Ames Brothers

The Ames Brothers

Company type	Vocal group
Industry	Music
Founded	1947 in Malden, Massachusetts, United States
Defunct	1963
Headquarters	Malden , United States
Products	Classic pop music recordings and performances

The Ames Brothers were a vocal quartet originating from Malden, Massachusetts, who gained prominence during the 1950s with their classic pop repertoire.

Biography

Comprising the Urick siblings—Joe (1921–2007), Gene (1924–1997), Vic (1925–1978), and Ed (1927–2023)—the ensemble initially performed under the name Amory Brothers. Coming from a family of Russian Jewish immigrants with a strong musical background, they were well-versed in both classical and operatic traditions.

Their early engagements included performing for servicemen at military bases and holding a steady gig at Boston’s prestigious Fox and Hounds nightclub. Following Joe's return to the group, they relocated to New York City and secured opportunities with bandleader Art Mooney. While searching for material at Leeds Publishing, they caught the attention of Milt Gabler from Decca Records, which led to their debut recordings just prior to the 1948 AFM recording ban. They adopted the shortened name Ames and became Coral Records’ inaugural signees, a subsidiary launched by Decca.

National recognition came through appearances on radio shows such as Robert Q. Lewis's program and CBS’s Sing It Again. Their major breakthrough arrived with the 1950 success "Rag Mop." The group frequently featured on notable television programs including Arthur Godfrey and His Friends and was among the earliest performers on The Ed Sullivan Show (originally titled Toast of the Town).

By the mid-1950s, The Ames Brothers ranked among the highest-paid entertainers in nightclubs and supper clubs across the United States. In 1956, they headlined their own nationally syndicated television series, The Ames Brothers Show, sponsored by RC Cola; this program was pioneering as the first internationally broadcast syndicated show. Additionally, they made guest appearances on ABC’s The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom.

With a total of 49 singles charting in the US—21 released through Coral before transitioning to RCA Victor in 1953—the quartet sustained considerable commercial success until their split in 1963. Subsequently, Ed Ames embarked on a solo career encompassing both music and acting, gaining notable recognition for his role as Mingo on the television series Daniel Boone.

Legacy

In 1998, The Ames Brothers received induction into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

Later years

Vic passed away in 1978 at age 52 due to a car accident; Gene succumbed to cancer in 1997 at age 73; Joe died from a heart attack in 2007 at age 86. Ed Ames, the final surviving member of the group, died in 2023 aged 95.

Singles

NOTE: Repeated titles of Coral releases listed below represent standard singles rather than Coral's "Silver Star Series" reissue collection.

... [Table continues with similar entries, omitted here for brevity] ...

Year	Single (A-side, B-side) Both sides drawn from same album unless otherwise noted	Chart positions			Album Standard 12" records except where specified
		Billboard Singles Charts	Cashbox Singles Charts	UK
1947	"Caravan" b/w "There Is No Breeze"	—	—	—	Non-album tracks
	"Goodnight My Love" b/w "It Shouldn't Happen to a Dream" These two singles credited as "The Armory Brothers"	—	—	—
1948	"Tell Me a Story" b/w "If You Had All the World and Its Gold"	—	—	—
	"A Tree in the Meadow" (featuring Monica Lewis) b/w "On the Street of Regret"	21	—	—
	"Where the Apple Blossoms Fall" b/w "If I Live to Be a Hundred" Both tracks with Monica Lewis	—	—	—
1949	"You, You, You Are the One" b/w "More Beer" (from Hoop-De-Doo 10" LP)	23	—	—
	"I'm Just Wild About Harry" b/w "Good Fellow Medley"	—	—	—
	"Far Away Places" b/w "Lorelei" (from Sentimental Me 10" LP)	—	—	—
	"Cruising Down the River" b/w "Clancy Lowered the Boom" (Non-album track)	29	—	—	Favorite Songs (10" LP)
	1963	"Washington Square" b/w "Knees Up Mother Brown" (from Knees Up! Mother Brown)	129	—	—

Albums

• Sing a Song of Christmas (1950)
• Sweet Leilani (1951)
• Sentimental Me (1951)
• Home on the Range (1952)
• Favorite Spirituals (1952)
• Hoop-De-Doo (1952)
• In the Evening by the Moonlight (1953)
• Love's Old Sweet Songs (1955)
• The Magic Melting Pot of Melody featuring Hugo Winterhalter and His Orchestra (1956)
• Exactly Like You, accompanied by Joe Reisman and His Orchestra (1956)
• The Ames Brothers, with orchestral backing from Hugo Winterhalter and His Orchestra (1956)
• My Love Serenade (1957)
• The Sounds of Christmas Harmony (1957)
• There'll Always Be a Christmas, performed with Sid Ramin's Orchestra (1957), reached No. 16 on Billboard's albums chart)
• Destination Moon, in collaboration with Sid Ramin's Orchestra (1958)
• Smoochin' Time, featuring Sid Ramin's Orchestra (1958)
• The Best of the Ames (1958)
• The Ames Brothers Sing the Best in the Country (1959)
• The Ames Brothers Sing Famous Hits of Famous Quartets, with orchestration by Hugo Winterhalter and His Orchestra (1959)
• Hello Amigos, accompanied by Esquivel's Orchestra (1960)
• The Blend and the Beat (1960)
• Hello Italy!, arranged by Bill McElhiney (1963)
• Knees Up! Mother Brown (1963)
• For Sentimental Reasons (1964)
• Down Memory Lane with the Ames Brothers (1964)
• This Is The Ames Brothers (1972)
• Reissue: The Best of the Ames, originally released in 1958, reissued in 1975
• The Very Best Of The Ames Brothers (1998)

Further reading

• Clarke, Donald. The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Viking, 1989.
• Larkin, Colin. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Third edition, Macmillan, 1998.
• Kinkle, Roger D. The Complete Encyclopedia of Popular Music and Jazz, 1900–1950, Arlington, 1974.
• Whitburn, Joel. Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890–1954, Record Research Inc., 1986.

External links

• Vocal Group Hall of Fame profile for The Ames Brothers
• Obituary published in the Los Angeles Daily News
• Official Facebook page of the Ames Brothers featuring videos, photos, discussions, and historical information
• The Ames Brothers discography at the Discography of American Historical Recordings