The Limelites - Live at the Beacon Theater 9/11/82

From Queens, New York, Shep and the Limelites were formed by three veteran vocal group tenors, James Sheppard, Clarence Bassett, and Charles Baskerville, in 1960. Shep had been the lead singer of the Heartbeats, who hit with “Crazy For You”, “Your Way”, “A Thousand Miles Away”, “After New Year’s Eve”, and others, between 1955 and 1960. When the Heartbeats dissolved, Sheppard recorded a solo disc as “Shane Shep” but soon after, the Limelites were organized. First tenor Clarence Bassett (1935-2005) had sung with the Five Sharps on their elusive 1952 recording of “Stormy Weather” before finding success with the Videos on “Trickle, Trickle” in 1958. Second tenor Charles Baskerville (1936-1995) was also a recording member of the Videos. Despite the fact that all three sang tenor, they developed a tight, melodic harmony that led to hits including “Daddy’s Home”, “Our Anniversary”, and “Three Steps From The Altar”, recording for Hull Records from 1960 to 1965. Shep and the Limelites remained together after their contract ended and successfully performed at a rock and roll revival show at Madison Square Garden in November of 1969. Sheppard, who had a long history of alcohol problems, had been drinking in a Queens bar when he was followed outside, robbed, and murdered in January of 1970. Bassett subsequently joined the Flamingos in 1971, recording and performing with the group until he left to form Creative Funk in 1972. Baskerville spent some time with the Drifters in 1967 before joining the Players. In 1981, Bassett and Baskerville revived the Limelites with Pete LeMonier, who had replaced Gene Pearson in the Rivileers in 1954 and been part of the reorganized Five Sharps in the 1970s. By 1982, LeMonier had been replaced by Al Handfield, whose ability to recreate Sheppard’s impassioned leads was superb. This trio continued performing into the 1990s. Baskerville died of cancer in 1995 and Bassett succumbed to emphysema in 2005. Handfield is still active in music today. One of their earliest high-profile gigs came on September 11, 1982, as part of a Beacon Theater show in New York City hosted and produced by United in Group Harmony Association President Ronnie Italiano with Frankie Lymon’s Teenagers, Earl Lewis and the Channels, the Vibranaires, and the Impalas, among others, where they appeared as both the Videos and the Limelites. Three songs from their set were filmed that night, “Our Anniversary”, “Three Steps From The Altar”, and “Daddy’s Home”. Sadly, only seconds of their encore, the Baskerville-led rendition of Sam Cooke’s “Ain’t That Good News" was filmed. While inferior grade copies of this film in black and white have circulated, this full color upload was mastered from the original VHS source tape owned by the late Lou Rallo.