current_members years_active label article_title past_members background genre origin name
maurice jones danny friendly 1957 -- 1963 dub tammy records , capitol records records , twin records , roulette records , the edsels
 james larry green harry green reynolds george ` wydell ' jones marshall sewell group_or_band doo-wop campbell , ohio , united states the edsels
the edsels

the edsels were an american doo-wop group active during the late 1950s and early 1960s .
the name of the group was originally the essos , after the oil company , but was changed to match the then-new ford automobile , the edsel .
they recorded over 25 songs and had multiple performances on dick clark 's `` american bandstand '' .
the edsels were one of the few doo-wop groups to sign with a major record label , as most groups of that era found success with small independent labels ; before their national hit `` rama lama ding dong '' , songs like `` what brought us together '' , `` bone shaker joe '' and `` do you love me '' helped the group land a major recording contract with capitol records in 1961 .
today the group is known almost exclusively for `` rama lama ding dong '' , written by lead singer george `` wydell '' jones jr. .
the song was recorded in 1957 and released , under the erroneous title `` lama rama ding dong '' , in 1958 .
it did not become popular until 1961 , after a disc jockey in new york city began to play it as a segue from the marcels ' doo-wop version of `` blue moon '' .
the song eventually became popular throughout the us , peaking at number 21 on the `` billboard '' hot 100 chart .
the group continues to perform today .
in addition , james reynolds performs with his five sons jeff , baron , patrick , chris and carlise -lrb- as the reynolds brothers -rrb- .
that group released an album , `` the reynolds brothers '' , featuring songs written by james and fellow edsels member george jones .
songwriter george jones died in september 2008 .
marshall sewell died of esophageal cancer on june 5 , 2013 at the age of 75 .
