Ponderosa Twins Plus One

The Ponderosa Twins Plus One were an R&B\soul vocal group from Cleveland, Ohio that consisted of two sets of identical twins: Alfred & Alvin Pelham, and Keith & Kirk Gardner along with Ricky Spicer.

The group formed in 1970 where the members of the group attended Patrick Henry Jr. High School (located on the east side of Cleveland) and managed by Tony Wilson. Wilson brought the group to the attention of Bobby Massey (who was a member of the O’Jays) who signed them to Chuck Brown’s Astroscope record label.

The Ponderosa Twins Plus One recorded three singles in a studio and Sylvia Robinson (the owner of the All Platinum Records label) agreed to distribute them.

In 1971, their debut single, “You Send Me” became a hit, peaking at #23 on Billboard’s Best Selling Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for 12 weeks. It also crossed over to the pop charts where it peaked at #78 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Following the success of the song, the group toured with artists such as Linda Jones, the Whatnauts, the Moments and Lonnie Youngblood.
During that same year, The Ponderosa Twins Plus One released their debut and only album, “2+2+1 = Ponderosa Twins Plus One.” It’s unknown how or if the album made the charts at all.
Their follow-up single, “Bound” peaked at #41 on Billboard’s Best Selling Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for 6 weeks.
Their third single, a cover version of Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers’ 1956 hit song, “Why Do Fools Fall in Love” peaked at #40 on Billboard’s Best Selling Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for only 3 weeks.
A promotional single from the album, “Dad I Love Her” was released, but didn’t make the charts.

In 1973, the group’s last charting single, “Tomorrow’s Train” peaked at #82 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for 6 weeks.

In 1975, The Ponderosa Twins Plus One disbanded due to the lack of royalties and earnings from their live shows.

In the years since, one of the Pelham twins suffered from mental problems and one of the Gardner twins had been incarcerated since 1980 in a penitentiary in Ohio for committing various offenses. According to an article from CNN in 2013, Alvin & Alfred are deceased, and Keith & Kirk are incarcerated.

Ricky Spicer went on to become a construction worker in the greater Cleveland area. In 2013, he filed a lawsuit against Kanye West, citing copyright infringement in Kanye’s track “Bound 2” (from his 2013 album, “Yeezus”).

A year later, Ricky sued Vogue Magazine and its publisher Conde Nast after “Bound 2” was used in the promotional behind the scenes video for the magazine’s April edition cover (which featured Kanye and his wife, Kim Kardashian).

In 2015, court documents revealed that the lawsuit Ricky made against Kanye was settled and that both parties entered into a confidential settlement agreement.

To see a video for “You Send Me,” go to:

To see a video for “Bound,” go to:

To see a video for “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” go to:

To see a video for “Dad I Love Her,” go to:

To see a video for “Tomorrow’s Train,” go to:

Chee-Chee and Peppy

Chee-Chee (born Dorothy Moore in 1959 in Morristown, Pennsylvania) and Peppy (born Keith Bolling in 1957 in Frankford, Pennsylvania) were an R&B teen vocal duo from the early 1970s. The duo took their performing names from their pet dogs.

Dorothy (who was 12 years old at the time) was discovered by record producer\songwriter Jesse James when he asked her to speak to local children at her school where she sang and danced at the event. James later got an agreement from Dorothy’s mother to form a duo around her.

Keith (who is the son of late R&B singer Sam Cooke) was a member of Frankford High School’s Ambassadors of Song and under the direction of Jesse James, the duo of Chee-Chee and Peppy was created.
In 1971, the duo released their debut single, “I Know I’m In Love” which peaked at #49 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #12 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart (staying on the chart for 14 weeks), becoming their only highest charting song to date.
Their follow-up single, “Never Never Never” missed the Hot 100, but managed to peak at #46 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for only 3 weeks.
During that same year, Chee-Chee and Peppy released their self-titled debut album on Buddah Records. It’s unknown how or if the album charted at all.
A promotional single from the album, “A Lover’s Question” was released, but didn’t make the charts.

The duo toured with singer Linda Jones and Ponderosa Twins Plus One, and opened up for artists such as James Brown, Gladys Knight & Ray Charles. They also appeared on television shows such as “American Bandstand.”
The original duo of Chee-Chee and Peppy disbanded around the early ’70s, but in 1981, a second album, “Super You” (which featured Dorothy as Chee-Chee, but a different singer, Charles Gamble as Peppy) was released on the Branding Iron Records label. It’s unknown how or if the album was successful at all.

These days (according to research), Dorothy Moore is a member of the Word of Deliverance Mass Choir in Forest Park, Ohio. It’s unknown what Keith Bolling is up and it seems as if he’s faded into obscurity.

To see a video for “I Know I’m In Love,” go to:

To see a video for “Never Never Never,” go to:

To see a video for “My Love Will Never Fade Away” (from their debut album), go to:

To see a video for “This Magic Moment” (from their debut album), go to:

To see a video for “Super You,” go to:

Remy

Remy was a male R&B singer from the ’90s. Not much information is given about him, but he was signed to the Street Life Records label.
In 1996, he released his only album, “Roll Wit Us (Coast To Coast)” which didn’t appear to chart at all.

The two singles released from the album, “Roll Wit Us” and “Make It Alright” also failed to chart as well.

After that, it seems as if Remy has faded into obscurity. Nothing much has been heard from him since the ’90s.

To see a video for “Roll Wit Us,” go to:

To see a video for “Make It Alright,” go to:

Synethia

Synethia (born Synethia Foster from Newnan, Georgia) is an R&B singer\pianist from the early ’90s.

She first began performing in church and has performed with artists such as Donna Allen, Dorothy Moore, Betty Wright, Denise Lasalle, Buddy Guy, Johnny Taylor, Clarence Carter, Peggy Scott, Marvin Sease & Solomon Burke.
In 1990, she released her self-titled debut album on the J.S. Records label. It’s unknown how or if the album made any album charts at all.

The tracks “I’ve Got The Love You’ve Been Missing,” “In My Arms,” and “You Were Doing Bad When I Met Cha” were released as singles, but didn’t chart.

After that, nothing much was heard from Synethia, but in 2002, her album, “Live It Love It” was released on the CD Baby website (along with her self-titled album). It’s currently unknown what she is up to these days.

To see a video for “I’ve Got The Love You’ve Been Missing,” go to:

To see a video for “You Were Doing Bad When I Met Cha,” go to:

Nais

Nais was an R&B group from the ’90s. Not much information is given about them, but they were signed to the Street Life Records label.
In 1995, they released their debut and only album, “Str-8 From Da’ Boot.” It’s unknown how or if the album charted at all.

The tracks “69B (Alizè & Me),” a cover version of Frankie Valli’s song, “My Eyes Adored You” and “Break U Off” were released as singles, but didn’t make the charts at all.

After that, it seems as if Nais has faded into obscurity. It’s unknown what the members of the group are currently up to these days.

To see a video for “69B (Alizè & Me),” go to:

To see a video for “Break U Off,” go to:

Badd & Krazy ‎

Badd & Krazy were a hip-hop\bass music act from the ’90s. Not much information is given about this artist, but they were signed to the Tony Mercedes Records label.

In 1995, they released their only single, “Girlz Wit Da Weave.” It’s unknown how or if the single made any music charts at all,

After that, nothing much was heard from Badd & Krazy and it seems as if they have faded into obscurity.

To see a video for the club mix version of “Girlz Wit Da Weave,” go to:

China

China was a female dance\house music artist from the ’90s. Not much information is given about this artist, but she was signed to the Street Life Records label.
In 1995, she released her only single, “Come And Get It.” It’s unknown how or if the single made any music charts at all.

After that, nothing much was heard from China and it appears as if she’s faded into obscurity. It’s unknown what she’s currently up to these days.

[Note: There are no videos available for this blog entry.]

Lynne Tyndall

Lynne Tyndall (born in Owensboro, Kentucky) is a country music singer from the late ’80s. Not much information is given about her, but she was raised in Nashville, Tennessee and signed to the Evergreen Records label.
In 1987, she released her only album, “Out of the Blue.” It’s unknown how or if the album charted at all.

The lead single from the album, “Lovin’ The Blue (Right Out Of You)” peaked at #67 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart, staying on the chart for 5 weeks.

The follow-up single, “This Is Me Leaving” peaked at #62 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart (making it her only highest chart appearance to date), staying on the chart for 6 weeks.

The third single from the album, “Love’s Slippin’ Up On Me” peaked at #83 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart, staying on the chart for 4 weeks.

The last single released from the album, “I Promise” peaked at #74 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart, staying on the chart for 3 weeks.

After that, not much was heard from Lynne Tyndall and it seems as if she’s faded into obscurity. It’s unknown what she is currently up to these days.

To see a video for “This Is Me Leaving,” go to:

To see a video for “I Promise,” go to:

Harem

Harem was an R&B quartet from the ’90s. Not much information is given about them, but they were signed to Motown Records.

In 1994, they released their debut single, “Is This What You Want” which didn’t appear to make any impact on the charts at all. Their follow-up single, “All That U Need” also didn’t seem to make the charts at all.

In 1995, Harem released their self-titled debut album, but just like the singles, it doesn’t seem it made any impact on the charts at all.

After that, it seems as if Harem has faded into obscurity. Nothing much has been heard from them since the ’90s.

To see a video for “Is This What You Want,” go to:

To see a video for “All That U Need”, go to:

To see a video for “Harem’s Theme” (from their debut album), go to:

To see a video for “Desert Nights” (from their debut album), go to:

Vicki Von Rae

Vicki Von Rae (born in Marshalltown, Iowa) is a country music singer from the late ’80s. She was raised in Akneny, Iowa and was a long-time backing vocalist for singer Mickey Gilley.
In 1987, Vicki released her only album, “Not Tonight I’ve Got A Heartache” on the Atlantic America record label. It’s unknown how or if the album charted at all.
The title song peaked at #52 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart, staying on the chart for 10 weeks, making it her only highest charting single to date.
The follow-up single, “Torn-Up” peaked at #53 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart, staying on the chart for 9 weeks.

After that, nothing much was heard from Vicki Von Rae and it seemed as if she faded into obscurity.

However, according to an article in the November 19, 1994 issue of Billboard magazine, she was a house regular performer at Buddy Killen’s Stockyard Restaurant & Bullpen Lounge and married to drummer Stuart Brower. As of 2019, it’s unknown what Vicki is currently up to these days.

To see a video for “Not Tonight I’ve Got a Heartache,” go to:

To see a video for “Torn-Up,” go to: