Billy Taylor, do-wop harmonizer

THE KIDS USED to gather on Philly street corners and harmonize. The music they created, mostly for their own pleasure, but always with an eye toward a possible future of fame and glory, went by names like hip-hop, doo-wop, R&B.

They gave their groups names like the Tymes, the Keystoners, the Dreams, the Cherokees, the Dreamlovers, the Silhouettes and the Castelles.

Some went on to taste some of that fame and glory, like the Silhouettes' chart-topping "Get a Job" of 1958.

One of those street-corner harmonizers was a gifted baritone named Billy Taylor. He started out singing with the West Philadelphia vocal group the Castelles, a bunch of kids out of what is now Sulzberger Middle School, 48th and Fairmount.

Billy, who also sang with numerous other once-known ensembles like the Orioles, the Modern Red Caps and the Cobras in his career, died Aug. 4 at age 71.

He was living in Washington, D.C., with an aunt, Ann Jordan. She said he told her he was going to sleep, and never woke up.

Collectors call the music these groups produced "classic urban harmony," and some of the records they made are treasured by collectors.

Val Shively, owner of R&B Records in Upper Darby, once said in an interview in the Inquirer: "I've had people who come in here in a Porsche with an attache case asking for 'My Girl Awaits Me' by the Castelles. While he's here, there might be some junkie with a needle in his arm who asks for the same record. That's sort of neat."

Back in 1953, Billy, then 15, and other members of the Castelles waxed a demo at 12th and Market streets and took it to furniture- store owner Herb Slotkin at 41st Street and Lancaster Avenue.

Slotkin maintained a makeshift recording studio and his own label. They recorded "My Girl Awaits Me," which Robert Bosco, local music historian and writer, calls "an ethereal ballad with intricate high tenor interweavings."

"The disk sold respectable numbers," Bosco said, "and was followed by 'Marcella,' 'Over a Cup of Coffee,' 'This Silver Ring' and 'Wonder Why,' in which Billy sang lead.

"While none of these issuings did much in the way of sales, they are today treasured collector's items worth big bucks."

Billy went on to tour as a road member of Baltimore's Sonny Til's Orioles. He was used as a utility man. He could sing any part, from tenor to bass.

He then joined the Modern Red Caps, which recorded an R&B favorite, "Golden Teardrops," for Swan Records in Philadelphia.

"Taylor's top tenor licks made it a joy, and it earns play from time to time on local outlets WRDV [Hatboro] and WVLT [Vineland]," Bosco said.

In 1964, Billy was with the Cobras, which released a top-selling record, "La La."

"It had that stomp beat all the local dancers were searching for," Bosco said, "and Taylor shrieked the lead in a voice so high it sounded as if he had just escaped from a madhouse."

The record sold well on the East Coast and is still played at dances. The group sang it live at "Summertime at the Steel Pier," which was broadcast on TV.

It might have been a classic, but Billy didn't think much of it.

"It was kind of stupid, if you ask me," Billy told Bosco some years back. "I thought it was a big joke when we recorded it. When people asked me about it on the street, I used to feel embarrassed and walked away."

Billy's last appearance was at the Black Swan Concert, organized by promoter Mark Del Costello at the College of New Jersey in Hoboken, last October.

"Performing was the energy of life for Billy," said longtime friend and music collector Frank Chille. "He loved every moment of it and always gave his all.

"Billy was a very humble individual yet a giant in many respects of this phenomenal sphere of music."

He is survived by his aunt.

Services: A service is being arranged for Saturday at the Christian Stronghold Baptist Church, 4701 Lancaster Ave.