Eddie Rich & Swallows - Live at Felician College - 4/16/88

On April 16, 1988, Ronnie Italiano and the United in Group Harmony Association staged a multi-act rhythm & blues vocal group harmony concert at Felician College in Lodi, New Jersey. Among the artists on the bill were Jimmy Beaumont and the Skyliners and Eddie Rich and the Swallows. Formed in Baltimore, Maryland, the Swallows began recording for King Records in 1951 and produced a handful of stellar ballads (“Dearest”, “Will You Be Mine”, “Beside You”) and uptempo sides (“It Ain’t The Meat”, “We Want To Rock”). In the early 1980s, original lead singer Eddie Rich reorganized the Swallows for live performances and new recordings and continued to perform into 2022 when he was 91 years of age. In this performance, Eddie is joined by first tenor Thomas “Rico” Brown, second tenor Leroy Miller, baritone Theodore Estep, and bass Albert Smith. Rich leads the first two selections, “Sit and Hold My Hand” (a reworking of Clyde McPhatter’s “Just To Hold My hand”) and “Love Bells”, both of which had been recorded for the Starbound label in 1986. Rico Brown sings lead on “Beside You”, originally led by Junior Denby, and Albert Smith is featured on the Checkers’ “Let Me Come Back”. Eddie Rich returns to the lead mike for the final two songs, the Swallows’ 1951 debut, “Dearest”, and the old standard, “When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano”. The group had started performing “Capistrano” in their stage act in 1952 when a club owner, who confused them with Clyde McPhatter and the Dominoes, refused to pay them unless they sang that current hit. Miller, who joined in 1983, continued to perform with the Swallows through the remainder of their career. Baritone Theodore “Sonny” Estep (1938-2006), bass Albert Smith (1938-2017), and first tenor-second lead Rico Brown, who succumbed to emphysema (1952-1994), are all deceased. Eddie Rich, now 95 years old, still resides in Baltimore.