Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Music»Artists - L to Z»Artists - O
    Artists - O Music - 1950s Music - 1960s 2 Mins Read

    Olympics, The

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    The Olympics began life in 1954 as The Challengers while still at high school in Compton, California.

    Their debut single, Western Movies (1958), reached #8 in the USA and made the UK Top 20, and featured a comic narration about the singer’s girlfriend being addicted to cowboy movies.

    Just as The Olympics began to realise real success, tenor Charles Fizer was convicted of drug possession and sent to prison. He was replaced during his incarceration by Melvin King.

    In August 1965 South Los Angeles found itself at the centre of a violent racial uprising following the brutal beating of a black family by California Highway Patrol officers. The suburb of Watts was at the very epicentre. The Los Angeles Times reported, “rocks flying, then wine and whiskey bottles, concrete, pieces of wood – the targets, anything strange to the neighbourhood”.

    The area was declared a disaster area as the LAPD announced they
    had lost control of the situation.

    On 14 August – the third day of the uprising – Charles Fizer was innocently making his way to an Olympics rehearsal when he was shot by members of the National Guard. He died in the street.

    33 other people died on the streets of Watts that week, including Melvin King’s sister (on the same afternoon that Fizer was killed).

    Devastated by the events of 14 August, Melvin King played just one more performance with The Olympics before giving it all away. His replacement, Mack Starr, died tragically following a motorcycle accident in Los Angeles in June 1981.

    Walter ”Sleepy” Ward
    Vocals
    Eddie Lewis
    Vocals
    Walter Hammond
    Vocals
    Charles Fizer
    Vocals
    Melvin King
    Vocals
    Mack Starr
    Vocals

    Related Posts

    • Ruby Murray
      Ruby Murray
      Ruby Florence Murray was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1935 - the youngest child in a Protestant family. She…
    • Bob & Earl
      Bob & Earl
      Bobby Byrd and Earl Nelson had both been members of a prolific doo-wop group in Los Angeles called The Hollywood…
    • Danny & The Juniors
      Danny & The Juniors
      Danny and The Juniors (originally The Juvenairs) all attended John Bartram High School in Philadelphia and formed in 1955, practising…
    • Smith
      Smith
      Smith formed in Los Angeles in 1969 and were discovered by 1960s rocker Del Shannon in a nightclub there. Shannon…
    • Equals, The
      Equals, The
      A multi-racial group from South London, The Equals embodied the phrase 'Blue Eyed Soul'. Their music was a combination of…
    • Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers
      Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers
      One day in 1955 Richard 'Ritchie' Barrett heard The Premiers, a young multi-racial vocal group from the Bronx, singing on…
    • Tom Jones
      Tom Jones
      The son of a Welsh coal miner, Tom Jones was born Thomas Jones Woodward in Treforest, Glamorganshire, in 1940, and began his…
    • Chipmunks, The
      Chipmunks, The
      Possibly the most popular TV and musical cartoon of all time, the Chipmunks enjoyed two periods of prosperity -  the…

    Doo-Wop
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleO’Jays, The
    Next Article Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD)

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Belle De Jour (1967)
      Séverine Serizy (Catherine Deneuve) is a young, breathtakingly […]
    • Blacula (1972)
      1972 was a big year for Blaxploitation movies (also seeing the […]
    • Goober & the Ghost Chasers
      1 9 7 3 (USA) 16 x 22 minute episodes A cowardly cartoon dog […]
    • Girl Talk
      1 9 6 2 – 1 9 7 0 (USA) 30 minute episodes Girl Talk […]
    • Amy Prentiss
      1 9 7 4 – 1 9 7 5 (USA) 3 x 120 minute episodes This crime […]
    • Skateboards
      Back in the days before protective padding and fibreglass […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Sport Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.