R.I.P.: Cornelius Harp

Cornelius “Nini” Harp, the lead singer of the Marcels, died on Wednesday June 5, 2013 from what was reported to be natural causes.

The Marcels were formed at Oliver Allegheny High School in Pittsburgh in 1959. The original group was unique in its day as three members were African-Americans (Harp, Ronald Mundy, Fred Johnson) and two were white (Gene Bricker, Richard Knauss).

In early 1961, the group cut a demo of a 1933 Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart song, Blue Moon. It so impressed the management at Colpix Records that they had a copy run over to disc jockey Murray “The K” Kaufman who aired it numerous times the night it was recorded. MORE HERE