Imperials

About

Formed in early 1951, when most of the members were 13 or 14, this aggregation of music buffs was originally called the Bobbaleers (taken from the Orioles' "Barbra Lee," which they used as a theme song). he original group consisted of Milton Harris (lead tenor), William "Mickey" Stevenson (lead tenor), William "Spoon" Weatherspoon (tenor), Robert Adams (baritone and tenor), Lee Goodwin (second tenor and baritone), Ben Knight (bass), Margaret Haynes (soprano), Helen Ivory (alto), and Geraldine Davenport (alto), there were nine of them (a nonet). Phil Waddell quickly took charge of the group. The first thing he did was suggest a name change. Thus, the Bobbaleers now became the Teen Toppers. Phil introduced them to the Great Lakes recording studio. Another name change to Imperials and their first recording session probably took place in October 1953.