Jaguars

The Jaguars came together on the campus of L.A.'s Fremont High, home to some of the finest doo wop groups, including contemporaries like Dootones, Calvanes, Meadowlarks, Medallions, and Penguins. The school was one of the first high schools in the United States to integrate their classes, in 1954, and the Jaguars were themselves one of the very first racially integrated vocal groups of the '50s: Texas-born lead tenor Herman Chaney (aka Sonny Chaney) and Louisiana-born bass singer Charles Middleton were both black, while Detroit-born second tenor Valerio "Val" Poliuto was white and baritone Manuel "Manny" Chavez was a Hispanic and the only native Californian in the group.



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