The Masqueraders

The Masqueraders were one of the longest-lived yet little-known groups in soul music history. According to an interview with soul collector and historian Greg Tormo, their origins date back to Dallas, Texas in 1958 -- middle-schoolers Charlie Moore (lead vocals) and Robert Tex Wrightsil (first tenor) formed the earliest incarnation of the group, then dubbed "the Stairs," with brothers Johnny and Lawrence Davis in the second and third tenor slots and "Little" Charlie Gibson singing bass. Circa 1959, the Stairs recorded at least three singles for the local South Town label -- "Brown-Eyed Handsome Man," "Caveman Love," and "Flossie Mae" -- before the Davis brothers left the group and Gibson enlisted in the U.S. Army. Moore and Wrightsil scrambled to find replacements, with Moore eventually moving to baritone to accommodate new lead vocalist Lee Wesley Jones; tenor Harold Thomas, and bass David Sanders filled out the new lineup, which toured relentlessly throughout Texas. They often appeared in small towns under the guise of national chart groups, easily emulating the style of any act they so chose -- as a result, they officially renamed themselves the Masqueraders, making their recorded debut under that name with 1963's "A Man's Temptation." After cutting 1965's "Talk About a Woman" for the Houston label Soultown, the Masqueraders traveled to Detroit to audition for Motown -- informed that their style and approach were too similar to that of the Temptations, the group found themselves stuck in the Motor City with no money to return home, hatching a plan to perform at the local Twenty Grand Club to earn enough cash for return fare. En route they stumbled on a recording studio owned by La Beat label owner Lou Beatty, who would go on to release five Masqueraders singles...