Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
      • Playlists
    • 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
      • 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
      • Radio
      • 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 - S
    Artists - S Music - 1950s Music - 1960s 7 Mins Read

    Shep & the Limelites

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    James ‘Shep’ Sheppard’s career began in St. Alban’s Park, New York, in 1954 when, in the fashion of the day, his vocal group was having a friendly competition with another group of youngsters from Queens who called themselves The Hearts.

    Wally Roker, Vernon Seavers, and Albert Crump from Wilson High, with Robby Tatum from Jackson High, were enthralled by slightly older Shep, who spent his days at Food & Maritime Trades Vocational School.

    By the end of the night, Shep had been nominated as lead singer of The Hearts. The new quintet made their first public appearance singing at Wilson graduation ceremonies.

    After a teenaged girl group also called The Hearts made it onto records in January 1955, Shep and the boys started calling themselves The Heartbeats and worked at weddings and private parties.

    A neighbour, William Miller – who lived across the street from Vernon Seavers – was working for Herald Records along with bookkeeper Blanche “Bea” Kaslan. Miller and Kaslan started their own label, Hull Records, and added The Heartbeats to the roster.

    Their first release, Crazy For You, written by Shep and Miller, became a regional hit in New York and Philadelphia.

    sheplimelites (1)

    “All of us were still working at day jobs when Crazy For You came out”, said Roker. “I was working at Birdell’s Record Shop, the other guys were doing little odd jobs. Shep was still living at home. After Crazy For You, we were able to go into music full time. We did the Dr Jive shows, the Jocko shows, and hit the New York, Philadelphia, Washington, and Baltimore theatres and all that stuff. At that time we idolised The Harptones with Willie Winfield, The Clovers, and The Five Keys.”

    A few more records for Hull followed, and then Shep wrote A Thousand Miles Away. The story that he wrote his beautiful love songs with one particular girl in mind is true according to Roker. “Shep was really in love at the time with a girl who moved to Texas. She moved from Brooklyn to Texas and he was very broken up over it.”

    Reissued on the bigger Rama label, A Thousand Miles Away eventually reached #5 on the R&B charts and #53 on the pop charts in early 1957. A follow-up, Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool, edged into the pop charts at #78 in July 1957. The group was becoming more polished and had high aspirations.

    Sadly, James Sheppard had found solace in alcohol. He was a difficult man to work with at the best of times, and his drinking increased in direct relationship to the success of his group. This proved to be the death of The Heartbeats.

    “We disbanded the group based on Shep drinking too much. We had problems with agents, promoters, record companies, everybody because of this. Shep was a beautiful person, he just drank too much.”

    Wally Roker went into record promotion after the group broke up, and had a fine career with Wilbert Harrison, The Shirelles, Isley Brothers, Chuck Jackson, and The Jackson Five.

    The rest of the group went to work at various jobs and Shep opened a restaurant in Jamaica but continued to sing solo on weekends.

    The split in the group had left some very hard feelings between Shep and the rest of The Heartbeats, so much so that Shep never considered any of his former singers when he formed his second group.

    shep&limelites

    He approached old friends Clarence Bassett and Charles Baskerville with the idea of starting a new group. Bassett and Baskerville had been in a high school group called The Videos which, by virtue of a second-place win on an Apollo Theatre amateur night, had made two records in 1958.

    Their first, Trickle, Trickle, was a regional hit, but any momentum this record might have generated was lost when two other members of the group died.

    After a year out of the “limelight”, Shep called his group The Limelites. It was an unusual all-tenor line-up that returned to Bea Kaslan early in 1961. Without a bass singer, the trio relied on Shep’s lead voice over two-part harmony.

    Shep, determined not to be cheated out of publishing and composing royalties, insisted that all rights be shared between himself and Kaslan’s publishing company, Keel Music, BMI.

    He had been unsuccessful in getting this arrangement when The Heartbeats were recording. Seed money for revitalising the Hull label was obtained from ABC-Paramount, who issued the first two Limelites records on their Apt subsidiary. Those initial releases ended in obscurity, but Hull was back on track.

    Daddy’s Home was a logical extension of the journey that had started with A Thousand Miles Away and moved closer with The Heartbeats’ 500 Miles To Go. The “journey” took five years to complete but, in the interim, Rama Records had acquired the copyright to A Thousand Miles Away and this, in turn, had been picked up by Roulette Records and its subsidiary publishing company, Nom Music, BMI.

    Nothing attracts the interest of copyright holders faster than a hit record and Daddy’s Home rocketed up the charts in 1961 to become the #2 pop hit in the nation. At last, Shep had the success he so desperately needed.

    Having a huge pop hit kept The Limelites on the road with concerts, TV shows, and personal appearances all over the country. In July Ready For Your Love was on the charts, followed by Three Steps From The Altar and, in early 1962, Our Anniversary.

    Shep (who took to calling himself “Shane” for unknown reasons) was still the same difficult person to work with as always, even though the hits kept on coming. A lawsuit filed when Daddy’s Home first hit the charts only made him more unpredictable.

    The similarity between A Thousand Miles Away and Daddy’s Home was enough for Nom Music to sue Hull Records and Keel Music for copyright infringement. Because the later record was a hit, it was worth the trouble to go for the money.

    Music fans may think the case was ridiculous – the songs are much different – but in a decision handed down in April 1964, New York Federal Court ruled that Daddy’s Home was copied from A Thousand Miles Away.

    Since the older tune had been copyrighted in 1956, Nom Music was awarded all royalties from Daddy’s Home and a protective injunction against future use of the tune. Never mind that Sheppard had composed both songs, that bit of common sense had nothing to do with who owned the rights.

    The embittered Shep began missing recording dates and personal appearance gigs with increasing frequency.

    Despite strained relationships with his own group and other people in the music business, several remarkably fine ballads came from his pen and voice until the demise of The Limelites in 1966. Bassett recalled, “James was just too hard to get along with, so me and Charles gave it up. James gave everyone a hard time; the record company, the promoters, the bands, everyone. He did it until no one could put up with him.”

    After the break-up of The Limelites, Baskerville sang with The Players and Bassett spent time with The Flamingos and Creative Funk, but the trio had reunited for revival appearances shortly before Shep’s death.

    James Sheppard was murdered on 24 January 1970. He was found dead in his car on the Long Island Expressway, having been beaten and robbed. He was 24.

    His death was noted by few, even in the music world. Nevertheless, he is still revered by all who treasure eloquent, soulful vocal group song.

    Baskerville died, aged 58, on 18 January 1995 in New York. Bassett died on 25 January 2005, at the age of 68 from the complications of emphysema, at his home in Richmond, Virginia.

    James ‘Shep’ Sheppard
    Vocals
    Clarence Bassett 
    Vocals
    Charles Baskerville 
    Vocals

    Related Posts

    • Maggie Bell
      Maggie Bell
      Margaret "Maggie" Bell was born on 12 January 1945, at Maryhill, Glasgow, in Scotland. She began singing in her teenage years and…
    • Five Satins, The
      Five Satins, The
      Fred Parris composed the song In The Still Of The Night one night in the 1950s while on guard duty in…
    • Wanderers, The
      Wanderers, The
      Another doo-wop group which was quite popular on the US East Coast but otherwise obscure, The Wanderers began as The…
    • Penguins, The
      Penguins, The
      Curtis Williams was a member of vocal group The Hollywood Flames formed in Watts, Los Angeles in 1949. However, in…
    • Maxine Brown
      Maxine Brown
      Dubbed "the girl who invented soul" this South Carolina-born singer with the heart-stopping voice scored from the off with her…
    • 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…
    • Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers
      Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers
      One day in 1955, Richard 'Ritchie' Barrett - the lead singer of New York City group, The Valentines - heard…
    • Classics IV
      Classics IV
      Classics IV began life as The Classics, a Jacksonville instrumental covers band consisting of JR Cobb on guitar, bassist Walter…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleSheena Easton
    Next Article Shirelles, The

    Comments are closed.

    A Labour of Love

    Nostalgia Central has been a labour of love for me since 1998.

    If you find the site informative or enjoyable, please consider a donation – no matter how small – to help me with the running costs of the site and ensure I can keep Nostalgia Central running for your entertainment and education.

    Thank you so much, and please enjoy your trip in the time machine!
    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    You May Also Like
    • Sleeping Beauty (1959)
      Based on Charles Perrault’s enduring fairy tale, this was […]
    • Watch With Mother
      1 9 5 2 – 1 9 8 0 (UK) 667 x 25/50 minute episodes Watch […]
    • Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush
      1 9 9 4 – 1 9 9 5 (UK) 26 x 60 minute episodes Debuting on […]
    • This Day Tonight
      1 9 6 7 – 1 9 7 8 (Australia) Commonly abbreviated to TDT, […]
    • Teenage Tramp (1973)
      Kim (Alisha Fontaine) ran away from home when she was young and […]
    • Aspen
      1 9 7 7 (USA) 3 x 100 minute episodes The town of Aspen, high in […]
    Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

    OUR LATEST FACEBOOK POSTS

    www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-65006801 ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Terry Hall: Coventry scooter ride-out pays tribute to singer

    www.bbc.co.uk

    Hundreds of people ride through Coventry on what would have been the singer's 64th birthday.
    6 days ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 12
    • Shares: 2
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    metro.co.uk/2023/03/13/the-whos-roger-daltrey-thinks-theres-no-point-releasing-an-album-18434779/ ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    The Who's Roger Daltrey thinks there's 'no point' releasing another album

    metro.co.uk

    Bad luck.
    6 days ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-64963359 ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Sir Michael Caine's first Rolls Royce sells at Duxford for £120K

    www.bbc.co.uk

    The Italian Job actor hired a chauffeur to drive the 1968 Silver Shadow, with its doors still intact.
    1 week ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 2
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64900348 ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Mystic Meg: Astrologer dies aged 80

    www.bbc.co.uk

    The TV star, whose real name was Margaret Lake, was a well-known TV figure in the 1990s.
    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 1
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    Do you think she know it eas going to happen

    PlayTalk Teletext (1976) | BFI Replay

    Talk Teletext (1976) | BFI Replay ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 7
    • Shares: 2
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    Gary Rossington: Lynyrd Skynyrd's last founding member dies aged 71.
    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Gary Rossington: Lynyrd Skynyrd's last founding member dies aged 71

    www.bbc.co.uk

    Guitarist Gary Rossington had survived a 1977 air crash that killed several of his bandmates.
    3 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 2
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    What a talented man. Lucky enough to see original band in concert. BRILLIANT.

    Rest in peace Dickie Davies. An absolute giant of British sports broadcasting.

    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Dickie Davies, World of Sport presenter, dies at 94

    www.theguardian.com

    The broadcaster became something of a cult figure after fronting the ITV show for 20 years
    1 month ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 4
    • Shares: 1
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    Yes, one of the great presenters. R.I.P.

    For fans of the radio series Round The Horne (1965 - 1968) - starring the inimitable Kenneth Williams - there are several full episodes on Spotify. Some of the humour is still pretty close to the edge, even by modern standards. Bona! 

https://open.spotify.com/show/7DIM1wfGKwDis0uzsjHeP7?si=pG0_U0TjRKGzVDvrePs4vA

    For fans of the radio series "Round The Horne" (1965 - 1968) - starring the inimitable Kenneth Williams - there are several full episodes on Spotify. Some of the humour is still pretty "close to the edge", even by modern standards. Bona!

    open.spotify.com/show/7DIM1wfGKwDis0uzsjHeP7?si=pG0_U0TjRKGzVDvrePs4vA
    ... See MoreSee Less

    1 month ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 12
    • Shares: 1
    • Comments: 2

    Comment on Facebook

    For those interested, the complete “Jules and Sandy” is available on Audible…

    Bona to vada your jolly old eek. Lovely riah....

    RIP the beautiful Stella Stevens, who has died at the age of 84.

    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Stella Stevens: Nutty Professor and Poseidon Adventure star dies at 84

    www.bbc.co.uk

    The co-star of Elvis Presley also worked in TV on series such as Murder She Wrote and Magnum, P.I.
    1 month ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    A very young Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison and friends. 

If they only knew what lay ahead . . .

    A very young Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison and friends.

    If they only knew what lay ahead . . .
    ... See MoreSee Less

    1 month ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 18
    • Shares: 1
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    I always hated the Beatles, and as it happens I still do.

    Load more
    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.
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Tag Cloud
    1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games British Invasion Britpop Bubblegum music Canada Civil rights Cold War Computer games Crime Disc Jockeys Disco Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Folk rock Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen James Bond JFK Kraütrock Labels Madchester Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave New Zealand Nixon Northern Soul NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Politics Power Pop Prog rock Pub rock Punk Radio Reggae Rolling Stones Scotland Ska Ska revival Skiffle Soul music Space Race Sport Surf music Video games Vietnam war
    Copyright © 1998, 2023 Nostalgia Central. Run by volunteers. Funded by donations.
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

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