Singer, song writer and record company executive Donnie Elbert was born in New Orleans on May 25, 1936 and moved with his family to Buffalo, New York when he was three. He learned guitar and piano when a child and formed a doo wop group, The Vibraharps, with friends Danny Cannon, Charles Hargro, Donald Simmons, and perhaps Douglas Gibson, in 1955. In 1957 he left the group to go solo, signed with Deluxe, and his debut recording for them, “What Can I Do”, reached no. 12 on the R&B chart. In 1960 he was called up and served in the U. S. Army.
As a song writer he had to sue to get song writing credit for Darrel Banks’ “Open the door to your heart” which Banks had claimed as his own work.
From 1966 to 1969 he lived in the UK and a record he made for Decca’s Deram label, “Without You” had a rock steady beat and topped the Jamaican charts. In 1969 he returned to New York and had a number of hits with All Platinum Records and his update of “Where Did Our Love Go” reached the UK top 10.
In the 1980s he ceased recording and performing and took an executive position with Polygram Canada. Donnie Elbert died after a massive stroke in Philadelphia on January 26, 1989.
Image: Rebeat/Copyright Control
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