The Debonaires

The Debonaires were cousins, Joyce Vincent Wilson and Telma Hopkins, and supposedly there were other members who remain unknown. These unknowns are possibly some of the Adorables who recorded for Golden World records before the Debonaires. A feasible surmise since two Adorables -- Pat Lewis and Betty Winston -- helped co-write the Debonaires' second single, "Eenie Meenie Gypsa Leenie." Wilson and Hopkins later sung with Tony Orlando, a pop group that notched three number one hits. They were high school students when Golden World released "Please Don't Say We're Through" b/w "A Little Too Long" in 1964. Unfortunately, it didn't get exposed outside the Detroit area. The writing, producing, and singing Hamilton Brothers -- Bob, Albert, Eugene, and Freddie Gorman (also a brother) -- handled both sides. Big things were expected, as the same production crew had recently scored a gold disk on the Reflections ("Just Like Romeo and Juliet"). "Eenie Meenie," the second single, came out in August of 1965, but by this time Golden World was cold as a deep freezer. Its subsidiary Ric Tic was doing much better with tunes by Edwin Starr, the Fantastic Four, J. J. Barnes, and the Detroit Emeralds. Golden World apparently released Debonaires' singles as afterthoughts because the next one didn't appear until nearly a year later on June 6, 1966. "How Is Your New Love Treating You," written by Linda Bunton and Joanne Jackson, who wrote under Joanne Britton, rates as one of their best, but it never got pushed. Probably because label owner, Ed Wingate, was negotiating to sell the whole ball of wax to Motown. A final Golden World single "C.O.D. (Collect on Delivery)" released in October of 1966 stiffed as badly as the others. They surfaced later that year on Solid Hit records with "Headache...