The Jewels

The Jewels (initially The Impalas, later The Four Jewels) were an American girl group from Washington, D.C., United States.

For other uses, see Jewels (disambiguation).

The group began singing as The Impalas in 1961;[1] its members had attended Roosevelt High School and sang in Trinity AME Zion Church.[2] Early on the group began performing in Bo Diddley's basement, and Diddley recorded their debut single "I Need You So Much", which was released on Checker Records. The record never caught on, and in 1962 producer Bob Lee changed the group's name to The Four Jewels. The single "Loaded with Goodies" next appeared on Start Records, a local D.C. label, followed by Chess single "That's What They Put Erasers on Pencils For". They also sang backup vocals for member Grace Ruffin's cousin, Billy Stewart. Carrie Mingo left the group around 1963 and was replaced by Martha Harvin; at this time the group became simply The Jewels. The group went on to record for Dynamite, Federal, Tec, and King over the next few years.

In 1964 the group signed to Dimension Records and released the single "Opportunity". Late in 1964 the tune peaked at #64 on the US Billboard Hot 100[3] but climbed all the way to #2 on KRLA 1110.[4] This was followed by the single "But I Do" b/w "Smokey Joe", which missed the national charts and marked the end of their association with Dimension. Beginning in 1965, the group toured across the U.S. as backing vocalists with James Brown. They intended to record at Motown Records when the tour stopped in Detroit, but the studios were closed the day they were in town.[2] Brown produced two more singles for the group, but they did not sell, and the group disbanded in 1968.

Martha Harvin changed her stage name to Martha High and went on to tour with Brown for some thirty years, in addition to releasing a solo disco album in 1979.[2] The original four members reunited in 1985 and released an album of their singles re-recorded, entitled Loaded with Goodies.[1]

Members
  • Sandra Bears
  • Grace Ruffin
  • Margie Clarke
  • Carrie Mingo (1961-1963)
  • Martha Harvin (1963-1968)

Discography (singles)
No.TitleLabel and no.Release
1"Loaded With Goodies" b/w "Fire"
as The Four Jewels		Start 6381962
2"Loaded With Goodies" b/w "Dapper Dan"
as The Four Jewels		Checker 1039March 1963
3"Baby It’s You" b/w "She’s Wrong For You Baby"
as The Four Jewels		Tec 30071964
4"Time For Love"
b/w "That's What They Put Erasers On Pencils For"		Checker 10691964
5"Opportunity" b/w "Gotta Find A Way"Dimension 1034July 1964
6"But I Do" b/w "Smokey Joe"Dimension 1048June 1965
7"Papa Left Mama Holding The Bag" b/w "This Is My Story"Dynamite 20001965 or 1966
8"This Is My Story" b/w "My Song"Federal 125411966
9"Lookie Lookie Lookie" b/w "Smokey Joe's"King 60681967
10"Baby Don't You Know" b/w "Never Find A Love Like Mine"
as The Brownettes		King 61531968

11 "Jimmy Lee" 1963

[5][6][7][8][9][10]

References
  1. The Jewels at Allmusic.com
  2. Martha High at Allmusic.com
  3. Chart Positions, Allmusic.com
  4. "krla641025". Oldiesloon.com.
  5. "OTHER GROUPS SINGLE DISCOGRAPHY". Jb-escape.sakura.ne.jp.
  6. "Jewels, The" at Discogs.
  7. "The Jewels", 45Cat.
  8. "The Jewels", Soulful Kinda Music.
  9. "45 Discography for King Records - 6000 series", King Promotional.
  10. "45 Discography for Federal Records", Federal.
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