The Avalons

The Avalons emerged from the same vibrant (albeit incestuous) Newport News, VA, R&B scene that also yielded the Five Keys, the Leaders, and the Chateaus. According to Marv Goldberg's profile in the March 2002 issue of Discoveries, the group's roots lie in a versatile R&B and gospel group dubbed the Chimes, formed in 1947 by tenor/baritone Charles "Bobby" Crawley, tenor Ulysses Hicks, baritone Leroy Harris, and bass Bernard Purdie. Hicks resigned in 1948, later resurfacing in the Five Keys, and with new tenor Maryland Pierce, the group renamed itself the Four Bees, becoming a m...