This page, RCA Tokens, lists all the confirmed recordings and one's I believe to have been recorded before The Tokens set-up their own B.T.Puppy record label. The listing of the discography should be clear but do let me know if you find any difficulty understanding it. There are lots of articles on The Tokens story, many containing inaccurate information that has been carried over to other printed and web media. I'm concentrating mainly on their work in the studio, not their personal history but as well as background info on the recordings there are other details I deal with in the notes.
With your help more info can be added to achieve a greater understanding of The Tokens recorded output. Send an email with any additions, corrections or confirmations all help given will be acknowledged in the CREDITS, likewise if you have comments to make I'd be pleased to hear them.
*1 | The Tokens (with Neil Sedaka) | While I Dream (Sedaka, Greenfield) |
I Love My Baby (Sedaka, Greenfield) |
Melba 104 | 05/56 |
*2 | Darrell & The Oxfords | Picture In My Wallet
(Mitchell, Marcus) |
Roses Are Red (Mitchell, Marcus, The Oxfords) |
Roulette R-4174 | 09/59 |
Darrell & The Oxfords |
Can't You Tell
(Gertz) |
But Your Mother She Said No (Mitchell, Chase) |
Roulette R-4230 | 02/60 | |
*3 | The Tokens | Tonight I Fell In Love
(Margo, Medress) |
I'll Always Love You (Margo, Medress) |
Warwick M 615 | 02/61 |
*4 | The Tokens | Please Write (Margo, Medress) |
I'll Always Love You (Margo, Medress) |
Laurie 3180 | 06/63 |
*5 | The Tokens | Arlene (Margo, Margo, Medress, Siegel) |
? () |
Music Master 110 | /61 |
*6 | The Tokens | Arlene (Margo, Margo, Medress, Siegel) |
Rumble In The Park () |
Rust 5094 | /65 |
*1 | The Tokens (with Neil Sedaka) | Don't Go, Come Back Joe (Sedaka, Greenfield) |
Neil Sedaka & The Tokens | Guest Star G 1448 | 64? |
*7 | 16 Original Hits! Yesterday & Today |
'Old Version' Tonight I Fell In Love 'New Version' Tonight I Fell In Love |
The Tokens & Various Artists | York YS 5001 | 70? |
*1 | The Tokens | Laura-Lee, Lover Lips, Everbody Knows (Sedaka, Greenfield) |
Golden Moments Of Our Past | Crystal Ball #1036 | 01 |
*1 | The Tokens | I'll Never Have To Dream Again (unknown) |
Tonight I Fell In Love | Crystal Ball #1038 | 01 |
*2 | Darrell & The Oxfords | Reasons For Love (unknown) |
A Whiter Shade Of DooWop |
UK Sequel NEM CD 715 | 94 |
*1 *2 *3 *4 *5 *6 *7 Click here for Notes
*1 | Dry Your Eyes (Margo, Medress) |
When I Go To Sleep At Night (Margo, Medress) |
RCA 47-7896 | M5PW-2270 M5PW-2276 |
05/61 |
*2 | When Summer Is Through
(Margo, Medress) |
Sincerely (Faqua, Freed) |
RCA 47-7925 | M5PW-3236 M5PW-2277 |
08/61 |
*3 | The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)
(Weiss, Peretti, Creatore) |
Tina (Roberts) |
RCA 47-7954 | M5PW-3237 M5PW-3253 |
10/61 |
*4 | B'Wa Nina (Pretty Girl)
(Weis, Peretti, Creatore) |
Weeping River (Bill Kaiman) |
RCA 47-7991 | N5PW-1406 N5PW-1405 |
01/62 |
The Riddle
(Adaptation by: P. and M. Margo, Medress, Siegel) |
Big Boat (Peretti, Creatore, Weiss) |
RCA 47-8018 | M5PW-3290 M5PW-3294 |
03/62 | |
*5 | La Bomba
(Adaptation by: Margo, Margo, Medress, Siegel) |
A Token Of Love (W. Kaiman) |
RCA 47-8052 | N5PW-1446 N5PW-3004 |
06/62 |
*6 | The Fly Swatter
(Bob & Jerry, Medress, Margo) |
Bee Side Joseph Venneri |
RCA 47-8064 | N2PW-0021 N2PW-0022 |
07/62 |
*7 | I'll Do My Crying Tomorrow
(Margo, Medress, Siegel, Kalina) |
Dream Angel Goodnight
(Margo, Medress, Siegel, Nader, Kay) |
RCA 47-8089 | N5PW-3042 N5PW-3043 |
09/62 |
A Bird Flies Out Of Sight (Felicidad - Bossa Nova)
(Hugo & Luigi, Weiss, Jobim) |
Wishing (Margo, Margo, Medress) |
RCA 47-8114 | N5PW-5008 N5PW-5014 |
11/62 | |
*8 | Tonight I Met An Angel
(Margo, Margo, Medress, Siegel) |
Hindi Lullabye (Peretti, Creatore, Weiss) |
RCA 47-8148 | PHKM-3022 N5PW-3295 |
02/63 |
*9 | Hear The Bells
(Margo, Margo, Medress, Siegel, Lowe) |
A-B-C 1-2-3 (Margo, Margo, Medress, Siegel, Venneri) |
RCA 47-8210 | PHKM-4031 PHKM-3073 |
06/63 |
*10 | Let's Go To The Drag Strip
(Margo, Margo, Medress, Siegel) |
Two Cars (Margo, Margo, Medress, Siegel) |
RCA 47-8309 | PHKM-6346 PHKM-6347 |
01/64 |
*1 *2 *3 *4 *5 *6 *7 *8 *9 *10 Click here for Notes
*1 | The credit on all the RCA 45s and LPs is artist The Tokens, Hugo & Luigi Producers and Orchestra conducted by Sammy Lowe, unless noted. Release dates are approximate. | |
*2 | Billboard chart No. 120, 18th September 1961 | |
*3 | This is the title and writers credits as shown on the RCA UK 45: The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)
(New lyrics and revised music by Peretti, Creatore, Weiss, Stanton) based on a song by Paul Campbell Originally recorded as one of the four songs The Tokens demoed for Morty Craft at Warwick it was Jay Siegel's arrangement of "Wimoweh," with the addition of new lyrics and a change he made to the melody that created one of the most endearing songs of the last 50 years. Billboard chart No. 1 18th December 1961, R & B Chart No. 7, 27th January 1962 |
|
*4 | Billboard chart No. 55, 3rd March 1962 | |
*5 | Billboard chart No. 65, 28th July 1962 | |
*6 | Released as by D.D.T and The Repellents, Margo-Medress, Bob & Jerry Productions (Bob Feldman & Jerry Goldstein, later of Feldman, Goldstein & Gottherer) |
|
*7 | Orchestra conducted by Richard Wolfe | |
*8 | Billboard chart No. 126, 23rd March 1963 | |
*9 | Billboard chart No. 94, 31st August 1963 | |
*10 | Arranged and Conducted Artie Butler |
*1 | The Lion Sleeps Tonight Mono LPM-2514 Stereo LSP-2514 |
Side 1: "The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)" (Weiss, Peretti, Creatore), "The Wreck Of The John B" (Arr. M, M, M, S), "Michael" (Arr. M, M, M, S), "Children Go Where I Send Thee" (Arr. M, M, M, S), "Shenandoah" (Arr. M, M, M, S), "Water Prayer" (Peretti, Creatore, Weiss) Side 2: "Big Boat" (Peretti, Creatore, Weiss), "Hindi Lullabye" (Peretti, Creatore, Weiss), "Jamaica Farewell" (Burgess - Based on Traditional Air), "Tina" (Roberts), "The Riddle" (M, M, M, S), "Lonesome Travler" (Arr. M, M, M, S) |
12/61 |
We The Tokens Sing Folk Mono LPM-2631 Stereo LSP-2631 |
Side 1: "This Little Light Of Mine" (Adaptation: M, M, M, S), "Five Hundred Miles" (Adaptation: M, M, M, S), "B'Wa Nina (Pretty Girl)" (Weiss, Peretti, Creatore), "Monkey Vendor (Tumbili)" (M, M, M, S, Harvey), "Wayfaring Stranger" (Adaptation: M, M, M, S, Kalman), "A Bird Flies Out Of Sight (Felicdad)" (Hugo & Luigi, George Weiss, Jobim) Side 2: "La Bomba" (Adaptation: M, M, M, S), "A Boy Without A Girl" (Jacobson, Sexter), "The Mountain Boy" (M, M, M, S, Elias, Lowe), "A Tale Of Two Lovers" (N. Nader, J. Gluck Jr.), "Weeping River" (Bill Kaiman), "Joshua" (M, M, M, S) |
12/62 |
*2 | Wheels Mono LPM-2886 Stereo LSP-2886 |
Side 1: "Let's Go To The Drag Strip" (M, M, M, S), "Little Deuce Coupe" (B. Wilson, R. Christian), "Two Cars" (M, M, M, S), "Little Hot Rod Suzie" (M, M, M, S), "Shut Down" (B. Wilson, R. Christian), "My First Set Of Wheels" (M, M, M, S) Side 2: "Dirt Track Twister" (M, M, M, S), "My Friend's Car" (M, M, M, S), "My Candy Apple Vette" (M, M, M, S), "409" (B. Wilson, G. Usher), "Little Snow White Coupe" (M, M, M, S), "Drag City" (Christian, Berry, Wilson) |
02/64 |
*3 | The Tokens Again Mono LPM-3685 Stereo LPM-3685 |
Side 1: "Hear The Bells" (M, M, M, S, Lowe), "A-B-C 1-2-3" (M, M, M, S, Venneri), "Earth Angel-You Will Be Mine" (C. Williams), "A Thousand Miles Away" (J. Shepheard, W. Miller), "You're Nothing But A Girl" (M, M, M, S, Howard, Hockaday), "Dry Your Eyes" (Margo, Medress) Side 2: "'A' Your Adorable" (B. Kaye, F. Wise, S. Lippman), "Gee" (W. Davis, V. Watkins), "I'll Remember In The Still Of The Night" (F. Parris), "This Endless Night" (H. Greenfield, E. Grossman), "Tonight, Tonight" (B. Myles), "Life Is But A Dream" (R. Cita, H. Weiss) |
10/66 |
*4 | Wimoweh!!! The Best of The Tokens 07863 66474 2 |
"Please Write" (Margo, Medress), "Sweet Laurie, Fair Laurie" (Barry, Greenwich), "Somewhere There's A Girl" (Greenfield, Sedaka) | /94 |
*5 | Tonight I Fell In Love with... Crystal Ball 1038 |
"Please Write" (Margo, Medress) alt Version, "Right Or Wrong" (Greenfield, Sedaka), "Wishing" (Margo, Margo, Medress ) alt Version | /01 |
*1 *2 *3 *4 *5 Click here for Notes
*1 | On the label M, M, M, S actually reads (P. & M. Margo, Madress, Siegal). The album credit for "The Lion Sleeps..." has the same writer credit as the UK single. Billboard LP Chart No. 54 10th March 1962, 16 weeks on the chart. |
|
*2 | Arranged and Conducted Artie Butler | |
*3 | Maybe it is a cash-in album of old tracks and doo-wop style recordings that hadn't been released when originally recorded but the music is none the worse for that. | |
*4 | The unreleased tracks, great sound and good session info makes this an essential purchase. Four previously unreleased cuts are noted but one "I'll Do My Crying Tomorrow" was out on 45 and the matrix # shows it to be the same cut. To make up for this though one of two Alan Lorber conducted sides "Somewhere There's A Girl" is included and the recording date strongly suggests this with "You're Nothing But A Girl", released on "Again", were imtended to be RCA 47-8174. Global Dog Productions 45 RCA discography credits this 45rpm, without titles, to The Tokens as 'not issued', unless you know better! | |
*5 | Just a guesstimate that these tracks, off Ed Engel's second set of rare/unreleased Tokens cuts, are from their RCA period. |