The Vogues Totally Explained

Everything about The Vogues totally explained

The Vogues were an American singing quartet from Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, USA, a Pittsburgh suburb. They consisted of Bill Burkette (lead baritone), Don Miller (baritone), Hugh Geyer (first tenor) and Chuck Blasko (second tenor).

Overview

Originally called "The Valaires," the group included a fifth member, Neil Foster. Their only record release under this moniker was "Launie, My Love" / "Which One Will It Be?". It was first released under local label Willett Records (owned by the group's manager, Elmer Willett) in 1959, and then distributed nationally on Coral Records in 1960 (where the group name was shown as "The Val-Aires").
   After disbanding in the early 1960s, the group reformed as a quartet by 1965 (minus Foster), adopting "The Vogues" as their new name. The name was derived from Vogue Terrace, a popular teenage dance hall that also housed Willett Records in North Versailles, Pennsylvania. It was owned by Willett and was the site of numerous performances by the group during their "Valaires" days. For their first release as The Vogues, the group chose an original song by Petula Clark, "You're the One" (1965) - co-written by Petula Clark and Tony Hatch, releasing it on their own Blue Star label. As the record caught on locally in the Pittsburgh area, they quickly sought out a source to distribute the disc nationally, and soon signed a contract with the small Pittsburgh-based Co & Ce Records label, run by Herb Cohen and Nick Cenci. The song rose to #4 on the Billboard charts and was followed by "Five O'Clock World," which reached the same #4 level. Two more hits, "Magic Town" and "The Land of Milk and Honey," didn't reach the same heights, but still made Billboard's Top 40 in 1966.
   As their sound wasn't in step with the trend in rock & roll, their fortunes dwindled, but in 1968 they signed with Reprise Records and had a string of remakes: Glen Campbell's "Turn Around, Look at Me," which reached #7 on the Billboard charts; Bobby Helms' "My Special Angel" (matching Helms' #7 peak); "Till" (previously recorded by Roger Williams, Percy Faith, and The Angels), The Four Lads' "No, Not Much," The Penguins' "Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)," The Four Lads' "Moments To Remember," and The Brothers Four's "Greenfields" (retitled "Green Fields").
   The group lost favor in the 1970s, but various groupings of singers using the name "The Vogues" continued to sing into the 2000s. However, they were legally barred from using the name after their recording contract was sold, and subsequent business moves allowed the new owner of their contract to trademark the name and later assign it to another group of all new artists. Chuck Blasko, performing with Hugh Geyer and two other artists as "Chuck Blasko's Five O'clock World Reunion," lobbied Congress to make changes in trademark laws to prevent others from misrepresenting themselves as being original artists.As of March 2007, Hugh Geyer was no longer performing with Chuck Blasko's group and is now touring the country with the "trademark" Vogues. Mr. Blasko continues to perform as "Chuck Blasko & The Vogues" in the 14 Western Pennsylvania counties that were awarded to him by the courts. Today, both groups contain original members of The Vogues.
   They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001.
   A blog has been established by fans of The Vogues at .

Studio Albums

Further Information

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