years_active label article_title past_members background genre origin name
1964 -- 1981 blue cat the ad libs
 hugh ann thomas harris danny austin dave watt norman donegan mary group_or_band soul bayonne , new jersey , u.s. the ad libs
the ad libs

the ad libs were an american vocal group from bayonne , new jersey during the early 1960s .
featuring their characteristic female lead vocals with male `` doo-wop '' backing , their 1965 single `` the boy from new york city '' , written by george davis and john t. taylor , was their only pop chart hit .
known originally as the creators , the group formed in 1964 in bayonne with hugh harris , danny austin , dave watt , norman donegan and mary ann thomas .
`` the boy from new york city '' was released in december 1964 and by march 1965 had scored number 8 on the us popular music charts .
the group next recorded `` he ai n't no angel '' which reached number 100 in 1965 .
the next two singles failed to chart , and the ad libs ' contract was not renewed by red bird records company .
in 1969 , they had a last r&b chart hit with the song `` giving up '' , which peaked at number 34 r&b .
they continued to record into the 1980s , but never repeated the success of `` the boy from new york city '' .
`` the boy from new york city '' charted again in the uk for darts in 1978 and in the us for the manhattan transfer in 1981 .
the song has been used in a commercial for `` everybody hates chris '' on the paramount comedy channel in the uk .
dave watt died december 5 , 2008 .
