The Diamonds History
 In 1953, Dave Somerville was working as a sound engineer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Toronto, Canada. One of the shows produced at the CBC was Pick The Stars, a local talent show. He noticed four gentlemen practicing in the hallway for that show, and stopped to listen. After exchanging amenities, Somerville convinced the four that, in his opinion, they were not ready for the competition and offered to be their manager.[citation needed] This group was composed of Stan Fisher, Ted Kowalski, Phil Levitt, and Bill Reed. They agreed and for the next several months, Somerville provided tutoring, and got practice time in un-occupied studios at the CBC.
That Christmas, the group was to sing for a Christmas party at a local church. That date conflicted with studies for a law exam of Stan Fisher, the lead singer and Fisher decided he needed the study time. Since Somerville knew all the songs, he took Fisher’s place.[citation needed] The audience reaction to the Dave Somerville led group was so tremendous, that the group that night decided to turn professional.[citation needed] In one fateful decision Fisher decided to stay in law school and not continue with the group.[citation needed] Somerville became the permanent lead, and that was the night The Diamonds were born.
By 1955, all members of the group had left college, and/or jobs, to sing full time. Professional musician Nat Goodman became their manager, and Goodman got the Diamonds onto Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts on American television. The result of the contest was a stalemate between the Diamonds and another contestant. With the prize of being guest artist for a week on Godfrey’s show, this led to a recording contract with Coral Records.[citation needed] Coral released four songs, the most notable being Black Denim Trousers & Motorcycle Boots, a cover of a recording originally by The Cheers. The Diamonds' version sold a few thousand copies, which was only enough to get them a little local recognition.
The next big step was an audition with Cleveland, Ohio, radio disc jockey Bill Randle, who aided in the success of some popular groups, such as The Crew Cuts. Randle was impressed with the Diamonds and introduced them to Mercury Records, who signed the group to a recording contract. At this time, black artists were not played on white radio stations.[citation needed] Mercury Records, as well as other major record companies, were designating white artists to cover the recordings of black artists for the purpose of expanding their listening audience.
The Diamonds’ first recording for Mercury was Why Do Fools Fall in Love, a cover of Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers’s version.[citation needed] They also covered songs by such black groups as The Clovers, The Willows and The Heartbeats.
The Diamonds biggest hits were 1957's Little Darlin' (originally recorded by the The Gladiolas) and 1958's The Stroll, which was not a cover, but actually an original song written for the group by Clyde Otis, from an idea by Dick Clark.[citation needed]
Although they were signed to do rock & roll, Mercury also paired them with Pete Rugolo in one of his Meet series.[citation needed] The album entitled The Diamonds Meet Pete Rugolo allowed The Diamonds to return to their roots and do some established standards.[citation needed]
The group sang Little Darlin' and Where Mary Go in the movie, The Big Beat, [citation needed] and sang the theme song for another film, Kathy-O. [citation needed]
They had many television appearances, including the TV shows of Steve Allen, Perry Como, Vic Damone, Tony Bennett, and Paul Winchell. They also appeared on American Bandstand.
By 1961, all original members had left the group and were replaced. With the ever-changing style of rock & roll and their Mercury contract expired, the Diamonds continued touring the country. At one time, there were at least two groups performing under the Diamonds' name.[citation needed] This created an issue that was ultimately settled in court. The ruling determined who legally owned the Diamonds' name, and allowed the original four to use the name a few times each year.[citation needed]
The Diamonds received national attention once again in 2000, when the original members were invited to sing in TJ Lubinsky’s PBS production of “Do-Wop 51”, and again in the PBS production entitled Magic Moments-The Best Of '50s Pop in 2004.[
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