboard Hot 100)	US R&B	Label / Cat. No.
1955	You Baby You	#78	—	Gee 1000
1956	Little Girl of Mine	#57	#8	Gee 1011
1956	Can’t We Be Sweethearts	—	—	Gee (single)
1957	Why You Do Me Like You Do	—	—	Gee (single)
1958	See You Next Year	—	—	Gee (single)
1961	Heart and Soul	#18	#10	Gee 1064
1961	Lover Boy	—	—	Gee (single)
1961	My Angel Lover	—	—	Gee (single)
1961	(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons	#60	—	Gee 1067
1962	Again	—	—	Gee 1077
1962	There She Goes	—	—	Gee 1079
1962	Lover Come Back to Me	#95	—	Gee 1079
1963	How Deep Is the Ocean	—	—	Gee 1080
1965	He’s Forgotten You	—	—	Ware 6001

The Cleftones Awards

The Cleftones did not win mainstream awards during the height of their hits because so many fifties and sixties singing groups were in a similar situation, but nonetheless, some awards have come their way for their work. Their records ‘have a spot within historical pop and doo-wop anthologies, have appearances within movies and TV shows exposing these records to a new crop of fans, and tours featuring reunions of singing groups celebrating the voices heard within the records.’ They and its members have received awards both individually and cumulatively via concerned community and historical groups who document the importance of vocal harmony records. ‘The best acceptance, however, is simply this—that you can still sing along with ‘You Baby You’, slow dance at weddings with ‘Heart And Soul,’ and know a ballad from Queens sounds fresh from just yesterday.’