Ospreys

East Harlem, NY-based R&B group The Ospreys formed in 1955. According to Marv Goldberg's profile in the December 1977 issue of Yesterday's Memories, their lineup -- lead Robert Council, first tenor Maurice Williams, second tenor Jackson Thompson, and bass John Miro -- represented a kind of neighborhood supergroup assembling the best voices from four other combos. The first act represented by James A. Dailey, later a prominent New York City R&B manager, The Ospreys built a devoted fan base at local record hops and teen TV showcases, and in mid-1957 signed to Atlantic Records, also home to another Dailey act, The Bobbettes. "Do You Wanna Jump Children" followed on Atlantic's East-West imprint in the spring of 1958, around the same time they backed Chuck Willis on his posthumous smash "What Am I Living For." Atlantic declined to release a second Ospreys single, however, and in 1959 the group dissolved; Miro later resurfaced in The Lincolns, singing lead on their lone Mercury effort, "Baby Let Me Love You." ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide