The Exciters

The Exciters were an American pop music group of the 1960s. They were originally a girl group, with one male member being added afterwards. At the height of their popularity the group consisted of lead singer Brenda Reid, her husband Herb Rooney, Carolyn Johnson and Lillian Walker.

Career

Brenda Reid, Carolyn (Carol) Johnson, Lillian Walker, and Sylvia Wilbur formed the group while at high school together in Queens, New York City, in 1961. They were originally called the Masterettes, as a sister group to another group called the Masters, and released their first recording, "Follow the Leader", in early 1962. Wilbur then left the group to be replaced by Penny Carter, and they auditioned for Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, winning a recording contract. Penny Carter then left, and was replaced by Herb Rooney, a member of the Masters; Reid and Rooney later married.

The group's name was changed to the Exciters, and their first hit record, arranged by George "Teacho" Wiltshire and produced by Leiber and Stoller for United Artists Records, was "Tell Him", which reached no. 4 on the U.S. pop chart in early 1963. The song had previously been recorded unsuccessfully, as "Tell Her", by Gil Hamilton later known as Johnny Thunder. According to Jason Ankeny at AllMusic, the Exciters' version of "Tell Him" "...boasted an intensity that signified a sea change in the presentation and perception of femininity in popular music, paving the way for such tough, sexy acts as the Shangri-Las and the Ronettes."

The Exciters (film)

The Exciters is a lost 1923 American silent film comedy produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed through Paramount Pictures. It is based on a 1922 Broadway play, The Exciters, by Martin Brown. This film was directed by Maurice Campbell, husband of stage star Henrietta Crosman, and stars Bebe Daniels, then a popular Paramount contract star.

On the Broadway stage, Bebe Daniels's role was played by Tallulah Bankhead.

Cast

References

External links