Doo Wop pioneer enhances Donora's chronicle of success

“Sha na na na … Every morning about this time, She gets me out of my bed a-cryin', Get a Job.” – The Silhouettes, 1957.

Few people need to be reminded of the names that comprise the long list of success stories originating in Donora.

They represent myriad professions – science, medicine, military, business, industry, law enforcement, the judicial system, athletics, education, politics, government, entertainment.

Now, thanks to the inquisitive nature of longtime area disc jockey Ralph Trilli of West Newton and the help of Elaine Lewis of Philadelphia, Earl Thomas Beal is on the roster of achievers.

Beal, a native of Donora, was a founding member of and baritone with The Silhouettes, whose 1958 hit “Get a Job” soared to No. 1 on the R&B and pop charts and remains a Doo Wop era classic. The group was inducted into the Doo Wop Hall of Fame in 1989.

Trilli's attention to Beal was piqued with the recent purchase of a compilation CD, Street Corner Symphonies, The Complete Story of Doo Wop, Volume 9, 1957, produced by Bear Family Records.

“The liner notes about The Silhouettes say Earl Beal was born in Denora, Pennsylvania,” Trilli said. “That just didn't sound right to me and I thought it should have read Donora. Lo and behold, we discovered that Donora is correct.”

According to Lewis' website, www.thesilhouttes.org, Beal, who began singing in his church choir, launched his professional career in the early 1950's in a group named The Balladeers, alongside bass vocalist Raymond Edwards. They continued their association as the group became The Gospel Tornadoes, The Thunderbirds and eventually, The Silhouettes.Before recording with The Silhouettes, however, Beal was credited with writing “Bye and Bye,” a B-side recorded by The Turbans, whose road manager was Richard Lewis (the actual writer of “Get a Job.”)

The Turbans also covered but didn't release at the time “I Am Lonely” and “Miss Thing,” the latter incorrectly credited to Turban Andrew Jones and his brother Donald on the Silhouettes' version, although this was later corrected. Authorship of all three songs should have been credited to The Silhouettes; the group always shared the song writing credits. The website notes that Beal's name was given as a contact because he was the only one who had a stable address.

In addition to Beal and Edwards, the original Silhouettes comprised lead singer Bill Horton and tenor Richard Lewis, who left the Turbans and joined the other three when the original tenor, James Jenkins, was drafted into the Army.

“Get a Job” was initially released in December 1957 on Kae Williams' Junior label. Lewis said the record caught on so fast, the pressing plant ran out of red (label) paper and had to start pressing on blue.

In January of 1958, Tony Mamarella, the producer of American Bandstand, got the song leased to Ember Records, Al Silver's label in New York City, which also carried The Five Satins, who had a major hit with “In the Still of the Night.”

It was at this time that Dick Clark started playing the record on Bandstand and the next day Al Silver had orders for half a million copies stuffed under his door.

“Get a Job” sold over a million records and resulted in a gold record for The Silhouettes.

The familiar long phrase of novelty syllables of the song, “Sha na na na … Sha na na na,” gave birth to the name of the popular Oldies group, Sha Na Na, which was formed in 1969 and continues performing today. The group also hosted a popular television show with that name from 1977 to 1981.

Beal stayed with The Silhouettes through the glory days and the lean years, later helping to develop the new soul sound featuring John (Bootsie) Wilson on lead vocal. “We've found the soul approach is a natural one for our group,” Beal is quoted as saying in the liner notes of the Goodway album.

Beal continued with the group until it eventually disbanded in 1968. He and Rick Lewis were the only members to sing on all the group's recordings.

When The Silhouettes reunited in 1980, Beal was again touring with the group on the Oldies circuit and “finally seeing some of the money he was due as he approached retirement age,” said Elaine Lewis, bass player for the group and Rick Lewis' wife.

“Earl loved chatting with fans before a show,” she said. “We would leave for lunch, be gone for hours, come back, and Earl would still be talking to the same fan.”

In addition to her website, TheSilhouettes.org, where we compiled information for this column, Elaine Lewis has produced a double-CD about the group, “All The Songs,” to preserve the group's legacy.

“I wanted it done right,” she said. “I got all the noise off the tracks, boosted the fidelity, faded them properly. The way ‘Poorhouse' suddenly dropped out at the end always bothered me. There's a volume surge in ‘Bull Frog' that I got out and I enhanced Bootsie's lead in ‘Rent Man.' Who else would care about these things? It includes songs that are on no other Silhouettes CD — songs from as early as 1954 up to 1968. I have in my archives rehearsal out-takes, conversations, phone messages, interviews, etc. and I decided to drop them in between the songs to share them with the world. By the time you finish listening, you will know all the members of the group as friends — especially Earl.”

Lewis' double-CD sells for just $25 including shipping. It can be ordered via email at GetAJob58@aol.com.

Brian Charlton, curator/archivist with the Donora Historical Society, offered appreciation to Trilli and Lewis.

“We are always looking for new chapters to be written in the history of Donora and the Mon Valley,” Charlton said. “We are deeply grateful to Ralph Trilli and Mrs. Lewis for bringing the information about Mr. Beal to our attention. It certainly complements the legacy of the Beal family that lived here in the early part of the last century.”

Charlton recalled that Beal's father, Columbus P. Beal was a wire drawer, a skilled position at the Donora Zinc Works.

“In the 1920s, Donora and Monessen were among the few places at that time where African-Americans could get skilled positions,” he said. “Mr. Beal also was a member of Catlin's Military Band, an all-black aggregation which was recognized for many years as one of the best marching bands in western Pennsylvania. It was originally based in Greensburg but moved to Donora after World War I, when many of its members moved to this area to work in the local mills.”

According to the June 1921 issue of Donora Zinc Works News, the Beal family – Columbus, his wife Mabel and their children, Columbus Jr. and Naomia, lived at 715 Allen Ave. in Donora. The community directory for 1924, the year Earl was born, indicates they resided at 634 First St.

U.S. Census records show that the Beal family left Donora and moved to Philadelphia when Earl was six years old.

Beal was born July 18, 1924, “near the Monongahela River” in Donora. He was 76 when he died on March 22, 2001.

At a Home Going Service on March 29, 2001, at the Slater Funeral Home in Philadelphia, the Rev. Elvis Turner recalled that Beal attended Catholic grade school and public high school in Philadelphia. He served with the U.S. Army during World War II, pursued a professional boxing career for five years, enjoyed playing pool and received many trophies, and was “quite an artist … drew many pictures of his life events.”

Turner also noted that Beal worked at various cleaners as “a reliable clothes presser” from 1960 to 2001 and loved animals, particularly dogs

He was survived at the time of his death by a sister, Irene L. Beal, who is now deceased; a son, Earl D. Beal, who is believed to be living in Philadelphia, and a host of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

He is interred at Zion Cemetery in Collingdale, Pa. (Delaware County).

Ron Paglia is a freelance writer for Trib Total Media.

(If you have memories to share or story ideas, contact Ron Paglia at ronpaglia@verizon.net or c/o The Valley Independent, Eastgate 19, Monessen, PA 15062).