The Ames Brothers (left to proper: Vic, Ed, Gene and Joe) – Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Ed Ames, the final surviving member of vastly common Nineteen Fifties vocal group the Ames Brothers and a star in his personal proper within the Nineteen Sixties, died on May 21 from Alzheimer’s illness, on the of 92. The information was introduced by his spouse Jeanne on Saturday.
Ed, Gene, Joe, and Vic Ames, whose actual surname was Urick, bought their skilled begin in Boston and developed a particular, four-way vocal connection that might make them one of many signature acts of the pre-rock’n’roll interval, into which they segued with extra hits. Their first chart look was with Monica Lewis on her 1948 entry “A Tree In The Meadow,” earlier than they started a four-year tenure of unbroken success on the Coral label.
Their main breakthrough was with 1950’s brassy, driving “Rag Mop,” a double-sided smash with “Sentimental Me” (later coated by Elvis Presley). The quartet had been variously backed by orchestras led by Roy Ross, Les Brown (and his Band of Renown), Marty Manning, and Ray Bloch; different Ames Brothers hits on Coral included 1951’s “Undecided” and “Sentimental Brown,” with Brown.
Switching to RCA Victor in 1953, they soared to the chart summit once more that 12 months with “You You You,” and had different such large sellers as “The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane” in 1954 and “Tammy” and “Melodie d’Amour (Melody of Love),” each in 1957. The group’s final Hot 100 look was with “China Doll” in 1960.
Ed Ames’ solo profession made him an everyday on American tv, each within the Nineteen Sixties journey collection Daniel Boone, on The Tonight Show and with cameos in such collection as Murder, She Wrote and In the Heat of the Night. He additionally carried out usually in musicals, and had his greatest solo hit, nonetheless on RCA Victor, with 1967’s No.8 US pop single “My Cup Runneth Over,” from the off-Broadway musical I Do, I Do.
His different stage work included productions of The Crucible, The Fantasticks and alongside Kirk Douglas and Gene Wilder in a 1963 Broadway run of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. All 4 brothers continued performing after the group break up up, the others with much less profile than Ed. Vic predeceased him in 1978, Gene in 1997 and Joe in 2007.