The Five Stars The Five Stars were a doo - wop group consisting of lead singer Ron Russell , Jim Bruhn ( 1st tenor ) , Bill Campbell ( baritone ) , Larry Huffman ( 2nd tenor ) , and Bruce Miller ( bass , replacement for Ron Bunyard and later replaced by Boyd " Popcorn " Johnson ) . Jim Bruhn provided the instruments . Although many bands emerged in the 1950s sharing similar or identical names , this music group was based out of Indianapolis , Indiana and appeared under the record labels for Kernel , Dot , Hunt , and Note . History . The Five Stars held regional interest throughout Indiana and the Midwest , but usually bubbled just under " Billboard ' s " Top 100 . The group formed in October 1956 after three friends ( Russell , Campbell , and Huffman ) experimented with harmonizing with the car radio . Campbell invited fellow madrigal singer Jimmy Bruhn as the first tenor and Russell invited Ron Bunyard as bass . Bunyard would only perform with the group , dubbed " The Emeralds " for three months and was replaced by another of Campbell ' s fellow madrigal singer , Bruce Miller . They appeared on a local central Indiana television show hosted by and his band , the Rockets . Bennett introduced them to his producer John F . Young , writer of " Atom Bomb Baby " , a song that rode the incoming tide of interest for the . Young would also change their name to " The Five Stars " , citing that " The Emeralds " was already used by other bands . Ironically , they realized later that other groups had also performed under the name as " The Five Stars " . " Atom Bomb Baby " with " You Sweet Little Thing " as the B - Side would become The Five Stars ' first record , initially released on a local Kentucky label , Kernel Records . It got sufficiently popular enough to be picked up by a major record label , Dot Records , which brought The Five Stars to nationwide attention . Miller , however , would drop out and be replaced by Boyd Johnson . Their followup to their hit was as backup to singer Dottie Fergerson for " Slow Burn " and " You and Me and Love " on May 24 , 1957 . It too was released on Kernel before being picked up by Mercury Records , the label unfortunately omitting their contribution . In March 1958 , they released " Pickin ' On the Wrong Chicken " and " Dreaming " on the Indianapolis label , Note Records . The then - unknown jazz guitarist , also performed in the session . It was another regional hit and was picked up by Hunt Records for nationwide distribution . Sponsored by the support of Dick Clark ' s fledgling record label , The Five Stars appeared the same month on " " to perform " Pickin ' On the Wrong Chicken " . Though Clark played the record steadily over six weeks , it failed to reach " Billboard ' s " Top 100 . The same year , The Five Stars recorded " My Paradise " and " Friction " . Their last known record was " Am I Wasting My Time " and " Gambling Man " in 1959 . The group would eventually break up in 1961 . The group experienced a renewed interest after " Atom Bomb Baby " was featured in a 1982 documentary film , " " , detailing a modern retrospective at the culture behind the Atomic Age and the Cold War . The current surviving members are Ron Russell and Bill Campbell .