# The Ron Hicklin Singers

The Ron Hicklin Singers were a group of Los Angeles studio singers contracted and organized by Ron Hicklin. They are mostly known as the real singers behind the background vocals on The Partridge Family recordings.
In Los Angeles studio circles in the 1960s through 1980s, they were the vocal equivalent of (and often worked with) The Wrecking Crew, performing backup vocals on thousands of songs, TV and movie themes, and as lead (while remaining anonymous) singers on thousands of radio and television commercials.

## Members

The core group usually consisted of (by voice type):
* Ron Hicklin - lead tenor
* Tom Bähler - tenor
* John Bähler - tenor
* Stan Farber - tenor
* Jim Gilstrap - tenor
* Gene Morford - bass
* Al Capps - bass
* Sally Stevens - soprano
* Edie Lehmann - soprano
* Sandie Hall - soprano
* Carolyn Willis - soprano
* Jackie Ward - alto
* Debbie Hall - alto
* Myrna Matthews - alto
However, this core group was often augmented with other specialist vocalists such as:
* Jim Haas - tenor
* Gene Merlino - tenor
* Jerry Whitman - tenor
* Thurl Ravenscroft - bass (voice of Kellogg's Tony the Tiger of Frosted Flakes cereal for 50 years, and the vocalist for "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch")
* Mitch Gordon - bass
* Bob Tebow - bass
* Andra Willis - soprano
* Linda Dangcil - soprano
* Bob Zwirn - baritone

## Motion pictures, television and radio work

The group performed themes for major motion pictures in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
* M*A*S*H (film)
* Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, "South American Getaway" written by Burt Bacharach
* The Hunt For Red October, written by Basil Poledouris
* Dances With Wolves, written by John Barry
* Apollo 13, written by James Horner
* Glory, written by James Horner
* Hook, written by John Williams
* Dirty Harry, and Magnum Force, written by Lalo Schifrin
* Out of Africa, written by John Barry
* Death Game, "Dear Old Dad" written by Jimmie Haskell with lyrics by Iris Rainer Dart
* The Mosquito Coast, "Saviour, Like a Shepherd Lead Us" written by William Batchelder Bradbury
* Rosemary's Baby
The group also sang the themes for major hit-TV shows of the period:
* Love, American Style, with lead vocalist John Bähler (opening theme)
* Batman, (opening theme)
* Alvin & The Chipmunks
* Flipper
* That Girl, season 5 opening
* Happy Days, for which Jim Haas sang lead (opening theme)
* Laverne & Shirley, along with lead vocalist Cyndi Grecco (opening theme)
* Wonder Woman, with John Bähler singing lead (season 2 opening)
* Angie, along with lead vocalist Maureen McGovern (opening theme)
In addition, they sang many commercial vocals, including United States advertising campaigns for:
* Kawasaki - "Kawasaki, Let the Good Times Roll"
* Datsun - "Drive a Datsun, then Decide"
* McDonald's - "You Deserve a Break Today", written by Kenny Karen
* Wheaties - "Go Tell Your Mama What The Big Boys Eat", Clio Award Winner
* California Raisins - "Yum, Yum", 2 Clio Awards
* Gatorade - "Gatorade Is Thirst Aid For That Deep Down Body Thirst"
Radio and television station-ID jingle companies throughout the last four decades of the 20th century used the group in their productions, including:
* The Heller Corporation
* Killer Music Broadcast Division
* JAM Creative Productions
* TM Productions (now known as TM Studios, a division of Dial Global Media) on syndicated-radio ID jingle packages including:
** Hot Hits
** Fusion
** The "You" campaign
** Good Feelings

## Noteworthy recording work

The group also sang on recordings credited to:
* Johnny Mandel - "Suicide Is Painless", Theme from M*A*S*H
* The Brady Kids
* Cher - "Dark Lady"
* The DeFranco Family - "Heartbeat - It's a Lovebeat"
* Climax featuring Sonny Geraci - "Precious and Few" (No. 1, U.S. Cash Box Top 100)
* Anita Kerr Singers - the group's mid-'60s-to-early '70s lineup featured Gene Merlino (tenor) and Bob Tebow (bass); Jackie Ward (alto) joined the group in 1969, replacing B. J. Baker
* Gary Lewis & the Playboys - "This Diamond Ring" (No 1, U.S. Billboard Hot 100), "Count Me In", "Save Your Heart For Me" (No 1, U.S. Billboard Easy Listening), "She's Just My Style", "Everybody Loves A Clown"
* Mark Lindsay - "Arizona" (RIAA Gold) and "Silver Bird"
* The Partridge Family - "I Think I Love You"
* Gary Puckett & The Union Gap - "Young Girl" (No. 1, U.S. Cash Box Top 100), "Woman, Woman" (No. 3, U.S. Cash Box Top 100), "Over You" (No. 5, U.S. Cash Box Top 100), and "Lady Willpower" (No. 1, U.S. Cash Box Top 100)
* Paul Revere & the Raiders - "Indian Reservation" (RIAA Gold)
* Sammy Davis Jr. - "The Candy Man" (RIAA Gold)
* Johnny Mathis - "There, I Said it Again"
* Neil Diamond - "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" (RIAA Platinum), "Holly Holy", "In My Lifetime"

## Works of selected members

The Bähler Brothers were part of the singing group hired by Ron Hicklin on Hugo Montenegro's Albums.
The Bähler Brothers, Jackie Ward, and Ron Hicklin joined David Cassidy as the singers on the Partridge Family.
* Hugo Montenegro's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Theme
* "MacArthur Park"
* "Suicide Is Painless", Johnny Mandel's theme to the 1970 film M*A*S*H, sung by Ian Freebairn-Smith, Ron Hicklin, John Bähler, and Tom Bähler
* Ron Hicklin did 4 decades as part of the Chipmunks
Member Jackie Ward also had a hit on her own as Robin Ward with the 1963 hit "Wonderful Summer".

## Later Careers

John Bähler lives in Branson, Missouri and conducts the "new" Lawrence Welk orchestra as well as running Portraits By Bähler.
Bähler's wife, Janet Lennon-Bähler of the Lennon Sisters, still tours in casinos and resorts around the country as part of an extensive nostalgia circuit, bringing music of the 1940s and 1950s to a new audience.
Tom Bähler, a long-time close associate of composer Quincy Jones as well as being associate producer and arranger of "We Are the World", lives in California's Santa Ynez Valley north of Los Angeles and continues to occasionally produce as well as record. He is also a songwriter of renown, having penned the Bobby Sherman hit "Julie, Do Ya Love Me" and Michael Jackson's "She's Out of My Life".
Ron Hicklin himself retired from the business in the mid-1990s, and lives in Vonore, Tennessee and Ko Olina (on Oahu) with his wife, Trudi.

## Discography

Partial chronological list of albums containing one or more cuts with one or more Ron Hicklin Singers:
| Year | Album | Group / Artist | Label | RIAA |
| 1960 | Crazy Times | Gene Vincent | Capitol | |
| 1960 | Along The Trail | The Eligibles | Capitol | |
| 1960 | Love Is A Gamble | The Eligibles | Capitol | |
| 1961 | When I Fall in Love | The Lettermen | Capitol | |
| 1962 | Mike Fright | The Eligibles | Capitol | |
| 1963 | The Singles Collection - Volume 1 | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 1964 | Mustang! | The Zip-Codes | Liberty | |
| 1965 | This Diamond Ring | Gary Lewis & The Playboys | Liberty | |
| 1965 | Everybody Love's a Clown | Gary Lewis & The Playboys | Liberty | |
| 1965 | A Session With Gary Lewis and the Playboys | Gary Lewis & The Playboys | Liberty | |
| 1966 | She's Just My Style | Gary Lewis & The Playboys | Liberty | |
| 1966 | The Monkees | The Monkees | Colgems | 5× Platinum |
| 1967 | More Of The Monkees | The Monkees | Colgems | 5× Platinum |
| 1967 | The Yellow Balloon | The Yellow Balloon | Canterbury | |
| 1968 | Woman, Woman | Gary Puckett & The Union Gap | Columbia | |
| 1968 | Gary Puckett & The Union Gap | Gary Puckett & The Union Gap | Columbia | |
| 1968 | Incredible | Gary Puckett & The Union Gap | Columbia | |
| 1968 | On Tap, In The Can, Or In The Bottle | Hank Thompson and The Brazos Valley Boys | Dot | |
| 1969 | Hair | Stan Kenton | Capitol | |
| 1969 | Moog Power | Hugo Montenegro | RCA | |
| 1969 | Touching You, Touching Me | Neil Diamond | Uni | |
| 1970 | Let It Be | Bud Shank with The Bob Alcivar Singers | World Pacific Jazz | |
| 1970 | The Partridge Family Album | The Partridge Family | Bell | Gold |
| 1970 | Young | Ralph Carmichael and The Young People | Light | |
| 1971 | Up to Date | The Partridge Family | Bell | Gold |
| 1971 | Sound Magazine | The Partridge Family | Bell | Gold |
| 1971 | A Partridge Family Christmas Card | The Partridge Family | Bell | Gold |
| 1971 | His Great Hits | Gábor Szabó | Impulse! | |
| 1971 | On Any Sunday | Dominic Frontiere | Bell | |
| 1971 | Indian Reservation | Paul Revere & the Raiders | Columbia | |
| 1971 | Gandharva | Beaver & Krause | Warner Bros. | |
| 1971 | Wings | Michel Colombier | A&M | |
| 1971 | The Class of Nineteen Hundred and Seventy One | Jack Daugherty | A&M | |
| 1971 | I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 1972 | Shopping Bag | The Partridge Family | Bell | Gold |
| 1972 | The Partridge Family Notebook | The Partridge Family | Bell | Gold |
| 1972 | Climax featuring Sonny Geraci | Climax | Rocky Road Records | |
| 1972 | Billie Joe Thomas | B.J. Thomas | Scepter Records | |
| 1972 | Raised on Records | P.F. Sloan | Mums | |
| 1972 | D/B/A Crow | David Wagner | Amaretto | |
| 1972 | Orchestra Arranged and Conducted By Michel Legrand | Sarah Vaughan | Mainstream Records | |
| 1972 | Without You | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 1972 | Love Theme From The Godfather | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 1972 | I Can See Clearly Now | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 1972 | Alone Again (Naturally) | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 1973 | Crossword Puzzle | The Partridge Family | Bell | Gold |
| 1973 | Gram Parsons | Gram Parsons | Reprise | |
| 1973 | Ringo | Ringo Starr | Apple | |
| 1973 | Live at the Greek Theatre | Vikki Carr | Columbia | |
| 1973 | The Last Thing On My Mind | Austin Roberts | Chelsea | |
| 1973 | Miss America | Vikki Carr | Columbia | |
| 1973 | Vagabonds Roost | Sherman Hayes | Capitol | |
| 1973 | Naturally | Judy Lynn | Amaretto | |
| 1973 | Harmony | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 1973 | The Way We Were | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 1973 | You Are the Sunshine of My Life | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 1974 | Grievous Angel | Gram Parsons | Reprise | |
| 1974 | Dark Lady | Cher | MCA Records | |
| 1974 | Stop and Smell the Roses | Mac Davis | Columbia | |
| 1974 | A Little Bit Of Love | Paul Williams | A&M | |
| 1974 | Touch Me | John Davidson | 20th Century | |
| 1974 | The Happy Sound of Ray Conniff | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 1975 | Rich Man's Woman | Elkie Brooks | A&M | |
| 1975 | What I Did For Love | Jack Jones | RCA Victor | |
| 1975 | John R. Cash | Johnny Cash | Columbia | |
| 1975 | Introducing Sparks | Sparks | Columbia | |
| 1975 | Ordinary Fool | Paul Williams | A&M | |
| 1975 | Un Tonto Común | Paul Williams | A&M | |
| 1975 | Two Sides of the Moon | Keith Moon | MCA/Polydor | |
| 1975 | Another Done Somebody Wrong Song | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 1975 | I Write the Songs | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 1975 | Laughter in the Rain | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 1975 | Love Will Keep Us Together | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 1976 | Act like Nothing's Wrong | Al Kooper | United Artists | |
| 1976 | Making Our Dreams Come True | Cyndi Grecco | Private | |
| 1976 | Shaun Cassidy | Shaun Cassidy | Warner Bros. | Platinum |
| 1976 | Slow Down World | Donovan | Epic | |
| 1976 | Cry Tough | Nils Lofgren | A&M | |
| 1976 | Blue Moves | Elton John | MCA/Rocket | Platinum |
| 1976 | Young and Rich | The Tubes | A&M | |
| 1976 | A Song Is A Gentle Thing | Deanna Edwards | Teleketics | |
| 1976 | Pictures & Rhymes | Jim Weatherly | ABC | |
| 1976 | A Little Bit Of Love | Paul Williams | A&M | |
| 1976 | Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart | Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart | Capitol | |
| 1976 | After the Lovin' | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 1976 | Send in the Clowns | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 1976 | Theme From SWAT and Other TV Themes | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 1977 | He Touched Me | Tennessee Ernie Ford | Capitol | |
| 1977 | Crepusculo En Oklahoma = Oklahoma Twilight | Wayne Parker | Ariola America | |
| 1977 | Washington: Behind Closed Doors (Original Music From) | Dominic Frontiere | ABC | |
| 1977 | The Full Life | Jack Jones | RCA Victor | |
| 1977 | Born Late | Shaun Cassidy | Warner Bros. | Platinum |
| 1977 | Exitos Latinos | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 1978 | Under Wraps | Shaun Cassidy | Warner Bros. | |
| 1978 | Dream | Captain and Tennille | A&M | |
| 1978 | Leif Garrett | Leif Garrett | Atlantic | |
| 1978 | Hard Love | Shaun Cassidy | Warner Bros. | |
| 1978 | Jaded Virgin | Marshall Chapman | Epic | |
| 1978 | Grease | Grease | RSO | 8× Platinum |
| 1978 | You Don't Bring Me Flowers | Neil Diamond | Columbia | 2× Platinum |
| 1978 | Ray Conniff Plays The Bee Gees & Other Great Hits | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 1979 | Groovin' You | Harvey Mason | Arista | |
| 1979 | No One Home | Lalo Schifrin | Tabu | |
| 1979 | Gershwin '79 | Westside Strutters | Parachute | |
| 1979 | Lucky Day | Alan Price | Jet | |
| 1979 | Portrait Of Love | Jon Byron | Light | |
| 1979 | Apocalypse Now - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | Carmine Coppola & Francis Coppola | Elektra | |
| 1979 | Jerry Lee Lewis | Jerry Lee Lewis | Warner Bros. | |
| 1979 | I Will Survive | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 1980 | Ghost Riders | Outlaws | Arista | |
| 1980 | Roadie (Original Motion Picture Sound Track) | Various | Warner Bros. | |
| 1980 | No More Dirty Deals | The Johnny Van Zant Band | Polydor | |
| 1980 | The Lord's Prayer - Teach Us To Pray | Reba Rambo & Dony McGuire | Light | |
| 1980 | Rising Sun | Alan Price | Jet | |
| 1980 | Make Your Move | Captain & Tennille | RTV | Gold |
| 1980 | Rise Again...He's Alive | Paul Johnson Vocal Band | MCA | |
| 1980 | Trilogy: Past, Present & Future | Frank Sinatra | Reprise | |
| 1981 | Made in America | The Carpenters | A&M | |
| 1981 | Dark Orchid | Sammy Nestico | Palo Alto | |
| 1981 | David Essex – Be-Bop The Future | David Essex | Mercury | |
| 1982 | The Dukes Of Hazzard | Various | Scotti Bros | |
| 1982 | So Far...So Good | Stella Parton | Town House | |
| 1982 | The Best of Jerry Lee Lewis Featuring 39 and Holding | Jerry Lee Lewis | Elektra | |
| 1982 | Messiah Bright Morning Star | Reba Rambo & Dony McGuire | Light | |
| 1982 | Amor, Amor | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 1983 | Voices of the Heart | The Carpenters | A&M | Gold |
| 1983 | Got My Eye On You | Johnny Koonce | A&M | |
| 1983 | Fantástico | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 1984 | And I Love You So | Howard Keel | PolyTel | |
| 1985 | With Love: For Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow | Howard Keel | PolyTel | |
| 1993 | When My Heart Finds Christmas | Harry Connick Jr. | Columbia | 3× Platinum |
| 1993 | Swing Kids (Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack) | James Horner | Milan | |
| 1995 | When You Wish Upon A Chipmunk | The Chipmunks | Chipmunk | |
| 1995 | Casper (Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack) | James Horner | MCA | |
| 1995 | Apollo 13 (Music From The Motion Picture) | James Horner | MCA | |
| 1996 | Live A Little, Love A Little & The Trouble With Girls & Charro! & Change Of Habit | Elvis Presley | RCA | |
| 1998 | Breath Of Heaven: A Christmas Collection | Vince Gill with Patrick Williams and His Orchestra | MCA | |
| 2004 | Come To The Sunshine: Soft Pop Nuggets From The WEA Vaults | Various | Rhino | |
| 2006 | Here Comes Inspiration | Paul Williams | East Central One | |
| 2007 | The Singles Collection - Volume 2 | Ray Conniff | Columbia | |
| 2010 | Carnival of Sound | Jan & Dean | Rhino | |
There were also multiple albums for each below:
* Percy Faith Orchestra and Chorus
* Henry Mancini Orchestra and Chorus