l to r: lillian walker, brenda reid, carol johnson and herb rooney
The Exciters originally comprised of:
Herb Rooney (b. 1941, New York City, New York, U.S.A.)
Brenda Reid (b. 1945)
Carolyn 'Carol' Johnson (b. 1945)
and
Lillian Walker (b. 1945)
The Exciters were a quartet from Jamaica, Queens, New York City.
They are best remembered for their hit single, 'Tell Him' which reached number 4 on the U.S. charts in 1962.
Brenda Reid, Carolyn Johnson, Lillian Walker, and Sylvia Wilbur formed the group in 1961.
The women all attended high school in Queens, New York City.
They were originally called the Masterettes, who released their first recording, ‘Follow the Leader’ in 1962.
The group auditioned for Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and were signed up.
Herb Rooney, a member of a group called the Masters, joined the group.
tell him - 1963 / the exciters - 1966 / caviar & chitlins - 1969 / black beauty - 1971
They changed their name to The Exciters, and released ‘Tell Him’ b/w ‘Hard Way To Go ‘.
The song reached number 4 on the U.S. pop chart alter that year.
The song was actually a cover version of a Gil Hamilton original.
‘Tell Him’ was to, also, influence the career of Dusty Springfield.
Further releases followed, including ‘He's Got the Power’ b/w ‘Drama Of Love’, ‘Get Him’ b/w ‘It's So Exciting’, and ‘Blowing Up My Mind’ b/w ‘You Don't Know What You're Missing ('Til It's Gone!)’.
The group also recorded the song ‘Do-Wah-Diddy’ b/w ‘If Love Came Your Way’ (later to become ‘Do Wah Diddy Diddy’ by Manfred Mann).
In 1965, the Exciters left Leiber-Stoller, relocating label from United Artists to Roulette Records.
They re-worked the Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers' song ‘I Want You to Be My Boy’ b/w ‘Tonight, Tonight’.
Further label switching followed, with the group recording for the Bang, Shout, Elephant V, Today and RCA imprints.
The Exciters disbanded in 1974, however, shortly afterwards, Brenda Reid launched a new Exciters with members of her family.
heaven is wherever you are - 1976 / the exciters - 1977
Herb Rooney passed away in the early 1990s, and Carolyn 'Carol' Johnson died in 2007.
Albums:
Tell Him (United Artists Records 1963)
The Exciters (Roulette Records 1965)
Caviar And Chitlins (RCA Records 1969)
Black Beauty (Today Records 197l)
Heaven Is Where You Are (20th Century Records 1976)
The Exciters (Tomorrow Records 1977)
