Glory Album Discography
Glory's first success was the fourth single they released, the Four Fellows' "Soldier Boy" [Glory 234],
which reached #4 on the R&B charts in the summer of 1955. The group was from Brooklyn and
consisted of Jimmy McGowan, Larry Banks (later the husband of singer Bessie Banks), David Jones
(who later joined the Rays), and Teddy Williams. Many of their recordings were reissued on the Relic CD
in the discography below.
Glory's most successful artists were singer Vince Martin and a trio called the Tarriers. The Tarriers first hit in October, 1956, as a backing group to Vince Martin on "Cindy, Oh Cindy" [Glory 247], which reached #9 nationally. Two months later, the group — this time on their own — entered the charts with "The Banana Boat Song" [Glory 249], which made it to #4. The Tarriers were tenor Erik Darling (who later joined the Weavers then founded the successful Rooftop Singers), baritone Alan Arkin (who later became a well-known actor), and bass Bob Carey (who anchored the group through numerous personnel changes into the early 1960s). Vince Martin, meanwhile, continued as a folk singer in both New York and the Cocoanut Grove area near Miami, teaming with Fred Neil and others.
The only other chart hit for the label was Linda Laurie's "Ambrose (Part Five)" [Glory 290],
an oddity that reached #52 in early 1959. The record was a spoken word novelty about a couple walking
in a subway tunnel. The followup, "Forever Ambrose" [Glory 294] had more than spoken word, as part of
it was sung, but the record did not chart despite a surprise ending. Laurie [nee Linda Gertz] recorded
several more novelties in the next few years, most notably "Stay at Home Sue" backed by the Del-Satins
(Dion's backing singers) [Rust 5042] in late 1961, and "Jose He Say" on Bert Berns' Keech label [Keech
6001] in May, 1964. The latter featured an incomprehensible love triangle story line and delightfully
off-key whistling. Eventually, Linda Laurie settled on being a songwriter, penning Helen Reddy's 1973 #3
hit "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)".
Other artists signed to the label included the Buddies, Bette McLaurin, the Leaders, Maurice Fountain, the Music Vanns, Denny Vaughn, the Three J's, Jimmy Dallas, Maynie and Robert, Toni Banks, Buddy Heart, Addie Lee, the Blake Brothers, the Neptunes, the Reveres, the Honeystrollers, Mac and Mike, Herb Cooper, Vanda King, Wes Chapman, Larry Wheeler, George Cromwell, the Catalinas, the Dusters, Jimmy Andrews, the Uniques, Barbara Mood, the Three Cheers, Denise Norwood, Todd Randall, Tommy Dishaw, Peter Allen, and Charles Stacy. The singles from many of the vocal groups are sought by collectors today.
This Glory label is not to be confused with the earlier Miami-based gospel label of the same name which was sold to King Records in 1953.
