The Vogues
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{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| Name = The Vogues
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| Background = group_or_band
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| Origin = [[Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania]], [[United States]]
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| Genre = [[Rock and Roll]], [[Traditional pop music|Traditional Pop]]
| Occupation =
| Years_active = 1965-Present Day
| Label = Co & Ce, [[Reprise Records|Reprise]]
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| Current_members =
| Past_members = Bill Burkette, Don Miller, Hugh Geyer, and Chuck Blasko
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}}
'''The Vogues''' were an [[United States|American]] [[singer|singing]] quartet from [[Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania|Turtle Creek]], [[Pennsylvania]], [[United States|USA]], a [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]] [[suburb]]. They consisted of Bill Burkette (lead [[baritone]]), Don Miller (baritone), Hugh Geyer (first [[tenor]]) and Chuck Blasko (second tenor).
==Overview==
Originally, the group was called "The Val-Airs." Their first and only record under this moniker was "Laurie, My Love". It was first released under local label Willett Records (owned by the group's manager, Elmer Willett), then distributed nationally on [[Coral Records]]. Soon after its release, they adopted the name "The Vogues", derived from Vogue Terrace, a popular teenage dance hall (which also housed Willett Records) in North Versailles, near the group's hometown. They soon signed a contract with the small Pittsburgh-based Co & Ce Records label, run by Herb Cohen and Nick Cenci. The song, "You're The One", rose to #4 on the [[Billboard magazine|Billboard]] charts and was followed by "[[Five O'Clock World]]," which reached the same #4 level. Two more hits, "Magic Town" and "The Land of Milk and Honey," did not reach the same heights, but still made Billboard's Top 40 in 1966.
As their sound was not in step with the trend in [[rock & roll]], their fortunes dwindled, but in 1968 they signed with [[Reprise Records]] and had a string of remakes: [[Glen Campbell]]'s "[[Turn Around, Look at Me]]," which reached #7 on the Billboard charts; [[Bobby Helms]]' "[[My Special Angel]]" (matching Helms' #7 peak); "[[Till (song)|Till]]" (previously recorded by [[Roger Williams]], [[Percy Faith]], and [[The Angels]]), [[The Four Lads]]' "[[No, Not Much]]," [[The Penguins]]' "[[Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)]]," The Four Lads' "[[Moments To Remember]]," and [[The Brothers Four]]'s "Greenfields" (retitled "Green Fields").
The group lost favor in the 1970s, but various groupings of singers using the name "The Vogues" continued to sing into the 2000s. and subsequent business moves allowed the new owner of their trademark name to later assign it to another group of all new artists. Chuck Blasko, then performing with other artists as "Chuck Blasko's Five O'clock World Reunion," lobbied Congress to make changes in trademark laws to prevent others from misrepresenting themselves as being original artists.<ref>[http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/judiciary/hju62504.000/hju62504_0.htm]</ref>
As of March 2007, Hugh Geyer, who had briefly toured with Chuck Blasko's group in the year before, is now touring the country with the "trademark" Vogues. Mr. Blasko continues to perform as "Chuck Blasko & The Vogues" in the 14 Western Pennsylvania counties that were awarded to him by the courts. Today, both groups contain original members of The Vogues.
As of May 2008 original lead vocalist Bill Burkette has joined Hugh Geyer touring the country with the "trademark" Vogues.<ref>[http://www.vogues.com/]</ref> Current performing members include Burkette, Geyer, Jim Campagna, Stan Elich, and Troy Elich on vocals. The group is rounded out with Dave Watkins (keyboards/vocals), Don Decena (bass guitar/vocals), Artie Delonardis (drums), and Tom Lamb (guitar).
They (the original group) were inducted into the [[Vocal Group Hall of Fame]] in 2001.<ref>[http://www.vocalgroup.org/inductees.htm VGHF Inductees list]</ref>
A blog has been established by fans of The Vogues at <ref>[http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=38731446 Vogues MySpace blog]</ref>.
==Studio Albums==
*''[[Meet the Vogues]]'' (1965)
*''[[Five O'Clock World (album)|Five O'Clock World]]'' (1966)
*''[[Turn Around, Look at Me (album)|Turn Around, Look at Me]]'' (1968)
*''[[Till (album)|Till]]'' (1969)
*''[[Memories (The Vogues album)|Memories]]'' (1969)
*''Sing the Good Old Songs'' (1970)
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.vocalgroup.org/inductees/the_vogues.html 'The Vogues' Vocal Group Hall of Fame Page]
* [http://www.vogues.com/ 'The Vogues' Home Page]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vogues, The}}
[[Category:American vocal groups]]
[[Category:American pop music groups]]
[[Category:1960s music groups]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh musical groups]]
[[Category:Traditional pop music singers]]
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