The Vogues

The Vogues

The Vogues are a US vocal group from Pittsburgh, originally from Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania. They are active from 1965 to the present and are known for blue-eyed soul, rock and roll, and traditional pop.

Origins and early line-up

The group begins as the Val-Aires, formed in 1958 at Turtle Creek High School. The original line-up includes Bill Burkette on lead baritone, Don Miller on baritone, Hugh Geyer on first tenor, and Chuck Blasko on second tenor. Their first recording release is Which One Will It Be/Launie My Love, produced by Pittsburgh manager Elmer Willet and issued after the group signs with him. The record gains strong regional sales and is later taken up for national distribution by Coral Records.

Breakthrough recordings

After a period in which members complete military service or college, the group records again in the mid-1960s. With producer Nick Cenci, they make a demo and then record You're the One at Gateway Studios in Pittsburgh. The single is released on the group’s own Blue Star label, then distributed nationally after Cenci signs them to Co & Ce Records under the name the Vogues. It reaches number four on the Billboard Hot 100. Later in 1965 they score another number four hit with Five O'Clock World.

Co & Ce releases Magic Town in 1966, which reaches number 21, along with The Land of Milk and Honey. Further singles on the label include Summer Afternoon and Lovers of the World Unite.

Reprise years and later recordings

The group is later leased to Reprise Records, distributed by Warner Bros., where it records a series of cover versions that include Turn Around, Look at Me, My Special Angel, Till, No, Not Much, Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine), Moments to Remember, and Green Fields. Their other releases include recordings on Bell Records in 1971, a Mainstream Records single in 1972, and 20th Century Records material in 1973.

The group’s studio albums include Meet the Vogues, Five O'Clock World, Turn Around, Look at Me, Till, Memories, The Vogues' Greatest Hits, and The Vogues Sing the Good Old Songs. In 2010 they release the live album The Vogues Sings The Hits Live on Desert Trax Music.

Line-up changes and different touring versions

By 1973 the group has become a trio of Burkette, Miller, and Blasko, after Hugh Geyer leaves. Don Miller leaves in 1974 and is replaced by a sequence of other vocalists. Bill Burkette leaves in 1983, leaving Chuck Blasko to continue performing under the name. The Vogues name and trademark later pass through several owners, leading to multiple performing versions of the group. In the 2000s, legal action divides performance use of the name between Chuck Blasko’s Western Pennsylvania shows and a trademark-controlled touring group.

Hugh Geyer tours with Blasko’s group from 2004 to 2006, then joins the national touring version in 2007 and stays until 2012. Bill Burkette also joins that touring line-up in 2008. As of 2017, one line-up includes Burkette, Troy Elich, Royce Taylor, and Bo Wagner, while other listed players include Dean Mastrangelo, Artie Deleonardis, JR Wright, and Rich Gooch.

Media appearances and recognition

The original group appears on television programmes including The Tonight Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, Shindig, The Red Skelton Hour, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, American Bandstand, Hullabaloo, and The Mike Douglas Show. They also tour widely and share bills with the Drifters, the Platters, and the Dells through support from DJ Porky Chedwick and promotion by Clark Race on KDKA-TV.

The Vogues are inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001. Bill Burkette dies in 2018.