There was much to do for The Four Palms, after the last member of the group to leave the Marine Corps, James Jackson, was discharged in Feb 1959.  We had no royalties from “Jeanie Joanie Shirley Toni” / "Consideration".  In fact, we were told that we owed the record company money.  We were still enjoying hearing our voices on the radio but we needed a good manager.  ABC Booking Agency was providing work in San Diego but maturity was also beginning to affect us.  Louis had gotten married to one of the Women Marines stationed with us at El Toro; Jack was living with a single parent in Los Angeles, and Tom (Nate) was on his way to New York to marry a girl he had met while we were first in New York for the talent contest.  Only Hasker, our lead singer, was free of any long-term relationships at the time.  There was also the matter of finding permanent jobs to pay the rent until our:”ship “ came in.  Fortunately, within 2 months all of us had regular day jobs with weekends off.  Jack was with public works in Beverly Hills; Louis was hired as a draftsman, and Hasker and I were both employed by the gas company in two different capacities and locations.  Shows were frequent but practice or rehearsal was getting more-and more infrequent. 

We met and interacted with many other struggling artists-many of whom became stars and others, like us, who faded for reasons other than talent.  Lou Rawls, Gene Mc Daniels, Jessie Belvin, The Satellites, The Gay-Bon-Lynn Trio, Etta James, The Penguins, the Paradons, Sonny Knight, and numerous others were our friends.  Many nights we went across the street to Tommy Tuckers Lounge to hear a young, thin, foxy piano player/vocalist named Aretha Franklin play.  The Platters lived in the area but had a number of hits and were on the way out.  Their life style was unbelievable but if I told you about it I’d have to kill you. Musically, it was a different time.  One of the beauties of the era was, for the first time, the radio stations were all playing R&B music.  Oh, they called it rock and roll, but for me it was the music I grew up on, and my parents hated.  They were into what we called “gut-bucket-blues”.  We were doo-wop artists.  Our heroes in the late 40s and early 50s were, The Orioles, Clovers, Crickets, Counts, Spaniels, Flamingoes, 5 , Royales, Cardinals, Ravens, and Dominoes.  Later came the Drifters and Platters.

Somewhere, at sometime, The Four Palms met Murray Becker, who became our personal manager.  He began to get us backup work in the recording studios.  About the time we began to get a reputation as a versatile back-up group with the ability to sight read, Murray hooked us up  with World Pacific Records to cut a 45 record as yet unnamed.  Nick Venet, a producer at the time had heard us do all kinds of songs, and had trouble putting us into a category.  We liked to sing doo-wop, and we also liked to do comedy a la The Coasters but, off-stage we would regale people with our impersonations of Moments to Remember (4 Lads), Love Is A Many Splendid Thing (4 Aces) GRADUATION DAY (Hi Los), Poinciana (AHMAD JAMAL), Oh What a Night (THE DELLS) and any Platters song, who were kind of our idols and we knew their entire repertoire.

Nick opted to go serious and asked us to work with Hank Levine and to learn “Maybe Its Wrong” to which he would add strings. We loved the concept. The flip side would be a Patti Page sound- alike waltz called “That All I’m Asking of You”‘ All of this was fine but one crucial decision was made which turned out to be a big mistake.  They asked us to record under the name, The Rainbeaus, since they weren’t sure of our status with Aladdin Records.  Now we know that since we were in the military and under 21 at time the contract was not valid on two counts.  Unfortunately, that meant our fan club, contacts, DJs who knew us, record sales at military bases, and many other things would be affected.  Combine that with the fact that World Pacific was known as a jazz label, and had few contacts with r&r disk jockeys, getting airplay was a problem. And although, technically, “Maybe Its Wrong” was an outstanding production, many could not decide if The Rainbeaus were a black-sounding white group, or a white-sounding black group.  We needed another song-which never came.  The next release would have been “I Cried” but it was rough and unfinished and was pure doo-wop, which was quite different from Maybe Its wrong.  In other words we still had to find our style which,  up to that point, was eclectic, to say the least.

In addition to these problems, we found ourselves doing few live shows and a lot of record hop lip-synching.  For a group that thrived on live performing and audience interaction this represented the last in a list of disappointments.  Personality differences began to manifest themselves.  For most groups these things occur, as do fights, jealousy and other things, which eventually destroy the group.  Our differences were minor compared to those big issues-so small in fact that they did not create the breakup.  Bad management and the lack of focus on our part contributed more so than anything else.

As I drove back to Chicago, a new job ahead and entertainment behind me I realized that The Four Palms, Rainbeaus et.al al would be lasting memories.  Our last show in 1960, a packed auditorium in San Bernardino, California, found us on a playbill headed by Wink Martindale and Dodie Stevens.  His song, “Deck of Cards” and hers, “Tan Shoes & Pink Shoelaces “ were both near the top of the charts on KQFM, the sponsor. Lou Rawls, The Rainbeaus, Gene Mc Daniels, and the Coasters were on the under card in small print.  The number one song on the charts was “Theme From A Summer Place” by Percy Faith and Bobby Darins “Mack the Knife" was the fastest-rising song that week.  “Maybe its wrong” was number 53.  I had saved the playbill and still have it.

Yes, we could have made a few more records, done a few more gigs but we had lost two key ingredients for success.  Ambitions, and hope.  We could see nothing in our crystal ball, which foretold change for us, and because we had given up more than we had gained, we lost hope.  And sometimes, when all else is lost, hope is what keeps you going.

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