Eddie Edgehill, sang with the Valentines

BACK IN THE '50s and '60s, groups of dedicated and talented - and very young - singers and dancers performed what was called rhythm and blues.

Some of the youthful artists made it big and gained national recognition, but many others sang their hearts out anyway and scored moderate successes at such venues as the Uptown, in Philadelphia, and the Apollo, in Harlem, grateful for air time for their records.

Among the better known of these groups was the Valentines, which featured a Philadelphia singer named Eddie Edgehill, a tenor who also wowed the fans with his fancy dance steps.

Eddie, who went on to be part of other R&B groups over the years, died Jan. 12 of complications of a stroke. He was 75 and lived in North Philadelphia.

The Valentines were probably the better known of the groups that Eddie graced with his tenor (he could also sing baritone) and his gyrations on stage.

Among the group's better known records were "Lily Maybelle" and "Woo Woo Train," collectors' items that are still being aired.

Of "Woo Woo Train," music critic and historian Marv Goldberg wrote, "It was raucous, it was raw, they made it up as they went along, and it was great.

"The Valentines were one of the classic vocal harmony groups of the '50s," he wrote. "Their music was vibrantly energetic and was therefore ideally suited to the era when America's youth assumed control of their own musical tastes."

The Valentines began in 1952 in Harlem as a bunch of kids who started out harmonizing on the street and anywhere else they could meet.

"The name of the game was to impress girls and to show up other groups," Goldberg wrote. "So they sang on street corners, in bathrooms, in subway stations and at parties."

When a transplanted Philadelphian named Richard Barrett showed up in his pink 1949 Oldsmobile convertible, the aggregation started to perform in better venues. Barrett, who died in 2006, wrote most of the group's songs, and the name was changed to the Valentines.

One night, Barrett was watching the Valtones perform and was impressed by the singing and dancing of the kid from Philadelphia, Eddie Edgehill. He hired Eddie to replace tenor Donald Raysor, who was drafted into the Army.

The group performed at a landmark R&B concert at the Mastbaum Theater on Dec. 12, 1955, hosted by famed Philadelphia disc jockey and impressario Georgie Woods. Also on the bill were Screamin' Jay Hawkins, LaVern Baker, Red Prysock, the El Dorados and others.

Eddie had to leave the Valentines in 1956 to take care of his ill mother.

The Valentines disbanded in the late '50s when members became fed up that their records were not being properly promoted.

Eddie Edgehill was born in New York City and raised in Philadelphia. At the age of 17, he went to New York under the tutelage of his uncle, Robert Simmons, who was running the Valtones. Eddie joined the group and his career began.

After the Valentines broke up, Eddie formed a new group in 1958 called the Orientals. The name was later changed to the Del-Knights. They performed locally, including at the Uptown with Georgie Woods, cut records in Philadelphia, got air time here and toured as far away as Canada until that group disbanded in 1966.

In 1968, Eddie managed the Sweet Delights, a group that also included his wife, Gerylane.

"In recent years, Eddie's 1,000-watt smile could be spotted at local concerts at venues where his kind of vocal harmony was presented," said Robert Bosco, Philadelphia music historian and writer.

Besides his wife of 46 years, Eddie is survived by two sons, Alan and Theo, and five grandchildren.

Services: 11 a.m. Wednesday at Second Timothy Tabernacle Baptist Church, 2127 Ridge Ave. Friends may call at 10 a.m. Burial will be in Mount Peace Cemetery, 31st Street and Lehigh Avenue.