about The Diamonds In 1953, Dave Somerville who would become front man for The Diamonds, was working as a sound engineer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Toronto, Canada. One of the shows produced at the CBC was Pick The Stars, a local talent show. He noticed four gentlemen practicing in the hallway for that show, and stopped to listen. After exchanging niceties, Somerville offered to be their manager. This group was composed of Stan Fisher, Ted Kowalski, Phil Levitt, and Bill Reed. They agreed and for the next several months, Somerville provided tutoring, and got practice time in un-occupied studios at the CBC.

That Yule, the group was to sing for a Christmas party at a local church. That date conflicted with studies for a law exam of Stan Fisher, the lead singer and Fisher decided he needed the study time. Since Somerville knew all the songs, he took Fisher’s place. The audience reaction to the Dave Somerville led group was so tremendous, that the group that night decided to turn professional. In one fateful decision Fisher decided to stay in law school and not continue with the group. Somerville became the permanent lead, and that was the night The Diamonds were born.

By 1955, all members of the group had left college, and/or jobs, to sing full time. Professional musician Nat Goodman became their manager, and Goodman got the Diamonds onto Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts on American television. The result of the contest was a stalemate between the Diamonds and another contestant. With the prize of being guest artist for a week on Godfrey’s show, this led to a recording contract with Coral Records. Coral released four songs, the most notable being "Black Denim Trousers & Motorcycle Boots", a cover of a recording originally by The Cheers. The Diamonds' version sold a few thousand copies, which was only enough to get them a little local recognition.

The next big step was an audition with Cleveland, Ohio, radio disc jockey Bill Randle, who aided in the success of some popular groups, such as The Crew Cuts. Randle was impressed with the Diamonds and introduced them to Mercury Records, who signed the group to a recording contract. At this time, black artists were not played on white radio stations. Mercury Records, as well as other major record companies, were designating white artists to cover the recordings of black artists for the purpose of expanding their listening audience.

The Diamonds’ first recording for Mercury was "Why Do Fools Fall in Love," a cover of Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers’s version, which reached #12 in the U.S. as their first hit. They had a hit follow-up single, "The Church Bells May Ring" (originally by The Willows), which reached #14 in the U.S. They also covered songs by such black groups as The Clovers and The Heartbeats.

The Diamonds' biggest hits were 1957's "Little Darlin'" (originally recorded by The Gladiolas) and 1958's "The Stroll", which was not a cover, but actually an original song written for the group by Brook Benton, from an idea by Dick Clark.[1]

Although they were signed to record rock and roll, Mercury also paired them with Pete Rugolo in one of his "Meet" series. The album entitled "The Diamonds Meet Pete Rugolo" allowed The Diamonds to return to their roots and do some established standards.

The group sang "Little Darlin'" and "Where Mary Go" in the film, The Big Beat, and sang the theme song for another film, Kathy-O.

The Diamonds had many television appearances, including the TV shows of Steve Allen, Perry Como, Vic Damone, Tony Bennett, Eddy Arnold and Paul Winchell. They also appeared on American Bandstand. In the 90's, the group appeared on PBS rock and roll revival concerts produced by T. J. Lubinski.

By 1961, all original members had left the group. The members were now Jim Malone (lead vocal), Mike Douglas (baritone), Evan Fisher (tenor, who, contrary to popular belief, was not the brother of original lead, Stan Fisher), and John Felton (bass). With the ever-changing style of rock & roll and their Mercury contract expired, the Diamonds continued touring the country. There is a popular belief that The Diamonds disbanded in the early sixties. This is untrue. After their Mercury contract expired, the group recorded a single ("The Slide/Melody of Love") and an album for the independent NathanielL label. Jimmy Malone and Evan Fisher left the group to perform as a duo in the mid 60s.

Mike Douglas carried the torch throughout the 1960s and 70s, working in some of the most prestigious lounges in Las Vegas. The Diamonds was one of the first groups to perform at Caesars Palace. At one time, there were at least two groups performing under the Diamonds' name, principally one led by John Felton (a group that continues to perform, as of 2009, led by Gary Owens, who joined Felton in 1975)[2], and one led by Glenn Stetson. Stetson's Diamonds worked prolifically in the 1970s and 1980s and were instrumental in the '50s music revival.

Stetson established Little Darlin's Rock-n-Roll Palace in Kissimmee, Florida which featured numerous artists of the 1950s and early 1960s era.[3] This created an issue that was ultimately went to court, with Stetson losing rights to use the name to the group formed by Felton (which was led by Bob Duncan at the time)[4], and allowed the original four to use the name a few times each year.

The Diamonds received national attention once again in 2000, when the original members were invited to sing in TJ Lubinsky’s PBS production of Do-Wop 51, and again in the PBS production entitled Magic Moments-The Best Of '50s Pop in 2004.

Stetson received a heart transplant in 2000, and died in 2003. Original member

Kowalski died on August 8, 2010, from cardiac ilness, at the age of 79.


Cover them, they're black! We may get hate mail from Diamonds fans for bringing this up, but The Diamonds sort of did what was prevalent back then, "borrowed" a song written and originally recorded by a black group, The Gladiolas, who we believe had the better version in the first place, although some discographies list a version also by Maurice Williams, also a black artist who had a one hit wonder with "Stay" in the late 50's. We'll post the original version in audio on our Forgotten 45's for you to decide.

In addition to The Crew Cuts, one of the leading white-cover-black groups of the mid-'50s were The Diamonds adapted current R&B hits into pop gold of their own. Hailing from Toronto, the Canadian quartet (consisting of Ted Kowalski, Phil Leavitt, Bill Reed, and Dave Somerville) signed with Mercury in 1955 and immediately zoomed up pop play lists with covers of the Teenagers' "Why Do Fools Fall in Love"; the Willows' "Church Bells May Ring"; and their biggest hit of all, a sanitized version of the Gladiolas hit "Little Darlin'." Fronted by David Somerville (who also sang with several known big band "pop" groups, the quartet hit with an original, the smooth dance outing "The Stroll." After weathering major personnel changes, the Diamonds notched their last hit in 1961. Somerville remained active as a solo artist for a time, and the Diamonds often toured the oldies scene. ~

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