1962
OUR ANNIVERSARY * SHEP & THE LIMELITES * HULL 748 * USA
The Hearts: Albert Crump, Vernon Seavers, Wally Roker and Robby Tatum, all from Queens, New York had been going for a short while when James 'Shep' Sheppard became a member of and took over lead vocals after a vocal group battle between his group and The Hearts some time in 1954. Before the group were able to record a girl group from Harlem who also called themselves The Hearts had a hit record, which meant the boys had to change their name, they chose The Heartbeats. The first release from the Heartbeats on the Hull label was in September 1955, after successful run with mixed fortunes, the group disbanded in 1959. Shep Sheppard opened a restaurant and continued to sing solo in clubs, in 1960 he formed Shep & the Limelites with old friend Clarence Bassett and Charles Baskerville; both Bassett and Baskerville were old hounds in the music business, having been in The Videos and The Five Sharps. They hit with their first release on Hull Daddy's Home which went to #2 on the Pop charts, Our Anniversary was their forth for Hull and their second biggest seller, reaching #7 on the R&B charts.