Today’s Birthday Music Facts celebrates the life of Eugene Pitt (The Jive Five), who was born on Nov. 6 1937.
Check out these interesting tidbits of information below:
1. Eugene Pitt was lead singer of The Genies, as well as popular doo-wop group, The Jive Five. The group was founded in 1951 in Brooklyn.
2. Eugene Pitt’s father was a singer in The Goldengate Quartet, from North Carolina.
3. While most group’s of the era were named after birds, The Jive Five landed their name in a most interesting fashion. “The Jive Five was a name that was really given to us by the females in the neighborhood,” Eugene Pitt said in the book “Setting The Record Straight: The Music and Careers of Recording Artists From the 1950’s and Early 60s, Vol. 2”
4. The Jive Five landed two massive singles: 1961’s “My True Story” and 1965’s “I’m A Happy Man.”
5. In 1975, when the hits dried up, the group changed their name to Ebony, Ivory and The Jades. They Rechristened themselves The Jive Five shortly afterwards.
