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Wednesday, September 21, 2011

EASTSIDE LEGENDS - THE STORY TELLERS



The Story Tellers were (left) Ruben Ochoa - bass & baritone, (center) Nick Delgado - first tenor & lead, (right) Al Sanchez - second tenor & lead and (not pictured) Sal Delgado - second tenor & bass. Ruben, Nick & Al were part of the high school glee club.

  They started as a group called The Pretenders while attending San Gabriel Mission High School in 1958. Ruben Ochoa && Al Sanchez were cousins.

  Norty Beckman, owner of Norty's Records on Faifax Avenue in Los Angeles heard the group singing at a gig in Long Beach signed them to a contract & changed their name to The Story Tellers.

  In 1959 the group recorded "You Played Me A Fool" and "Hey Baby". The record was first released on the Zenith label (Zenith 101) and the on the Stack label (Stack 501). At the same recording session they also backed Jess Davis & the Flashes and Freddy Flynn & The Flashes on their recordings. The record got a lot of local air play on late night shows & today is a highly sought-after record by collectors.






You May Hear The Story Tellers "You Played Me A Fool" Here:




According to Al Sanchez, they had wanted to record a remake of The Rivileers' "A Thousand Stars," but Beckman nixed the idea. Not long afterward, the song was a major hit for Kathy Young & The Innocents.

The group reunited in 1990 to record three singles for Bruce Patch's Classic Artists label. The are some of the finest doo wop tracks to come out of the Los Angeles area.



The first single was "Please Remember My Love" and "Gee But I Like Your Smile" Classic Artists 118


You May Listen To The Story Tellers "Please Remember My Love" Here:



You May Listen To The Story Tellers "Gee But I Like Your Smile" Here:



In 1991 they recorded the second single "Heaven's For Real" and "This Is Goodbye" Classic Artists 128


You May Listen To The Story Tellers "Heaven's For Real" Here:




In 1992 The Story Tellers recorded their third single "Heart For Heart" and "The L.A. Shuffle" Classic Artists 133



You May Listen To The Story Tellers "Heart For Heart" Here:





You May Listen To The Story Tellers "The L.A. Shuffle" Here:


The three Story Tellers 45's on Classic Artists are also available on red wax.


In 2007 the Story Tellers recorded "Rosie", a tribute to Rosie Hamlin of Rosie & The Originals for a benefit concert in her honor.


More information on the Story Tellers here:



NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED!!!

Solely for historical, educational and listening pleasure.

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