The Ivy League
Three session singers - John Carter, Ken Lewis and Perry Ford -
got together as The Ivy League. Carter and Lewis had already
enjoyed a modicum of success as Carter-Lewis & The
Southerners, and Ford was a seasoned session man.
Their credentials were sufficient to secure a record deal with
Pye subsidiary Piccadilly but their dynamic debut single, What
More Do You Want?, flopped.
Funny How Love Can Be was hastily recorded as a
follow-up.
The record made it to Number 8 in February 1965, and
made grand use of the trio's high-pitched vocals - a style that
became their trademark.
A third single, That's Why I'm Crying, was a little
too similar and stalled at Number 22. Their crowning moment was to
come with Tossin' and Turnin', which gave them a Number 3
hit.
 Their eagerly awaited debut album, This Is The Ivy League,
was something of a disappointment as a wide range of musical
styles were included - not all of them suited to the trio's
characteristic falsetto style (reaching an embarrassing low on The
Floral Dance).
The album was panned by the music press and,
unsurprisingly, failed to chart.
Several more unsuccessful singles followed including Willow
Tree and My World Fell Down. Carter and Lewis quit
in 1966 and were replaced by Tony Burrows and Neil Landon.
This
line-up went on to masquerade as The
Flower Pot Men with Let's Go To San Francisco.
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