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The Rooftop Singers

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Musicians

The Resume

    Progressive folk-singing trio formed in New York in 1962
    Original line-up:
    Erik Darling - guitar, vocals (September 25, 1933-August 3, 2008)
    Bill Svanoe - guitar, vocals (January 16, 1938- )
    Lynne Taylor - vocals (birth name Patricia Elaine Foutty; January 6, 1936-April 21, 1979)
    Recorded 'Walk Right In'

Why they might be annoying:

    They are a one hit wonder.
    Darling left The Weavers to form the group.
    They had a minor hit with 'Tom Cat,' but many radio stations wouldn't play it due to the sexual connotations within the lyrics.
    Taylor left the group in 1966 at the urging of her husband.
    The group replaced her with two other female singers, but by the end of 1967 they were history.
    Taylor died at age 43 under mysterious circumstances, some speculating it was suicide.

Why they might not be annoying:

    'Walk Right In' was a 1963 smash hit, went gold, sold more than one million copies and is Vanguard Record label's best seller ever.
    As a crossover hit, the song made it to #1 on both Billboard's Singles chart and Easy Listening chart, #4 on the R&B chart and #23 on the Country Music chart.
    The song was originally a 1929 blues ragtime-style number recorded by Gus Cannon, who was near poverty when the song came out, and enjoyed royalty payments afterward.
    They were a unique folk trio in that they incorporated a woman with a jazz background for their melodies, and the guys both played 12-string guitars, new to the genre.
    Taylor had been on bills with Frank Sinatra, Sophie Tucker and Martin & Lewis, and sang with Benny Goodman and Buddy Rich's band.
    Svanoe was part of the Freedom Riders civil rights movement in 1961, and after the band broke up became a successful Hollywood screenwriter, penning such movies as Anne Archer's 'Waltz Across Texas (1982)' and Whoopi Goldberg's 'Fatal Beauty (1987).'
    Darling became friends with Don McLean, and sadly died of lymphoma at age 74.

Credit: Scar Tactics


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 7 Votes: 14.29% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 22 Votes: 22.73% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 10 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 19 Votes: 78.95% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 31 Votes: 61.29% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 22 Votes: 18.18% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 23 Votes: 56.52% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 25 Votes: 44.00% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 20 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 6 Votes: 66.67% Annoying