Baby Jane and the Rockabyes
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Baby Jane and the Rockabyes, 1963
(l-r) Yolanda Robinson, Yvonne Demunn, Madelyn Moore, Estelle McEwan
Although their career as hit makers was brief and money not always forthcoming, like so many other young people in the music business in New York during the 50s and 60s, Baby Jane and The Rockabyes had their shot at stardom and had fun doing it in the process.
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The DeVaurs  (1958-1961)
                             Brenda Carrow
                             Yvonne DeMunn
                             Paula Hutchison
                             Estelle McEwan
The Rockabyes  (1962-1966)
                             Yvonne Demunn
                              Estelle McEwan
                             Madelyn  Moore
                             Yolanda Robinson

The  group that became Baby Jane & The Rockabyes started in The Bronx, New York in 1958, when schoolgirls Estelle McEwan, Yvonne DeMunn, Paula Hutchinson and Brenda Carrow decided to form a group in their Morrisania neighborhood.

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The DeVaurs,1959
(L-R) Paula Hutchinson, Estelle McEwan, Yvonne DeMunn
Standing is Brenda Carrow

All the girls were sophomores at the now historic Morris High School. Estelle and Yvonne became friends after Yvonne's family had moved to The Bronx from Queens. Estelle brought Paula into the group and Brenda came because she was friendly with Paula. The quartet called themselves The DeVaurs, part of the name coming from Yvonne's last name. The group began singing locally, and it wasn't long before they caught the attention of their classmates at Morris High.

Hearing of a talent contest the girls went down, auditioned, and won. The DeVaurs' prize was a recording contract with D-Tone Records, a small, independent label out of Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

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The first  session held in Manhattan. Cliff Driver conducted the session. Driver had an association in the music business with Hy Weiss, owner of Old Town Records. The DeVaurs' recorded one of Estelle's songs "Baby Doll" with Paula on lead. Their efforts were supported by disc jockey Hal Jackson who interviewed the group on his show. Despite the support and the favorable onset, 'Baby Doll' failed to make any impact on local radio and eventually disappeared.

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The DeVaurs kept up their local live appearances. In 1959, the group recorded for producer Donald Shaw's Moon label of New Jersey. It was here that they recorded  "Where Are You".

The group's New Jersey label and distribution pushed the record area. It  was featured in the top 20 on WNJR in the New York/New Jersey area in 1959.

By the start of the new decade, the members of The DeVaurs were married and working day jobs in addition to singing.  Brenda's interest in the group had waned and she left the group in 1961. Madelyn Moore, another friend from the neighborhood was asked to join the group.  Changes continued with the departure of Paula, who moved to Brooklyn. Despite the loss of group members, The DeVaurs continued singing as a trio for a short time.

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Morissania  native Crier, a Singer, songwriter producer, Arthur Crier was fellow recording demos   Morrisania native Arthur Crier. Arthur had been a member of The Five Chimes and The Mellows during the 1950s. Arthur now sang bass in The Halos. '. In addition to singing, Arthur was also writing songs and recording demos. He took note of the group's talent and asked The DeVaurs if they were interested in cutting demos for songwriters and singing backup at recording sessions. It was through this association that the group met singer Yolanda Robinson. She was added to The DeVaurs, once again forming a quartet. In addition to Arthur and songwriter Carl Spencer, The DeVaurs worked for   Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Teacho Wiltshire and Bert Berns at Trio Music.

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In 1962, Phil Spector had success recording a version of the Disney classic 'Zip-A-Dee Doo-Da' in a bump-and-grind style with a lowdown twangy guitar break. This almost unrecognizable rendition by Bob B. Soxx and The Blue Jeans burned up the airwaves, making it into the top 10. Convinced that this was a mine for a potential hit, Leiber and Stoller copied the style for a version of the Patti Page chart topper, 'How Much Is That Doggie In The Window'. When the song was presented to the DeVaurs, they were aghast at being asked to record this pre-teen ditty. However, the group agreed to recorded the song with the simplistic vocal arrangement, augmented with Carl Spencer's bass on the bridge. '…Doggie' was slated for release on United Artist Records, then the home of Leiber and Stoller's independent productions, after their falling out at Atlantic Records. When the records were pressed, The DeVaurs were shocked to find that they had a new name. Supposedly, the name of Baby Jane & The Rockabyes grew out of the popularity of the Joan Crawford/Bette Davis film blockbuster, 'Whatever Happened To Baby Jane'. Shortly after its release, 'Doggie' climbed to the middle of the Top 100, stalling at #69, but making a respectable showing in several local markets.

Leiber and Stoller they decided to try again with a with a Drifterish sounding ballad, with tempo changes for the choruses. 'All I Want To Do Is Run' was a more daring attempt at another pop hit, so maybe that's why Leiber and Stoller elected to release this single under a new name, the Elektras. At the session Bert Berns directed and co-wrote the song and Teacho Wiltshire arranged. The single made noise in New York, but nothing more than that.

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Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, wrote another song culled from the title of another nursery rhyme, "Hickory Dickory Dock".  This single was released on the small Spokane Records, then distributed by Florence Greenberg's Scepter complex. Although this single didn't chart, "Hickory Dickery Dock" made local play lists around the New York/New Jersey area.

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With no success with their follow-up singles, Leiber and Stoller eventually parted ways with Baby Jane & The Rockabyes. In the middle of all this, Yolanda had agreed to record a series of singles with songwriter/producer Ed Silvers. She hadn't informed her group mates, which caused quite a stir, since they were now obligated to sing under yet another name, Henrietta and The Hairdooz. Under this name, the group released three singles  with Liberty Records in late 1963 and early '64.  The last single, "I Love Him" is credited only to Henrietta, because the girls, protesting another change of their identity.

Arthur Crier had been managing The Rockabyes, as well as a few other acts like Barbara English, Savannah Smith and his sister Shirley's group, The Darlettes. Arthur decided to add the role of producer for The Rockabyes as well. The group recorded for two of Arthur's associates, Gene Redd, a former singer with The Fi-Tones Quintet and singer/songwriter Sammy Fain. Gene produced two mild soul songs for the group in late 1964, billing them as The Lullabyes and placing them with Dimension Records, now a few months beyond its prime, having been sold by Don Kirshner. Unfortunately, "My Heart Cries For You" did not add anything to Dimension's increasingly shrinking presence as a hit-making label.

The last bright spot in the career of Baby Jane & The Rockabyes came in 1966, when Crier and his production partner, Al Cleveland, produced the group for the Jubilee subsidiary, Port Records. The style chosen for Baby Jane & The Rockabyes was a solid dance groove made popular by Motown Records. 'Dance Till My Feet Get Tired' inspires dancers to do just that.  Although the dance tune didn't take off, it marked Arthur and Al's introduction to Motown's Berry Gordy, who hired them as staff writers and producers. Also, Madelyn was married and pregnant and not able to make personal appearances. Savannah Smith took her place at shows. Yolanda also left the group in 1967. The remaining ladies changed the group's image by adding singer Billy Guy to the lineup. This configuration continued to make public appearances for about a year before breaking up in 1968.

Yvonne and Billy came together to resume their singing careers during the 1970s, forming The Starr-Blair Affair. In addition, Yvonne and Billy joined in marriage. Their versatile band performed in numerous clubs in the New York area, singing everything from pop to Rhythm & Blues to standards. The successful live act prospered throughout the late 1970s, until Billy's untimely death, after which Yvonne decided to give up performing and concentrate on her family.

After giving up singing, Madelyn Moore settled into domestic life in The Bronx. Sadly, Estelle McEwan passed away in the 1970s. Savannah Smith, whose real name is Arnetta Livingston, has kept up with her singing, joining a revived configuration of The Darlettes in 1999. The whereabouts of Yolanda, Paula and Brenda are unknown. Today, with her children grown and her singing days behind her, Yvonne works for the New York Housing Authority. Even though she decided to retire from singing, Yvonne has nothing but fond memories of making a living with her passion for writing and singing songs.

Though their career as hit makers was brief and money not always forthcoming, like so many other young people in the music business in New York during the 50s and 60s, Baby Jane and The Rockabyes had their shot at stardom and had fun doing it in the process. This is no tall tale, but a true telling of how penetrable the Rock & Roll music industry was in its infancy.

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