The Diamonds

We saw a group that purported to be The Diamonds a number of years ago at the free grandstand concert at the Red River Exhibition. The group on stage was a trio, interesting because The Diamonds were a quartet, and I can’t prove it, but I doubt that any of the guys singing on stage were in the original group.

They weren’t bad though…


This is a Rhino album, The Best Of The Diamonds.

I discovered Rhino at Records On Wheels, sometime mid-80s, and it was a treasure chest of re-issues and best of’s, stuff that was otherwise impossible to find. They were imports, all of them, pricey as a result. But I salivated. Great 60s garage bands like Blue Cheer and The Easybeats, reissued first run albums by The Monkees and The Rascals, the semi-psychedelic Nazz, The Turtles, The Box Tops.

Later came SeeForMiles and Charly, and later still came Sundazed (with their great 3-D catalogue) and Collectibles. So many records, so little money.

I don’t actually remember where I bought this but it was probably ROW; it was rare to find a second hand Rhino release – rare but not impossible. But I probably bought this new.

The Diamonds had 16 top 100 singles; 14 are here. And Daddy Cool wasn’t on the chart. Missing is Soft Summer Breeze from 1956, and One Summer Night from 1961, their last single and a remake of The Danleers 1958 hit.

And, most important, like their label mates The Crew Cuts, The Diamonds were Canadian. But unlike aforesaid Crew Cuts, The Diamonds understood the music they were recording.

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The Diamonds:

• Little Darlin – One of the great classics of the 50s. A cover of The Gladiolas hit, but generally considered superior to the original. In the song the singer pleads for forgiveness, but somehow it just all seems so beside the point. From the spring of 1957.
• The Church Bells May Ring – From the spring of 1956. This swings big time, complete with a bell solo…
• Why Do Fools Fall In Love – The Diamonds’ first hit (from winter, 1956) had some nice touches – the way he streches out “why,” the background vocals – but it’s no match for The Teenagers’ original. It didn’t do as well on the charts either.
• Words Of Love – The Diamonds do Buddy Holly, never more than a B side for the Crickets. This is from the summer of 1957. The Beatles covered this later.
• Ka-Ding-Dong – Nonesense lyrics form the background of an excuse to dance up a storm. This was the B side of a two sided hit. That was in the fall of 1956. Soft Summer Breeze was the A side. Rhino, for some reason, did not feel it worthy of inclusion.
• Silhouettes – A cover of The Rays’ hit from 1957. The Diamonds do a respectable version, but they don’t beat the original. This was in the top 10 as 1957 drew to a close. I’ve always liked Herman’s Hermits’ version.
• Daddy Cool – The Diamonds are in Coasters territory with this one.
• The Stroll – A dance. Chuck Willis is said to have been the master of the stroll, but it’s The Diamonds who had the hit. They played this on American Graffiti, during the prom scene. From the winter of 1958
• Love, Love, Love – A cover of The Clovers hit. From the summer of 1956.
• High Sign – Like Daddy Cool. The Diamonds were into the symbolism of the era. From the spring of 1958.
• Zip Zip – And novelty songs. They were into novelty songs. From the fall of ’57. At least they were having fun.
• She Say (Ooby Dooby Doom) – The harmonies on this one are more straight barbershop, but the song is typical Diamonds silly. From the winter of 1959.
• Kathy-O – It starts with the Jingle Bells refrain, and if you don’t listen too hard to the words, this could easily be a Christmas song. But it was a hit in the summer of 1958, and it is a love song plain and simple, notwithstanding the bells in the background. This is a ballad worthy of The Ames Brothers, the only one on this collection.
• Walking Along – “Singing a song, I will be gay…” sing The Diamonds, on this hit from the fall of 1958. This was the song they started with when I saw them, such as they were…