Hank Medress (1939-2007)

Hank Medress, co-founder of the group The Tokens died of lung cancer June 18, 2007 at his Manhattan home. Brooklyn High School classmates Medress and Neil Sedaka formed a singing group in 1955 called the Linc-Tones. They went on to record “While I Dream” on Melba records as The Tokens with Sedaka on lead vocals. After little success, Sedaka left to pursue a solo career and Medress formed Darrell and the Oxfords with singer Jay Siegel. He reformed the Tokens, added brothers Phil and Mitch Margo and got a recording contract with Warwick records. Shortly thereafter, the group scored their first charted hit, “Tonight I Fell In Love”.

In 1961, they moved to RCA-Victor records and scored a number one song with their first release, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, a traditional Zulu melody that the Weavers had released as a folk song in the early 50’s entitled “Wimoweh”. They enjoyed enough chart success with RCA to start their own label, B.T. Puppy.

It was at this point that Medress stopped singing backup harmony with the group and concentrated on producing. Hank’s produced three top-10 hits for the 1960s girl group The Chiffons, “Sweet Talkin’ Guy,” “One Fine Day” and “He’s So Fine.”

In addition to the Tokens recording on B.T. Puppy, Medress also produced

Hank Medress

the Happenings and had great success with “See You in September” and “I Got Rhythm.” Medress left the Tokens in 1970 and was the creative force behind the group Dawn, producing such hits as “Candida,” “Knock Three Times,” and “Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Ole Oak Tree”. Hank wanted to use Barry Manilow as the lead singer for the group, but Barry wanted a solo career, so he talked his good friend Tony Orlando out of retirement and the result was the pinnacle of Tony’s singing career. Other artists that Medress produced include Dan Hill, Melissa Manchester, Richard Simmons, Rick Springfield, and David Johansen (as his alter ego, Buster Poindexter).

From 1990 to 1992, Mr. Medress was president of EMI Music Publishing Canada and, after returning to New York, became a partner in Bottom Line Records, which released recordings of performances at the Bottom Line club in Greenwich Village as well as new work by emerging artists. Mr. Medress leaves four children and two grandchildren.

Listen for Darrel & the Oxfords and The Tokens on TUNEDEX MEMORIES at songsyoushouldhaveheard.com.

Freddie Scott (1933-2007)

Freddie Scott, known for his soft, mournful ballads, died of a heart attack June 4, 2007 at the age of 74.  Born in Providence, Rhode Island, he sang with his grandmother’s gospel group the Gospel Keys while in his early teens. He studied medicine at the University of Rhode Island but gave it up for singing. He recorded his first solo single, “Running Home”, for the small J&S label in 1956. Over the next six years, he would release nine more records for four different labels, but with little or no success. He wrote songs and even did production work to keep his singing dream alive. His big break came in1962 when he recorded a demo of “Hey Girl”, written by the Brill Building writing team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King. The song was written

Freddie Scott

with Chuck Jackson in mind, but Chuck turned it down. Goffin and King liked Scott’s voice and recorded another version with Freddie and it was released in 1963 on the Colpix label, almost one year after he recorded the demo record. The record became a Top Ten hit and effectively launched Scott’s career. He hit the charts another two times for Colpix, but lost favor as many American singers did due to the British Invasion. He moved on to Columbia records and released four more singles, but this time, with no chart activity. In 1966 Bert Berns, the producer, songwriter and owner of Shout Records signed Freddie and returned him to the charts with “Are You Lonely For Me”. Freddie stayed on the charts until the untimely death of Bert Berns in 1967. Freddie’s chart career seemed to die with Berns. He did some jingle writing after that, and took some minor acting roles, but his singing career was over. One of Freddie’s songs from 1968 “You Got What I Need” was sampled in 1989 and became the signature song for rapper Biz Markie. While Scott’s star waned somewhat in the 1980s, he still toured and performed regularly, releasing a pair of new albums in 2001 and 2004. Over the course of his career, Freddie Scott released well over 30 single recordings and many, many albums. His talents will be truly missed. We are proud to play “Hey Girl” on TUNEDEX MEMORIES at songsyoushouldhaveheard.com.