Rochell and the candles biography of michael

ROCHELL AND THE CANDLES

The curiously named Rochell and the Candles were an all-male black vocal group, formed in 1958 in Los Angeles, by Rochell Henderson (lead and tenor), Johnny Wyatt (lead and first tenor), Mel Sasso (tenor) and T.C. Henderson (bass). The two Hendersons were not related, but both came originally from Louisiana.

Wyatt was a Texan and only Sasso was an L.A. kid. The foursome played clubs until they had enough original material to record. Four tracks were recorded in the backyard studio of Ted Brinson (a professional bass player who can be heard on most of Larry Williams's early Specialty recordings) in Watts, where at least two major 1950s hits had been recorded, "Earth Angel" by the Penguins and "Western Movies" by the Olympics.

The group took their demos to Hunter Hancock of KGFJ, then one of the hottest R&B deejays in L.A.

Hancock had started his own label, Swingin' Records in 1959 and scored a hit with "There Is Something On Your Mind" by Big Jay McNeely. H ROCHELL AND THE CANDLES - Black Cat GIH